autistic Archives - Autistic Not Weird

Twenty tips for aspiring writers, from an autistic novelist

One commonality I’ve found among autistic people is that many of us love creating our own universes. The real world often functions without autistic people in mind. To many of us, it seems that the non-auti...

Ten vital reasons to never, ever share an autism meltdown video

We see them far too often. Videos of an autistic child (or adult) in extreme distress, shared across the internet in the glorious name of “autism awareness”, perhaps even with a divisive or gatekeeping comment...

Dear perfectionists – it’s ok to do things imperfectly

There’s something falsely positive about the word “perfectionist”, isn’t there? The first time I remember hearing the word, I was being taught how to answer job interview questions. I was told that when the...

Why Autism Awareness Month can be traumatising for autistic people

It doesn’t seem quite right, does it? That a month designated for raising public knowledge of autism would be so widely disliked by the autistic people it claims to support. But just to clarify: the phrase ...

To everyone who tells me not to say “autistic person”

This is going to be one of my shorter articles – largely, I imagine, to be posted in reply to those who “correct” my language when I refer to myself or others as autistic, as opposed to “having autism”. Fir...

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

The two questions above are among the most commonly asked by parents of newly-diagnosed autistic children. And wouldn’t it be great if there were a one-sentence answer to it? Sadly, it doesn’t work like tha...

Ten years ago today, I learned I was autistic. Here’s how my life changed.

On 29th November 2009, my life started to take the opening few steps towards beginning to make some kind of sense. After a lifetime of knowing I was different somehow to the general population (and too many...

Respectful autism awareness: how to discuss the struggles without increasing the stigma

A few years ago, one of my articles received this comment. “F*** YOU F***YOU F***YOU.You don’t even know anything about autism. It’s a f***ing curse that controls parents’ lives until they finally die!F*** ...

Finding employment as an autistic person

The most depressing period of my life was spent jobsearching, but I picked up a bunch of lessons from it. Here they are.

50 ways to help autistic people

So it's World Autism Awareness Month again! Those who follow Autistic Not Weird's Facebook page will know that I often use the occasion to upload a ton of picture posts- not just to spread awareness but to enc...

A brief guide to coping with being different

I wasn’t very old at all when I first noticed I was different. I didn’t have a word for it until I was 24, but my differences have rarely been a secret - to me or anyone else. And sometimes, sadly, other peo...

An autistic person’s guide to an autism-friendly Christmas

I don’t like Christmastime. And I should be allowed to say that without being criticised for it. Don’t get me wrong, I love what Christmas stands for. But December is that month when Expectation Claus sneaks...

Fifty pieces of advice from an autistic adult, written for autistic children

The internet is full of advice articles for parents. So just for once, this one’s for children themselves! I can’t believe I’m saying this, but this is my fiftieth article for Autistic Not Weird. So I thought ...

11,521 people answered this autism survey. Warning: the results may challenge you.

Prepare yourselves. This article’s a big one. (But for those looking at the scrollbar and thinking “wow, this is long”, the majority of it is graphs. Nonetheless, I won’t blame anyone for skim-reading.) &nbs...

Five tips for autistic students starting college or university

On paper, I’m an amazing student. I have a Bachelors degree in Mathematics with Education (with honours), a postgraduate primary teaching PGCE, and last year I graduated with distinction in my Masters in Creati...

“Hating autism” and the damage it does

If this article challenges you, it may be a good thing. I’d encourage people to read this with an open mind, even if your instincts are telling you to oppose it. I used to have a love/hate relation...

Navigating the autism diagnosis journey as an adult

More and more adults are coming to realise that they’re on the autism spectrum. Sometimes the possibility of autism is suggested to them by a friend, sometimes a family member, and sometimes the realisation com...

Autism and exam stress: 10 tips from personal experience

When I was sixteen, I took fourteen exams in three weeks. In the next two years, I took another sixteen plus a bunch of resits too. At university, I took twenty-four. I did all of them without having any ...

When you’re “not allowed” to have mental health issues

Officially, I’ve had mental health issues since 2013. Or at least, that’s when the therapy started. I might have had mental health issues from childhood. It’s difficult to tell, because so much of it just fe...

Bridging the Gap Between Autistic Adults and Autism Parents

Sometimes, the internet is toxic. That’s no secret. And that extends everywhere, even in the autism world. You’d think the community (namely autistic adults and parents of autistic children) would be pretty cl...

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