Dear Contentment, You’re quite the popular fellow these days. All of my therapy clients are saying they want you. They’re even willing to give up Happiness for you. …

Sometimes I get jealous of the other science fields. My friend, who is a biomechanical engineer, told me that new advancements in the field often start with exciting studies that lead to new theories. Psychology isn’t typically that way. Since it is the study of the human mind and all…

First of all, it feels weird to refer to myself as an advocate. I do this as an autistic though — I create specific associations with specific words. My associations are often difficult to articulate. It’s more of a feeling I have about the word. It’s usually due to a…

I woke up this morning incredibly frustrated. Last night I read more chapters in the book “ADHD: From A to Z.” Normally books bring me more clarity, but at this point in my life, more information seems to be confusing me. I was recently diagnosed with ADHD and autism. I…

This is the 33rd interview in my series Interviewing Late-Identified Autistics. Natalie is a late-identified autistic. My questions are in bold and Natalie’s responses follow in regular typeface. What name and pronouns do you use? Natalie (she/her) How old were you when you learned you were autistic? 45 How did…

One of the most common comments I receive from allistics (individuals who are not autistic), is that they also experience an autistic characteristic that I mention in an essay. It makes sense that all of humanity will share some specific characteristics. For example, an allistic and autistic person might both…

Two things changed my life when I learned I was autistic: I finally understood why my brain functions as it does It opened the door to learning new strategies to work with my brain as it is Before learning I was autistic, I desperately tried many strategies and therapies to…

I just sat down to write an essay about the inherent risk in writing about neurodiversity right now. To help explain the risk, I had to first explain what it means to be a neurodiversity advocate. That took me down a longer rabbit hole than I expected and I suddenly…

This morning I really wanted to write. All week long my mind kept adding ideas for essays and I was excited to finally have a weekend to myself to write to my heart’s content. I tucked myself into bed bright and early and happily typed away. Between each essay, I…