Read my latest awkward adventures

36. The Mothership, the Circus, and Finding My Place in the World

7-minute read (masking, autistic burnout, special interests, autistic joy, self-discovery, authenticity, chronic illness) For much of my life, I wasn't quite sure how to find my place among other people... Read more...

36. Are You Autistic? I Made a Completely Unscientific Test.

7-minute read (autism diagnosis, auDHD, autistic women, masking, autistic traits, autism assessment) It has been one year since I nervously hit "publish" on the first post for Awkward Moments. I... Read more...

35. My Neurodivergent Nightmare Has a Tasting Menu

5-minute read (autistic experience, social anxiety, invisible disability, autism and social situations, restaurant etiquette, sensory overload, cognitive load, unwritten social rules, neurodiversity) After several posts exploring illness, healing, and the... Read more...

34. The Woman in the Photographs

7-minute read (self compassion, inner critic, healing journey, burnout recovery, chronic illness, self- reflection, personal transformation, authentic living, emotional healing, radical self acceptance) These two photographs were taken on the... Read more...

33. Another Year, Another Diagnosis

5-minute read (auDHD, ADHD, autism, late diagnosis, neurodiversity, masking, burnout, autoimmune disease) Apparently I have ADHD too. Another diagnosis. Another acronym. Another moment of looking back over my life and... Read more...

32. Autism, Sugar, and the Eating Disorder Nobody Saw

5-minute read (sensory seeking, dopamine seeking, emotional overwhelm, mental health, food shame, sugar addiction, emotional eating, accessibility, sensory processing, chronic stress, nervous system regulation) People talk a lot about autistic... Read more...

31. Solitary Confinement is Not a Wellness Retreat

5-minute read (autistic burnout, social exhaustion, autistic fatigue, autistic experience, sensory overload, social battery) There was a period of my life where I genuinely believed I had unlocked some kind... Read more...

30. Autism Acceptance Month: A Guide to Saying the Wrong Thing (Featuring Me)

4-minute read (autism acceptance, autistic communication, autistic masking, social differences, invisible disability, communication differences, autism terms) April is Autism Acceptance Month, which is a beautiful, meaningful, and—if I’m being completely... Read more...

29. The Extremely Awkward Art of Promoting Yourself (When Your Soul Would Prefer to Hide Behind the Couch)

8-minute read (rejection sensitivity, autistic masking, autistic anxiety, social anxiety, alexithymia, autistic communication) Let me tell you a secret about running a small business for me, as an autistic woman.... Read more...

28. Death And Other Super Chill Stuff

5-minute read (existentialism, literal thinking, autistic perspective, autistic honesty, existential questions) Hi. It’s me. Thinking about death again in a very practical, autistic way. Like: We’re all going to die.... Read more...

27. My Weird Little Secret Ritual

4-minute read (stimming, self regulation, autistic traits, sensory processing, autistic coping strategies, sensory seeking, nervous system regulation) Let’s talk about something incredibly niche, deeply satisfying, slightly embarrassing, and absolutely essential... Read more...

26. The Year I Quit my Day Job and Accidentally Learned About my Nervous System (And Shame)

5-minute read (autistic burnout, alexithymia, autistic traits, sensory overload, emotional regulation, autistic shame, self discovery, autistic strengths, stimming, late-diagnosed autism) I am a middle-aged woman who was diagnosed with autism... Read more...

25. Perimenopause: When Decades of Masking Stopped Working

6-minute read (perimenopause, autistic burnout, late diagnosed autism, executive dysfunction, sensory overload, autistic fatigue, autistic health, chronic illness, brain fog, autistic women) I used to think I was coping reasonably... Read more...

24. Gift Giving Season, or: An Autistic Woman Attempts Advanced Social Origami

4-minute read (autistic communication, autistic connection, pebble giving, autistic relationships, social anxiety, social cues) Gift giving season arrives every year with the subtlety of a marching band crashing through my... Read more...

23. Sensory Bliss: The Autistic Superpower Nobody Talks About

3-minute read (sensory processing, sensory sensitivity, sensory joy, autistic traits, sensory seeking, autistic strengths) Sensory sensitivities can make life a little… prickly for autistic folks.Yes, socks are the devil’s invention.Anything... Read more...

22. Autism vs. Small Children: The Ultimate Social Puzzle

3-minute read (autistic communication, autistic traits, social differences) Okay, let’s talk about small children.Specifically, me — an autistic adult — attempting to relate to them without causing social earthquakes.It’s complicated. Step... Read more...

21. Running on Fumes and Special Interests

2-minute read (autistic burnout, special interests, autistic fatigue, energy management, chronic illness, autistic strengths) I'm running on fumes... and the fumes are also tired. And yet… somehow, I do it... Read more...

20. I’m Autistic, Privileged, And Apparently Now a Spokesperson For “Doing OK But Still Struggling”

4-minute read (late diagnosed autism, autism diagnosis, autistic advocacy, intersectionality, autistic masking, invisible disability, autism awareness, autism acceptance) My autism is considered of the “low support needs” variety which essentially... Read more...

