Autistic Heroes

It’s hard not to watch Greta Thunberg speak without being overcome by two things; the first - and strongest - is admiration, and the second is envy. I don’t envy her the criticism she has had levelled at her. I don’t envy her the comments made by those who have no clue whatsoever about autism. …

In Celebration of Autistic Motherhood

Unlike unicorns and dragons and mermaids, autistic mothers are real. We don’t get a lot of media-representation, we don’t seem to fit the stereotypes, but we exist.   Motherhood and autism brings to my mind the scent of my children as they lay in my arms as babies. Just the two of us, alone in …

Sensory Seeking

I am a sensory seeker and always have been. As a small child I was never without my comfort blanket, as I got older I was never without my scraps of “the right sort” of fabric, which I would rub between forefinger and thumb. The texture would have to be “right” and the “rightness” has …

An Autistic Woman

What is it about being a woman that makes me happy? I don’t know if I can answer that. Being a woman just is. It carries some burdens and some joys. I’ve spoken about Bras before and how much I loathe them, I’m not sure I’ve really written much about my experience of being an …

Autism, Labour and Birth

I don’t usually talk about my children, they have their own stories, but those stories are not mine to tell. But their beginnings in this world are my tales, so I shall tell them. I have been in labour five times. The first was in hospital, the next three were home water-births and the final …

Performing Pain: Autism

Communicating pain when you are autistic can lead to so many miscommunications.

The Four Social Rules every Autistic Person needs to Learn

Trigger warning - although this post doesn’t mention any detail of abuse, it is about the dangers of teaching someone not to trust in their right to say no From a young age I was taught three things:- The messages I get from my body are wrong Not wanting to be touched is wrong That …

Autistic Bilingualism

I am expected to be fluent in non-autistic, but it will always be my second language.

You’ll get used to it…

'You'll get used to it." They said, and I waited. I waited for that Cat on a Hot Tin Roof click in my head that would mean it had settled into background noise. But it never came. Not for the seams on my socks, or the band of my bra, or the brace for my …

We need to talk about bras

It's time bra design took into account the sensory needs of #Autistic women.