Everything Archives - Page 3 of 3

How I put anxiety in its place

This article’s been a long time coming. And it’s not just for autistic people. When I wrote the growing...

I ran an autism survey. The results? Quite revealing.

2018 edit- this survey is now outdated. Autistic Not Weird now has a new survey which features more in-depth analysis,...

If you could teach people one thing about autism, what would it be?

Last month I ran an autism survey, inviting anyone associated with autism to fill out: whether they were autistic, cared...

200 things to love about life

Occasionally, people ask me how I recovered from the depression and anxiety I suffered up until last year. Perhaps I’ll...

Conversations with my younger autistic selves

Warning: this article made a few of my friends cry. In a good way, thankfully. Today is my thirtieth...

Working abroad with Asperger’s: 10 life lessons I learned from Kindercamp

People often ask each other where their ‘second home’ is. When I tell them that mine is the Jugendgruppenzeltplatz on...

Why do autistic people struggle with ‘inappropriate’?

Ah, inappropriate. My least favourite word in the whole of the English language. But the English language has over a...

When should I tell my child they’re autistic, and how do I tell them?

2020 edit- this is now an expired article. I’ve written an updated version here, which is based on insights I’ve...

Ten reasons your autistic child needs to learn chess right now

Ah, chess. The game of kings… and Aspies. Now, before I begin, I expect a few readers will come...

Dear Katie Hopkins, I’d rather have my brain than yours.

The following is my open letter to Katie Hopkins. To any American readers who do not know who she is, please don’t...

How hard can it be to fund a school for disabled children?

I’ve often heard that you can judge a whole society on how it treats its most vulnerable. And I’m not...

Story of an Autistic Teacher: encouraging autistic children beyond their ‘natural limits’

I usually make my posts very personal. I think the human element is extremely important. This may be one of the...

“You have autism? Oh, I’m so sorry.” What to say (and NOT say) to autistic people.

I make no apologies for my Asperger’s. And neither should anyone else. To anyone who doesn’t know, the ‘I’m so...

Taking things literally: When being autistic’s actually pretty funny

Provocative title, I know. But we hear so many sad stories about how tragic it is to live with autism...

Autistic ‘obsessions’, and why we really really need them.

Autistic people are famed for their ‘obsessions’. Be it washing machines, vacuum cleaners or dinosaurs (hell yeah, dinosaurs!!), having obsessions...

Growing Up Autistic: 10 tips for teenagers with Asperger Syndrome or “mild” autism

Teenagers and young adults, this one's for you. I was the weird kid. More specifically, I was the boy with Asperger Syndrome before anyone knew what it was.

Idioms and autism: how you NEVER “change your mind”

I was ten when I realised that changing your mind is a horrible thing. Think about it. Having your mind...

Asperger Syndrome: 50 important facts about having “mild” autism

On April 2nd this year, World Autism Awareness Day, I decided to offer a little insight to some of my Facebook...

“So… what’s it like being autistic?”

[This was one of the very first things I wrote for Autistic Not Weird, in April 2015, right when I...

Captain Quirk and his adventures on the Wrong Planet

[This article was written in April 2015, when I was right at the start of my autism advocacy journey. It’s...