Why I Hide My Intelligence Like a Secret Superhero
When I was 14, my English teacher handed me back an essay with a big…
Category: autism
What Does Autism Feel Like? It’s Like Being an Alien in a Human World
When people ask me what autism feels like, I hesitate. How do you describe something…
I’m Not Normal—and That’s Okay
For most of my life, I tried to be “normal.” I treated it like a…
Stimming Is My Love Language (And It Looks Weird, I Know)
When I was a kid, I used to tap my fingers against my desk in…
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Autistic Confessions: Why Parties Feel Like a Battlefield (And How I Survive Them)
When someone invites me to a party, my brain goes into overdrive. What should I…
Coming to Terms with the DSM-5: Why Autism Isn’t Just One Thing
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition—or DSM-5 for short—is the clinical…
Autistic Confessions: Why I Can’t Follow (Spoken) Directions
I hate spoken directions. Not because I don’t care, or because I’m not listening, but…
Meltdowns are part of my reality as an autistic person
A meltdown is a storm. Sometimes, I can see it coming—dark clouds gathering on the…
A Day in the Life of Sensory Overload
Imagine waking up to a radio tuned just slightly off-station, where static drowns out the…
Autistic Burnout: When Life Feels Like Too Much
There’s a difference between being tired and being burned out. Tired is what I feel…