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

Autistic with a specific talent or ability?

Are you on the autistic spectrum and have a specific gift, ability or talent? I often write about the many challenges we face as autistic people trying to make our way in life. But there are also some benefits of having a unique perspective on the world. I am presently doing some research into abilities displayed by people on the autistic spectrum. I am very interested to find out how common Read More

The new autistic adults-how a diagnosis saved his life

I recently read an article by a 44 year old man by the name of Chris Goodchild. He was featured in an article called, Autism: how diagnosis saved my life. His story jumped out at me like a huge bolt of lightning. It was as if he was describing my life. He talks about how he had struggled his whole life with various mental health problems, including depression and self Read More

Autistic and working freelance?

Many of us that are on the autistic spectrum have high level skills that can be used in our career. “I have a constant battle with my own lack of confidence and low self esteem” As you may know by now, I am a person with high functioning autism. I am also a professional film maker and musician. I had a reasonable amount of success in these areas over the Read More

Autism and genius

We’ve all heard about the autistic “savant” that special breed of autistic person that has almost superhuman powers. They are great musicians, artists, software writers. Some like Kim Peek depicted in the film Rainman have incredible powers of memory. It is even thought by many people that Einstein, Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook creator) and even Bill Gates are on the Autistic spectrum. Whilst they may not necessarily be “savants” they certainly display Read More

Autism: How meditation can help

Autism: How meditation can help This week I took part in a research study at a London university to see how people with high functioning autism or Asperger syndrome, could benefit from using guided meditation and mindfulness to relieve some of their anxiety, and also help them develop more self awareness. I am a person with high functioning autism. I am also someone that has for many years been very interested Read More

The Autism Bill 2009 UK – So where’s the change?

So here in the UK a new law was passed – The Autism Bill 2009 UK. This was intended to force the government to work with local health authorities and local government to produce strategies to improve services for adults on the autistic spectrum. There was a duty on government to publish their strategy by the end of 2010 which they have. Below are the 5 key points of the governments Read More

What is Autism

The most accurate and comprehensive description I can find of what Autism actually is can be found on the National Autistic Society website. Here is the link. http://www.autism.org.uk/about-autism/autism-and-asperger-syndrome-an-introduction/what-is-autism.aspx I could not have created a better explanation and I only want to have the best possible information on my website. The general purpose of my website is to give a personal account of life with Autism. Steve

Does the MMR jab cause Autism?

Should you give your child the MMR jab, and will your child become autistic after being immunised? The current thinking amongst medical professionals is that the MMR jab does not cause autism and doctors are urging parents to have their children immunized. This subject has recently hit the the news here in the UK after large scale outbreaks of Measles point to parents worrying about the possible risks of “MMR Read More

High Functioning Autism Symptoms

High Functioning Autism Symptoms that have affected me   Speech delay Delay in learning to speak properly as a child resulting in regular visits to a speech therapist till the age of 9. To this day I find speech very hard work. Social imagination / Theory of mind Inability to understand people’s intent, what they really mean when they are talking to me.This makes me feel very un-confident around people and as Read More