Q 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...
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The Pancake Situation: eye contact and the autism spectrum
7:30a.m., this morning… I walk into the grocery store. I immediately forget why I’m there. I look around, confused. I check my pockets…and find a list. Relief. During trips to the grocery store, I...
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...
View ArticleThe 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 ArticleThe Banqueteers
fall semester, junior year, 1997 I sort of wake up. A professor chalks words across a board and explicates a system. I move a pen around to seem life-like and repeatedly stick a coffee-filled thermos...
View Articlelet’s go to a meeting
June, 2008 2 p.m. I’m mid-way through a sleeping pill situation as I walk in late to the staff meeting. I’m alert but my body feels like it’s been filled with invisible magic and my limbs are floaty...
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...
View Article