I recently saw this news article in the Guardian: What kind of person would drag autistic children into the culture wars? The Kemi Badenoch kind, written by John Harris.This is a difficult article (not because of the writer) and I respond to it below.When I got my diagnosis over 20 years ago, I got a two-sided letter from the specialist, cc'd into my GP. On it, the only support I got was a little list of self-help groups and a name of a...
Saturday, 19 October 2024
Friday, 1 March 2024
Masks: to wear or not to wear
I thought I better complete this entry from 2020 that I started.... I want to make clear from the outset that I think people should wear face coverings if they can reasonably do so in their bit to tackle Covid-19.I am extremely aware that if we don't all pull together, we can't get our lives and society back to some state of normality. That said, for some people, wearing a face-covering can be significantly distressing.And this is me. I...
Monday, 5 April 2021
Autistic Community
Autistic community. It's a term that sits a bit uncomfortably with me. It's like everyone who is autistic is part of some homogeneous grouping where we all somehow, across the globe, agree on common issues.Well, we don't and I'm a bit fed up with people who think we are all united on every single thing. Of course there will be majority views but what I think are the perceived majority views are actually often from the most vocal. They have a lot...
Tuesday, 2 April 2019
World Autism Awareness Week, again.
It's the start of World Autism Awareness Week again...
Here marks more garbage on social media about autism with jigsaw puzzle pieces, vaccinations, Applied Behaviour Analysis, our suffering and cures.
Many of us who live independent lives and "appear normal" have daily struggles that we mask to fit in, to get by. Get aware. Find out about autism first-hand.
Here's a pro-tip. Look on Twitter at #ActuallyAutistic where you can read the postings...
Thursday, 1 February 2018
"People who suffer from autism..."
I don't want to get into any discussion on the correct language of addressing those that have/are autism/autistic. I personally identify as autistic and I feel it is a core part of my being but if other people 'fellow sufferers' like the 'with language', good for them.
What I want to look at is this idea of autism and suffering.
There's the view that autistic people suffer, often stated by parents with autistic children and others who work...
Tuesday, 26 September 2017
'Autism-friendly' Northern Ireland town
So I stumbled on this news article about a town in Northern Ireland that is "autism-friendly":
http://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/health/northern-irelands-first-autism-friendly-12750728
My first reaction: What the hell?!
My second reaction: Oooh, is this a town where meaningful workplace reasonable adjustments occur under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (The Equality Act 2010 doesn't apply in NI)!!
And....this is where...
Autistic and facing redundancy
I was going through a bit of a difficult situation earlier in the year: I was facing the threat of redundancy. Fortunately, I was redeployed into an alternative role which so far seems to be going well. However, there was a time of great anxiety and uncertainty.
Of course, there is always the concern about having a lack of money but that's not something I want to address as its pretty much universal to most people in some form. I am thinking about...
