I completely missed the actual day of my diagnosis anniversary earlier this month 😦 But today is the anniversary of when I started blogging here! This is going to be a recap of the year type of post, I think, looking at my life post-diagnosis. Being part of the online Autistic Community has helped my … Continue reading One Year of Blogging
understanding
Autism and Disability
While taking a break from writing about that horrid autism parent meeting, I realized the other day that it took me until my 99th blog post here to use the word "disabled" or "disability" - so that's been on my mind and there's clearly some stuff to unpack there.. To begin with, I'm not one … Continue reading Autism and Disability
The Autism Parent Group Library
Recently-ish I attended an Autism Parent Support Group Meeting. I wrote a bit about my experience in the link above and it was a difficult post to write up, but there's still so much more I have to say about that meeting. So in an effort to keep some momentum going and get through this … Continue reading The Autism Parent Group Library
So I Attended An “Autism Parent Meeting”
And I've been struggling greatly ever since in pretty much every sense of the word "struggling."Â 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”
Societal and Parental Expectations
I want to start off by clarifying that I am in no way defending the societal or parental expectations I outline in this post. I find them to be abhorrent, in fact, but it occurred to me that there's not much written by Autistic parents about parenting theory, social expectations, and child development (aside from … Continue reading Societal and Parental Expectations
More About Time and Support
Time makes all the difference. When I have time, I can adjust my expectations. Time gives me an opportunity to analyze both what's happening outside myself and what's happening within. I have limited processing energy for dealing with outward changes and if I'm focused on that, I cannot pay attention to what's happening within myself. … Continue reading More About Time and Support
Number 100
This is a first for me. I've never written a blog this personal and I've certainly never written 100 posts on a blog before. My previous attempts at blogging, without knowing I was Autistic or perhaps suspecting but not really having that acceptance or understanding yet, all fell apart very quickly. It's impossible to write … Continue reading Number 100
Parenting is Unpredictable
After writing my Flashback Friday post about planning, I started thinking about the most unpredictable parts of my life and how I manage those. Parenting has given me more practice in unexpected situations than anything else in my life. Mostly I do okay with this. I'm actually very good at analyzing situations that I expect … Continue reading Parenting is Unpredictable
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
Flashback Friday – Planning Everything
[image description: blue sky and cloud background. Text reads: "I picture myself running and my distress pursuing close behind. I will run at top speed if I'm around any other people, but eventually I get tired and the distress keeps getting bigger with longer legs until it can easily reach me. I try to ensure … Continue reading Flashback Friday – Planning Everything
Mamautistic 