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
acceptance
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
Accuracy in Questions and Answers
Disclaimer: When you've met one allistic (non-autistic), you've met one allistic! The communication quirks and difficulties my allistic counterpart presents may be totally different than the communication quirks and difficulties another allistic counterpart may present. My allistic counterpart and I recently unearthed another communication issue in our marriage. When I ask a question it's because … Continue reading Accuracy in Questions and Answers
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
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
Autistic Body Language and Emotion
I've written some about this topic before, regarding the joy I feel when I see other Autistic people moving in Autistic ways, but today I want to write about how my own movement affects and reflects my emotions. I get a little sweary at the very end when talking about getting rid of the allistic … Continue reading Autistic Body Language and Emotion
Vital Inconsistencies – Autistic Parenting
I have found that there's this idea in modern parenting that leads to a great deal of what I'd call "unnecessary consistencies." The idea is basically that if children do something childish or inappropriate then they'll forever be doing it. Or, conversely, that if they aren't doing something that will eventually become necessary for them … Continue reading Vital Inconsistencies – Autistic Parenting