Words have been difficult again for a long time. In my mind I can often make the words, but then they won't come out or when they do come out it's not how I intended them to. So I've been rethinking about talking at all. The fact is that I do better when I don't … Continue reading Not Talking, Insert More Title Here
discomfort
Perfection is an Illusion
I'm not perfect. I never claimed to be. But for some reason when I fall short of perfection my brain tells me that I've failed at something that should have been possible. The reality is that nobody's perfect. Expecting it of ourselves or even thinking that other people might be it... can be highly damaging. … Continue reading Perfection is an Illusion
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
Ableism and the War on Drugs
CW: police misconduct, the war on drugs, racism. I've been upset and dismayed, but not surprised, over the last few days as reports of the police officer mistreating Connor Leibel have shown up all over my social media feeds. As someone who has extensively studied the history and sociology of drug use and prohibition, I believe … Continue reading Ableism and the War on Drugs
Autism Parent Meeting – Tragedy, Mourning, and Divorce
I'm finally pulling my thoughts together a bit more regarding the Autism Parent Meeting I attended a while back. CW: Ableism, autism parents (usually non-Autistic parents of Autistic children who tend towards wanting to "fix" their children), tragedy rhetoric, temporary abandonment, and verbal abuse. The narrative, over all, was one of tragedy and upset. Many … Continue reading Autism Parent Meeting – Tragedy, Mourning, and Divorce
But You’re High Functioning
There are so many posts and articles written by Autistics about how utterly wrong "functioning labels" are. How inaccurate. Why we generally don't like them. Responding with a functioning label-based observation is such a pervasive response from allistics (non-Autistics) that I think nearly every Autistic writer ends up addressing that nonsense sooner or later. I … Continue reading But You’re High Functioning
So I Attended An “Autism Parent Meeting”
And I've been struggling greatly ever since in pretty much every sense of the word "struggling." I'd read and heard enough to know that the meeting wouldn't be a good place for me, but I wanted to see for myself. I attended legitimately as a parent of an Autistic child and chose not to disclose that … Continue reading So I Attended An “Autism Parent Meeting”
Augmentative and Alternative Communication
I journaled about AAC (Augmentative & Alternative Communication) back in May, but have only just now gotten around to turning it into a post. The AAC #autchat a bit over a week ago inspired me to get it written finally! So I've been thinking for several months about making some AAC cards for times when … Continue reading Augmentative and Alternative Communication
Blending In, Acceptance, and Disappointing Others
I'm not sure when I learned that I needed to blend in with others for self-preservation purposes. I'm certain that I was very young though. I know for a fact that this knowledge within myself was fairly firmly in place by the time I was 7 years old. Possibly earlier. Blending and the sense that … Continue reading Blending In, Acceptance, and Disappointing Others
Mamautistic 