The big secret
As an autistic person… I have always assumed that there was a sort of secret that everybody in the world new. Everybody except me. I had always thought that everyone understood the social rules. There was hidden knowledge of how life works, that everyone shared, apart from me. Before my autism diagnosis, I had no idea why this was. My long entrenched low self esteem, informed me that I was Read More
Autism and relationships
“For people on the autistic spectrum, love and relationships can add an extra layer of complication to an already confusing life” Autism and relationships: The video As a person with High functioning autism and married to an neuro typical, I’ve had a lot of experience in the ups and downs of being in a long term relationship. Even for neuro typicals, being in a relationship can be very challenging. Most Read More
Diagnosed with high functioning autism
In 2008, I was diagnosed with high functioning autism. I’d had very little knowledge of autism before this diagnosis. I was being assessed by a clinical psychologist to see if I was suitable for cognitive behavioural therapy for my problems with anxiety. During the session she told me that she thought I was probably on the autistic spectrum and asked me if I would like to have a diagnosis. This came Read More
Autism and mental health
In this video I talk about the difficulties many autistic people have with mental health problems such as Depression, Anxiety and OCD. I have written a lot more about my own personal solution to the problems of anxiety and depression related to autism. You can read about it here Autism: A world of extremes Autism: diagnosis and after The big secret Autism: Is poor mental health the bigger problem? Autism and Read More
Autism-my solution
“As high functioning autistic adults, we have to become our own experts” I have written this article to explain the way I cope with being an adult with high functioning autism. But firstly, just a little background on how I arrived at my “solution.” As we know there is not a “cure” for Autism. There are no magic wands that will make a person neuro typical, and even if there was, Read More
Autism: “auditory dyslexia”
“Words arrive at my ears in a vague, jumbled up way” Are you on the autistic spectrum? Do you have trouble working out what people are saying to you, understanding information and instructions? Like many other autistic people, I usually have great difficulty in this area. If there is a lot of background noise, it becomes even harder to focus on what is being said. Recently I heard someone describe Read More
Telling people you have autism
“Will your life be better if you tell people you have autism?” This post is aimed at high functioning autistic and Aspergian adults, that are doing their best to live independently. Should you tell people you have Asperger’s syndrome or high functioning autism? I would say yes. Later in this article I will give my reasons why telling people has worked for me. But first a little background. For those of us on Read More
Autism: Successful communication,10 things to make it easier
“Getting to understand how a particular autistic person likes to communicate, can be extremely rewarding” I’ve written this article from the point of view of a neural-typical person communicating with someone on the autistic spectrum. I created this list based on what works for me as an autistic person, and what I’ve learnt over the years as a tutor for the National Autistic Society in the UK. It’s really important to Read More
Is Autism hereditary?
Is Autism hereditary? In my mind absolutely yes, but not in every case. Time after time, I meet an autistic child that has an autistic brother or sister, or a parent of an autistic child that displays clear signs of autistic spectrum disorder, often undiagnosed. Can this be coincidence? I really don’t think it is. I see signs of Asperger syndrome in my own close family. This was what originally Read More
Is it Autism or OCD?
Are you on the Autistic spectrum and do you also have OCD? I had been diagnosed with OCD years before my autism diagnosis but it remains unclear which symptoms are OCD and which are autism. During an intense group of sessions at a specialist centre for OCD I found myself asking the psychologist if I have to count a certain amount of times because of my OCD or autism. He Read More