19. Autism, Perfectionism, And My Totally Flawless Strategy For Hiding

3-minute read (autistic masking, perfectionism, people pleasing, autistic traits, autistic burnout, rejection sensitivity, autistic anxiety) Being autistic and a perfectionist often goes hand in hand and is basically like living life on... Read more...

18. Sports: My Brain’s Version of a Pop-Up Add

2-minute read (sensory processing, sensory overload, attention differences) Some people love sports. They get season tickets, paint their faces, yell at the TV like it can hear them. Me? I... Read more...

17. Am I Disabled? Asking For… Me

4-minute read (autism disability, invisible disability, autistic traits, autistic burnout, autistic accommodations, sensory processing, autistic experience, autistic masking, sensory overload) I’ve been thinking lately about whether my autism counts as... Read more...

16. Burnt Out, Inflamed, And Fabulous: My Pandemic Glow-Up (of Sorts)

3-minute read (autistic woman, autistic burnout, late diagnosed autism, sensory overload, autistic fatigue, chronic illness, autoimmune disease, perimenopause, mental health, self-acceptance) Remember March 2020? Ah, the nostalgia: sourdough starter kits,... Read more...

15. Please Direct All Questions to My Buffer Buddy

4-minute read (autistic communication, social anxiety, autistic traits, autism supports, autism support needs, level 1 supports) You know that moment in public when a stranger approaches you, and you immediately... Read more...

14. Driving: A High-Speed Sensory Dodgeball Game

5-minute read (autistic traits, sensory overload, autistic anxiety, rejection sensitivity, executive function, sensory processing) There are two types of people in this world: Those who drive with one hand on... Read more...

13. Autism and Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome; Overextended in Every Way

3-minute read (hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, heds, autistic burnout, chronic fatigue, autistic health, hypermobility, chronic illness) Apparently, autism and hypermobile spectrum disorders often occur together. I have hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome... Read more...

12. Dear Friends: It Wasn’t Personal, It Was Autism.

2-minute read (autistic friendship, autistic communication, social exhaustion, autistic traits, late-diagnosed autism, autistic burnout) To all the friends I’ve bailed on, left on read, replied to three weeks (or three years)... Read more...

11. Let Me Tell You About my Hyperfixations. Please Sit Down.

5-minute read (special interests, autistic traits, info dumping, autistic communication, autistic masking, social cues, late diagnosed autism) Back in the day, I could turn any conversation—no matter how innocent—into a... Read more...

10. So, You Don’t Think I’m Autistic?

3-minute read (autistic masking, autistic traits, autism stereotypes, stimming, autistic communication, diversity at work, bottom-up thinking, nervous system regulation) I’ve learned over time that when people say, “Really? You don’t... Read more...

9. There’s No Such Thing as “Mild” Autism — My Spectrum Wheel is Doing 90 in a School Zone

4-minute read (level 1 autism, low support needs, late diagnosed autism, autistic traits, autism myths, autism acceptance, autism terms, autism stereotypes) People sometimes say to me, “Oh, you must have... Read more...

8. So… I’m Autistic. Your Move.

4-minute read (late diagnosed autism, autistic adults, autism diagnosis, autistic communication, autistic masking, autism stereotypes) When people find out I’m autistic, I’ve learned there are three main reactions: “That tracks.”Translation:... Read more...

7. Autism and Special Interests: When Your Passion Sends You Packing... to Another Country

1-minute read (autistic special interests, intense interests, hyperfixation, autism and travel, social communication, social difficulties) If you know someone with autism, you might have heard about their “special interests.” You... Read more...

6. Undiagnosed Autism and Me: Because Apparently Girls Didn’t Have It Back Then

2-minute read (autistic women, girls with autism, late diagnosed autism, undiagnosed autism, autistic childhood, autism gender bias, "the lost generation", autistic teenager, special interests, hyperlexia, sensory overload, social difficulties, autism... Read more...

5. Virtual Meetings: The Autistic Dream (Except For The Part Where I See My Own Face)

4-minute read (social communication, social cues, eye contact, body language, autistic masking, autism at work, communication differences, social anxiety) Let me be the first to say it:Thank you, technology. Thank... Read more...

4. I Don’t Have Bowels and Other Fun Autistic Denial Strategies

3-minute read (interoception, body awareness, sensory processing, alexithymia, mind-body disconnect, gastrointestinal issues, autism and health) So apparently—according to scientists, researchers, and people who insist on saying “gut health” like it’s... Read more...

3. The Olympic Sport of Autistic Sleep (Gold Medal in Ritual, Last Place in Actual Rest)

3-minute read (sensory processing, sensory sensitivities, sensory overload, tactile sensitivity, auditory sensitivity, autism and sleep, sleep difficulties, insomnia, sleep routine, autistic traits, fatigue, anxiety, rumination) Let me start by saying... Read more...

2. Spoon Theory? Masking? I Don't Think So.

Okay, confession time: as an autistic person, metaphors are my nemesis. I mean, I get them, but my literal brain takes them way too seriously. So when it comes to... Read more...

1. Autism and My Breakfast of Champions

2-minute read (autism and routine, autism and predictability, autistic comfort habits, autism and consistency) If there’s one thing I’m committed to, it’s routine — especially when it comes to breakfast.... Read more...

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Read my latest awkward adventures