The Lunch Box Maneuver (ASD, Aspergers and school anxiety)
Growing up, August was traditionally the month that I was knocked flat with school anxiety. The last few weeks of summer, I was reliably a train wreck of fear and frayed nerves. Today, in my late 30’s,...
View ArticleThe Boutique Situation (volunteering on the autism spectrum)
When I was 32 years old, I found myself facing a dilemma. After socially isolating for a about a decade, I began therapy and was diagnosed with both depression and autism spectrum disorder. The...
View ArticleM vs. The Teeth Whiteners (stories from the autism spectrum)
The holidays can be fun for a lot of different reasons. But it’s an aggressively social time of year- celebrations, gatherings, parties, events, reunions- as mentally exhausting for some as it is...
View Articlea night out (stories from the autism spectrum)
Being at a social event…it never feels like you’ve simply entered a space with other people. It feels more like waking up in another person’s dream…like being thrown there. You find yourself in an...
View Articlekindred stranger: notes from travels
She has a travel-for-work kind of job, so I tag along sometimes. Initially, I was worried the sensory overload of travel- the airport chaos, being out during sun hours and so on- would make it too...
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the bad guy: stories from the autism spectrum
I. I grew up in a place where girls are encouraged to be “girly” at an early age, and boys are encouraged to be “manly”. I was too shy and introverted and clumsy-headed to really play the role. Early...
View ArticleOubliette
I. When I was in elementary school, my social struggles developed into an intense fear of other people. I sought out friendships, connections, but lacked the basic communication skills necessary to...
View Articlesocial as device
April, 2008. I enter a bar, order a drink, sit at a corner table facing the wall. It’s more convenient to sit at the bar, but there are people there. Humans. I’m more of a wall-facing sort in places...
View ArticleQ and A Tuesday: the autism spectrum and alternatives to small talk
In a recent video, I discussed small talk and why it can be so confusing for people on the autism spectrum. There are a lot of processing issues involved, as well as a minefield of social consequences...
View ArticleAn Experiment Uncontrolled: self-medicating and the autism spectrum
I. I started drinking alcohol in college. One of my friends, he had a frat guy roommate and these parties would spring up around us on a regular basis. My friend and I, we’d be sitting there at his...
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