Key characteristics of autism include deficits in emotional and mental processing speed and sensory sensitivity. Accordingly, autistic people get overwhelmed when there is too much chaos or sensory input to process. This dissonance causes (sometimes intense) internal discomfort. Autistic individuals try to find ways to compensate and reestablish order to assuage anxiety. One way they […]
For individuals on the autism spectrum, life can feel more intense because of increased sensory sensitivity to inputs like: loud noises, bright lights or colors, strong smells, peculiar air flow, rough surfaces, abnormal temperature, people talking, traffic, etc. Human interactions are especially intense because there is so much information to process so quickly – and
The Importance of a Safe Place (Sanctuary) Read More »
When I was told that I may be autistic, I went online to search for assessments and tests to confirm whether or not it was true. The test that seems to be most commonly used is the Autism Quotient test. It was developed by a British psychologist in 2001 for people to roughly self-gauge their
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For as long as I can remember, something felt “off” when interacting with other people and participating in society. Everyone else seemed to be using some common, natural, social communication that was a blind-spot for me. e.g. eye-contact, facial expressions, flirtation, hints, jokes, nonverbal cues, playful jabs, reading-between-the-lines, sarcasm, small talk, smiling when appropriate, taking