One of the areas that many encounter along their boundary setting journey is fear.  Ali and I mentioned this in the video above and we have both experienced these feelings of fear when setting boundaries as we were first starting out.  Heck, I still come to places in my life where fear enters and I have to take a deep breath and remind myself it is a useful feeling that brings my attention to an area I have not yet uncovered in my awareness (it still feels uncomfortable to feel them but now they aren't scary.) 

July has always been the month that I find restoration and slow down.  Not sure if it is because of the heat and my POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome), the realization that the year is half way over and I have done a good bit and need a break, that I have 6 months left to get things accomplished and need time to organize or just my natural slowing down and reflecting time.  I am on vacation this month playing, relaxing, creating, organizing my closet, de-furring my dog who ...

June 2022 is Sizzlin' Sexy Summer Series- Autistic Sex. Join in the conversations this month in live community events and workshops with special guests which include: Michael John Carley, Candice Christiansen, Amy Gravino and MORE. Autistic Sex is unique to our neurotype experience from sexual identification be it bi, pan, asexual, non-binary and beyond and our sensory and processing needs in sexual intimacy with ourselves and with others. Let's talk about it and explore what sex is to US. We are wonderfully wired, NeuroDistinct and how we have, don't have and enjoy or find sexual pleasure varies. ALL Autistic ADHD adults are invited to this conversation.

My greatest hope is that, by inviting others to follow alongside me on this journey, I may be able to offer some insight into how autism can present, hiding underneath the surface of mental illness or masking.

I was late diagnosed at nearly 31 and I want people to understand that this does not make me any less autistic.

By the time I read about autism in women, I was 30 years old, facing extreme autistic burnout, and seeking a way to end my suffering.

I began advocating for myself because I got tired of the society we live in where Autistic people are made to feel that something is constantly wrong with us.

“At times it is certainly tempting to put on that fake YouTube energy and pretend that everything is sunshine and rainbows. But if I did that, if I didn't talk about any struggles I'm going through, I would be sugar-coating what this condition is and what it has to offer.”

I still share my perspectives from my own experiences, but rather than having a unidirectional informational exchange (us autistics telling the world what is important to us and why), I am appealing to the human nature of needing to feel heard and validated and listening to others’ perceptions.

Welcome to May! I hope that you found rest, joy, and a place to be seen, heard, understood and accepted during the month of April.  Community is key and one of the most critical parts to our overall health and well being as adult autistics.   If you are looking for resources to share with others as to why online community is so important to us check out this article and share with others. #ShineALight In the most recent Autistic Advocate Spotlight out today, meet Dr. Scott ...

The impact in the autistic community for online social isolation is much greater.  Autistic men are at a three times rate for suicide, autistic women are at a four times rate of suicide and I can only speculate because there was not autistic data on suicide rates of autistic people of color or lgbtqia, but the data for non-autistic specific multiracial, transgender people is thirty three percent higher than the general population for suicide risk.

Autism is a spectrum, so things that may work for some, don't work for others. It's a complex thing, helping those, so we have to be both person-centric, and system-centric simultaneously. 

Finding likeminded people helped me so much, reading their stories, the recognition, the open minded and kind and patience people who understand ...helped me find the last piece of myself back.

I have been so lucky that even though I have struggled throughout my career, I have still found professional success in a job I truly love.  When I found out that 80% of autistics are un-or-under employed, I knew I had to do something more to help. 

Mason Milne of Crohn’s & Autism Awareness Advocate Podcast is one of the kindest people and his heart is so genuine.   So often in mainstream society, people look at how old you are and judge whether or not they think you “look” or “seem” old enough to add value to a conversation.  What I love about our community is we don’t look at those same metrics, we take what someone is saying and the spark they add to the conversation and they could ...

I believe we always need to be focusing on education and collaboration. Long-term change comes from all of us working together, and staying focused into the future.

I have also discovered that you will come across people who really disagree with what you are saying and the impact of their reaction means you need to be prepared to take a break from advocating.

I discovered that advocating for the autistic community is harder than I thought it would be, partly because the community is so varied and different people want different things.

I think accepting is huge. We see a lot of awareness but what about acceptance? That’s more of an action.

- Don’t worry about being perfect - nothing and nobody can claim to be perfect. What matters is the strength and integrity of your message.