An #ElmoMum elaboration in three short parts. Links should be accurate as the posts are published. Part the first: Background [You are here] Part the second: Context (3/17/18) Part the third: Advice (with swearing) (3/18/18) 1 - Background One reason I wrote my last post about evaluating books about parenting Autistic children is because, at the … Continue reading Some Background Re: #ElmoMum
Autism Issues
Evaluating Autism Parenting Books
Otherwise entitled: "How can a desperate parent tell when a book about parenting an Autistic child will be helpful vs harmful?" (with a short detour to start with) https://twitter.com/mamautistic36/status/972198323770753024 I'm an Autistic parent. I've never found a lack of understanding for parents in general from the Autistic community. Just a lack of understanding for parents … Continue reading Evaluating Autism Parenting Books
Respecting Autistic Children Doesn’t Sell Books (apparently)
Otherwise entitled: "Parents Defend Damaging Autism Parent Memoirs" Two people, so far, have directly responded to my concerns about the spread of damaging "autism parent memoirs" with the idea that Autistic adults don't want parents to "have a voice" or write at all in the first place. It's possible that some of us do want … Continue reading Respecting Autistic Children Doesn’t Sell Books (apparently)
Accomodation, Assumption, & Presumption
I want to write about how arrogant it is to assume that one knows what another person intends better than that other person does. Quick note: I'm not talking about intuition or situations of abuse. If your intuition is telling you that someone is not a good person for you to be around then you … Continue reading Accomodation, Assumption, & Presumption
#ActuallyAutistic Voices
I could've alternatively titled this, "In which Aria attempts to stimulate *allistic empathy for Autistics." Chorus -- Allistics (non-autistics) who do not listen to Autistic voices are wholly unable to accurately represent Autistic perspectives and yet they are often the ones considered "Autism Experts." CW: Some swears for emphasis, brief mention of suicide, some links … Continue reading #ActuallyAutistic Voices
Last April – Allistic (non-autistic) Reactions
I wrote this on April 4th last year and the rest of April apparently exhausted me so much that I completely forgot about this post until today. I'm keeping the language the way it was when I wrote it so it's accurate for April 4th, 2017 and not necessarily for right now. It's been a … Continue reading Last April – Allistic (non-autistic) Reactions
Slogging Through Burnout
It was probably November of 2016 when I really crashed hard. I got my autism diagnosis in August and then began getting extensive dental work done soon after, which sapped most of my energy. Goodness, and looking up old posts it seems that 2016 was just a difficult year of grieving in general. I'd forgotten … Continue reading Slogging Through Burnout
Re-Stating (Writing) Dentist Supports
CW: Dentist visit After avoiding dentists by necessity (no extra money or dental insurance) for most of my life, it seems that I'm seeing the dentist with alarming regularity these days. Bad tooth genetics, struggles to find a regular tooth hygiene routine that works for any amount of time, and a lack of previous dental … Continue reading Re-Stating (Writing) Dentist Supports
Gender and Pronouns
I'm non-binary agender. Sometimes I joke (in a not really joking way) that my gender is "Autistic" and that feels about right. Part of my mind is still good with "female" or "demi-girl" because they're somewhat familiar. I don't feel upset by she/her pronouns either -- familiarity goes a long way for me. The only … Continue reading Gender and Pronouns
Work, Energy, & Autistic Inertia
CW: some internalized ableism regarding productivity and energy levels. I was (text) chatting with an Autistic friend a while back about how some of our abilities can make us appear to be far more functional to others than we actually are because we do some things that most people would find difficult to do, but … Continue reading Work, Energy, & Autistic Inertia
Mamautistic 