A Lifestyle Blog for Neurodivergent Adults
Making friends as an autistic adult – from personal experience, I know this isn’t always easy. For most of my life, making friends has been so hard for me. As a little kid in elementary school, I was baffled by how easily the other kids befriended each other. It was like, they knew some kind of secret magic that I… Read More
Are you afraid of unmasking your neurodivergent traits to the world, because you fear that you won’t be accepted? In case you don’t know, unmasking is when neurodivergent adults stop hiding their differences, and start boldly showing the world who they are. Many neurodivergent people mask their differences at a subconscious level, out of fear that they won’t be accepted… Read More
When it comes to autistic masking, many of those on the spectrum often struggle to identify their masks. (If you don’t aren’t familiar with the term ‘autistic masking’, check out this post I wrote. It explains it well). After learning that I’m autistic, I started learning about masking, and how autistic people often create subconscious masks to hide their autistic… Read More
The Center for Disablity Rights defines ableism as “a set of beliefs or practices that devalue and discriminate against people with physical, intellectual, or psychiatric disabilities and often rests on the assumption that disabled people need to be ‘fixed’ in one form or the other.” Ableism can be intentional, or it can be totally unintentional. But, ableism isn’t just about… Read More
Oh, the consequences of autistic masking.. where to even begin? (If you don’t know what that is, check out my first post in this series ‘What is Autistic Masking and What Does it Look Like?’) Masking Autism helped me survive the first 21 years of my life before I had any idea I was autistic. I’d always felt different, but… Read More
Hey guys, Katie here! This week, we have a special guest on the blog, Victoria Ellen! Victoria is an autistic advocate, blogger, and speaker. Her blog, Actually Aspling, details her life as an autistic adult, and is a wonderful resource for other neurodivergent adults navigating life in this neurotypical world. Today, Victoria shares her experience of going through puberty as… Read More
At 21 years old, I came to the realization that I’m autistic. After hearing the term ‘autistic masking’, I learned that I’d been subconsciously doing it my entire life. For the first time, I saw how the mask I never knew I was wearing had helped me survive in a world where I’d always felt so different, but never knew… Read More
This April, it’s Autism Acceptance Month. As an autistic adult, I can confidently say that the majority of autistic adults (myself included), agree that we need Autism acceptance, not the Autism awareness that Autism Speaks promotes. The kind of awareness that informs people about the signs and ‘symptoms’ of Autism, as if Autism were some kind of disease that needs… Read More
I didn’t realize it until a few years ago.. but I love stimming! I love using a variety of calming stims for all sorts of occasions. When I was first learning about Autism, I used to doubt that I was autistic, because I didn’t think I was stimming. I’d always heard about stereotypical forms of stimming like hand flapping and… Read More
Unmasking Autism takes work. And for those of us with a late Autism diagnosis, there’s even more unmasking to be done. Though very liberating and rewarding, unmasking is also overwhelming and exhausting. The decision to unmask isn’t one to immediately jump into. Unmasking is scary, because while we’ve already accepted our unmasked selves, the rest of the world hasn’t yet…. Read More
Welcome, creatures! I'm Katie, and I'm proudly neurodivergent. At 24 years old, I was diagnosed as autistic. Learning that I'm autistic freed me to be myself, and it empowered me to love myself and begin creating an authentic life that makes me happy - and I'm passionate about helping you do the same! Read More…