Neurodiversity discrimination is systemic, but there are ways to defy it.

Being solitary is being alone well: being alone luxuriously immersed in doings of your own choice, aware of the fullness of your own presence rather than of the absence of others. Because solitude is an achievement.  Alice Koller It is commonly held that autistic people are lonelier than non-autistic people. This is believed to be […]

What grows from the ashes of your old life?

The Autism Integration Paradox

We have autistic children who need us to support them as architects of their own liberation against the schools and clinicians and institutions and police and prosecutors who would crush and destroy them. AUTISTIC HOYA: THE NEURODIVERSITY MOVEMENTS NEEDS ITS SHOES OFF, AND FISTS UP. The picture shows a school classroom as I see it, […]

The relationship between autism and memory, specifically memory functions in relation to Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), is an ongoing topic of research. ASD is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by social communication and interaction impairments, along with restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior. In this article, the word autism is used to refer to the whole range of conditions on the autism spectrum, which are not uncommon.[1]

What colour is math? Have you ever tasted the number 8? Can you recall the smell of your favourite word? If you answered 'yes' to any of the above, you may have synaesthesia.S ynaesthesia and autism are two fascinating phenomena that have captured the attention of researchers and individuals alike.

“I feel for you” is a saying often used to show empathy for others, but for Mirror-Touch synaesthetes like Adrian Miles, it’s their literal experience.Mirror-Touch Synaesthesia (MTS) is a rare form of synaesthesia which causes individuals to experience a similar sensation (such as pain or touch) in the same part or opposite part of the body to that they witness in another person. Adrian Miles only learnt a name for the intense embodiment of others they experience much later in life, following decades of mental and physical intrusions.This is Adrian’s story.

Written by Justine Field Being diagnosed Autistic at the age of 48 gave me a new understanding of myself that […]

The onset of the coronavirus pandemic took its toll on journalist Sue Nelson. Exhausted by covering the crisis, she received a life-changing diagnosis at 60 – she was autistic.

Autistic individuals align their behavior with social expectations, at a cost.

Ich habe ja auch länger mit anorektischen Mädchen und Frauen gearbeitet und kann diesen Ansatz mehr als gut verstehen. Selbst wenn vielleicht nicht formal die… | 10 Kommentare auf LinkedIn

Autistisches Burnout wird selten erkannt, da es kaum beschrieben ist. Soforthilfe ist notwendig. Angela Yael Blumberger in Bremen und Cuxhaven

Subklinisches ADHS und Autismus-Spektrum bei Mädchen: Der problematische Umgang mit Cutoff-Scores ADHS und Autismus sind komplexe Spektrumstörungen, die sich in vielfältigen Symptomen äußern. Besonders bei Mädchen kann es zu subklinischen (unterhalb des diagnostischen Schwellenwerts liegenden) Sympt

The current study explored whether people who camouflage autistic traits are more likely to experience thwarted belongingness and suicidality, as predicted by the Interpersonal Psychological Theory of Suicide (IPTS). 160 undergraduate students (86.9% female, 18-23 years) completed a cross-sectional …

This article was co-authored by Tanya Adkin and David Gray-Hammond Monotropism is a theory of autism. It is used interchangeably as a theory and also a trait that describes a style of attention. It suggests that Autistic people tend to have singular but highly detailed tunnels of attention, as opposed to spreading their attentional resources

Self-stimulatory behavior, also known as "stimming" and self-stimulation, is the repetition of physical movements, sounds, words, moving objects, or other behaviors. Such behaviors are found to some degree in all people, especially those with developmental disabilities such as ADHD, as well as autistic people. People diagnosed with sensory processing disorder are also known to potentially exhibit stimming behaviors.

Snoezelen or controlled multisensory environment (MSE) is a therapy for people with autism and other developmental disabilities, dementia or brain injury. It consists of placing the person in a soothing and stimulating environment, called the "Snoezelen room", a form of sensory room. These rooms are specially designed to deliver stimuli to various senses, using lighting effects, color, sounds, music, scents, etc. The combination of different materials on a wall may be explored using tactile senses, and the floor may be adjusted to stimulate the sense of balance. The person is usually accompanied by an aide or therapist.

Frisson, also known as aesthetic chills or psychogenic shivers, is a psychophysiological response to rewarding stimuli that often induces a pleasurable or otherwise positively-valenced affective state and transient paresthesia, sometimes along with piloerection and mydriasis .The sensation commonly occurs as a mildly to moderately pleasurable emotional response to music with skin tingling; piloerection and pupil dilation not necessarily occurring in all cases.

An autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) is a tingling sensation that usually begins on the scalp and moves down the back of the neck and upper spine. A pleasant form of paresthesia, it has been compared with auditory-tactile synesthesia and may overlap with frisson. ASMR is a subjective experience of "low-grade euphoria" characterized by "a combination of positive feelings and a distinct static-like tingling sensation on the skin". It is most commonly triggered by specific auditory or visual stimuli, and less commonly by intentional attention control.

Autism covers a wide spectrum of disorders for which there are many views, hypotheses and theories. Here we propose a unifying theory of autism, the Intense World Theory. The proposed neuropathology is hyper-functioning of local neural microcircuits, ...

Viele Autist*innen sind arbeitslos. Das liegt in der Regel nicht an mangelnder Qualifikation, sondern an Barrieren in der Arbeitswelt. Expertinnen berichten, worin diese Barrieren bestehen und wie sie sich beheben lassen.

Recent research reveals that the 'neural noise' often seen in autistic brains may enhance their cognitive performance in certain tasks.

Just over a decade ago, autism and ADHD were thought to be mutually exclusive. But in recent years, all that has changed

I think therapy can help but it has to be tailored to our brains. I just listened to this podcast about it recently by two autistic therapists:...

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) affects a significant number of individuals worldwide with the prevalence continuing to grow. It is becoming clear that a large subgroup of individuals with ASD demonstrate abnormalities in mitochondrial function as well ...

Autism spectrum disorder is diagnosed at a level of 1, 2, or 3, with each indicating different support needs.