Autism Speaks

We don’t need curing. We are the Fae Changelings that always did best with the troublesome livestock. We are artists. Actors. Musicians. Scientists. Mathematicians. Retail workers. Lawyers. Janitors. Mechanics. Plumbers. Electricians. Massage therapists. Psychiatric professionals.

And we will never need a cure.

(Photo of me having an Autistic Moment in a conversation with a friend about my fic “Things We Don’t Tell Humans.”)

#idontneedacureforme #autismisntadisease #AutismSpeaks #autisticjoy #happilyautistic #Autistic #ASD #TheMighty

I see my neighbors with small children suddenly not being able to both leave the house at the same time. They no longer have access to childcare for date night. Their extended families are no longer able to support them. They are utterly alone. Their small children want to run wild, as children do in their effort to innocently learn and experience the world, so they escape from the house without parent awareness.
The stress is obvious on their faces and in their voices during driveway chats. I feel their pain, I can empathize. Because as parents of an autistic child, now 17 years old, we've been living in isolation for 17 years. This is nothing new to us, but they are experiencing our normal.

#Autism #AutismAwarenessMonth #AutismSpeaks

Me I go in my room, and wrap myself with all blankets and pile duvet covers on top of me and sometimes I use to steal the brothers and parents but now I have heavy duvet and like 6 blankets xx #Autism #anixety #AutismSpeaks #MentalHealth #CheckInWithMe #MightyMinute

I’m 32 and newly diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Any advice on how I tell family and friends? Thank you! #Autism #AutismSpeaks #AutismDiagnosis

Well, I have learned that now as an adult, showers make me have sensory overload. I struggle with finding a routine or a way to relax during a shower. #Autism #AutismSpeaks

#CheckInWithMe
Every Sunday afternoon i get to talk on the phone with my fifteen year old son, who is at a school for teens on the Autism Spectrum. Sending him there was the hardest, and best thing, I've ever done as a mother. Talking to him, and hearing how great he is doing, and knowing i really did make the best decision, had helped me keep going through all these months he's been gone.
He's not my only child, but that doesn't matter when a piece of your heart is far away, does it? #AutismSpeaks #childrenareblessings

Being on the Autism Spectrum has made my experiences of the world I live in very unique and recently after reading more on the experiences that people on the Spectrum have that explain how we all have similar experiences when it comes to our senses. Now being a Biology Major and loving the world of science from an early age. I had a thought that started branching out after talking with my counselor about my anxiety and hypersensitivity where lay-off's at my workplace caused me to go into a state of terror. She explained where I am always anxious because of my General Anxiety disorder that another way to look at is that I am always afraid so I experience fear at a much greater degree than most people.I then thought about why we as humans, another animal on this imperfect sphere have such good fear response and why something like Autism seemed to be common across all walks of life. I started researching, as I always do, and I found that in tribal communities that haven't had much contact with the rest of the world as it has "progressed" I found something I found extraordinary. We have found people in tribal communities on the Autism Spectrum that are excelling in their lives. The tribes watch and nurture their natural abilities or whatever they take interest in and become this amazing pillar in the community. I also found they use them as sentries/detectors of possible dangers. I came to a hypothesis that Autism might actually be the next evolutionary step in humans. Because I remember from all the books I've read, documentaries I've watched that mutation and evolution is not perfect. Its messy and has some really crazy side effects. Take deep diving Whales. They evolved to have bones that take in the air from their deep diving and create bone bubbles that actually hurt the whales, but this evolution allows them to dive deep into the ocean for their prey. Which I feel explains why Autism is on such a wide spectrum. On a biological and directly logical point. Having increased sensitivity to all your senses makes you better to detect danger than your peers, which also comes with the increased cortisol, the 'stress' hormone, again better prediction of danger. However, for every benefit, there is a disadvantage. Not being able to communicate or relate to your peers is a very common thing amount people on the Spectrum. However, we are still able to form relationships and live 'successful' lives. Maybe it's the world and society we live in that makes Autism appear as a "disorder" instead of an evolution of the human mind. #Autism

My little boy is so excited about Christmas. He loves the lights! He had a hard week at school. He thought he saw elf on the shelf on the school TV so he threw something at it and was removed from the room. The lunchroom is a challenge for him so he doesn’t eat in school. But he is such a happy little guy when he is home.
#AutismSpeaks 💙
#keepgoing