Autism Spectrum Disorder

Autism is a type of neurodiversity associated with characteristics like passionate interest in specific topics, difficulty with typical communication methods, sensory sensitivities, and using repetitive motions (sometimes called stimming) to regulate their experience. There has been so much discussion in the disability community, especially in the autistic community, about functioning labels. That’s why Tumblr user levianta [...]

After Richard Bagby was paralyzed due to a spinal cord injury 13 years ago, he wondered how he would be able to live independently. First, there were the practical aspects of adjusting to his new physical abilities, and then he faced a new financial reality. Richard depends on state and federal programs that require him [...]

If you have read online about autism and neurodiversity as a whole on Instagram, TikTok and other social media and online platforms, you may see that self-diagnosis is considered valid and accepted… and by that, I mean accepted as an identity, with the concept of labeling yourself as being Autistic in order to better explain who [...]

Stimming is a necessity in the lives of many neurodiverse people — including autistic people, people with ADHD and those with anxiety. Everybody stims in some way or another. I love having easily accessible wearable stim toys and things for my sensory needs with me at all times. There have been many times when I [...]

Autistic shutdowns happen when life starts to get too much for us. We’ve overwhelmed our processing skills and our brains begin to close down certain systems to preserve energy. Open too many windows on your computer, and you’ll find that everything starts to run slowly, the mouse might freeze and all that’s left is to [...]

My depressive episodes and my autistic burnout episodes are two completely different things, although it did take quite a while to figure out that they were two separate entities. When I was younger, they blurred together a lot. I wasn’t able to verbalize the difference until recently. In my depressive episodes, all I want to [...]