ArtfullyAutistic

This Publication is for all who are Autistic and for those of our kind. It is for the Neurodivergent, for those on the Spectrum of all Gender Identities, the LGBTQ*, and all others who are justifiably non-conformant to Society’s harmful marginalization and Ableist views of us.

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21 Last-Minute Gift Ideas For Autistic People

Shamiha Said
ArtfullyAutistic
Published in
8 min readDec 9, 2024

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Image created on Canva by Author (Shamiha Said)

It’s that time of year again when many people may start to panic, especially when thinking about what to buy their autistic/neurodivergent loved ones. As an autistic woman, I know just how particular neurodivergent people can be when it comes to gifts, and it can be hard to know what to get us, especially when we struggle to express our desires. Often, many children and autistic adults are unable to tell us what they want for Christmas or other occasions.

Since childhood, I’ve struggled to tell someone what I want as a gift. Many times, I don’t know how to put into words what I wish for; other times, feelings of awkwardness overcome me, and I would rather say, ‘I don’t know or ‘I don’t want anything this year’. Even if I want someone to get me a gift, whenever someone asks me, my mind tends to go blank, and I can feel overwhelmed quickly. My family complain that they don’t know how to buy gifts for me, and there have been many times when my loved ones have completely missed the mark!

It is a difficult challenge to buy gifts that genuinely spark joy in autistic people, as many of us are not interested in the same items as our peers, and we may have sensory needs to…

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ArtfullyAutistic
ArtfullyAutistic

Published in ArtfullyAutistic

This Publication is for all who are Autistic and for those of our kind. It is for the Neurodivergent, for those on the Spectrum of all Gender Identities, the LGBTQ*, and all others who are justifiably non-conformant to Society’s harmful marginalization and Ableist views of us.

Shamiha Said
Shamiha Said

Written by Shamiha Said

10x Top Writer🏆& Number One Writer for Autism on Medium. Spreading Neurodiversity awareness one article at a time.