Due to a medical issue reoccurring I am starting my summer hiatus early. If you have requests for topics for next season please send me a message through Facebook or Twitter with things you would like to know more about autism, or if you’re autistic if there’s something you would like others to better understand about you. Be kind to yourself and I…

In this mini-episode Jeanne (she/her) talks about rejection sensitive dysphoria and how the way we view and treat autistic behaviors in childhood can have lifelong impacts on their sense of self-worth and relationships to others. Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rmPdj8A7jvLOCy1URQPm1-XXsPLJMzsvrWKQfbj6ExQ/edit?usp=sharing…

One of the most difficult parts about being Autistic is the relentless bullying that starts in childhood and often continues for the rest of our lives.

Today I am going to talk about strategies for dealing with Autistic Chronic Fatigue. I want to be clear at the start here that I have no idea what causes chronic fatigue syndrome or CFS. CFS may have multiple underlying causes. We don't know. However the symptoms do seem to be shared in a similar way by multiple people. My working hypothesis is tha…

Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome and you or someone you know.

There is such a thing as being too flexible.

The title says it all :)

The Intense World Theory is a hypothetical model of Autism that posits that Autistic traits are the result of heightened sensory sensitivity and that different Autistics have different sensitivities.

Some of the many ways that Autistics and Allistics communicate differently.

A few strategies

Autistic traits can include wide variations of how we process visual information internally

I'm seeing a lot of people I love giving up on wearing a mask in public. It's breaking my heart and you can hear it in my voice on this episode. Covid is not over.

In this episode I talk about Functional Labels and Applied Behavioral Analysis. I don't go into a lot of grisly details so you should be able to listen to it if you want to without hearing anything traumatizing. It's just a very quick overview.

Sometimes the only way to win is not to play the game

Lists of Autistic traits on social media is one of the ways that many adult Autistics figure out who they are

Hyper focus and dedication to learning everything about a particular topic are very common Autistic traits

Autistics are often said to have "Spiky Profiles."

Getting an official diagnosis can be difficult and expensive but is it even worth it?

Autistic Burnout is devastating and we know a lot about what can trigger it but very little about what causes it.

Yes, Autistics are often highly empathic!

Autistics often have much higher sensory perception than Allistics do. This can lead to both pleasure and pain. When there is too much sensory input without enough time/space to process it that can lead to an Autistic meltdown

Yes! Autistic brains are different

Self diagnosis is not only valid it's essential.

A brief discussion about the connection between Autistic traits and jesters

In this mini episode Jeanne (she/her) talks about several of the various autism-related events and activities taking place in April, including the currently-running Intersectional Infinity Summit 2022 hosted by the Neurodivergent Infinity Network of Educators and some of its activities, and an explanation of why so many autistics push back against …

Autistic masking - what is it and do all Autistics do it?

Many Autistics don't know they are Autistic until they are adults. It's a discovery that can be quite joyful but also has unique challenges.

Terminology in the Autistic community - a brief summary of a contentious topic

In this episode Rachel discusses how to spot predatory organizations

A brief announcement about the upcoming Autism Appreciation Month episodes

In this shorter episode Jeanne (she/her) talks about a common comorbidity to autism - joint issues, including EDS, looking at new research showing the overlap in these communities and talking about what that should mean for how we talk about autistic healthcare. She also discusses barriers to accessing effective care, including looking at research …

Hullo peoples! Hope you are all doing as best as can be hoped under the circumstances. <3

No episode this month, I'm getting a root canal for an infected tooth and everything feels gross and painful. Be back next month! If you are autistic and have tips or tricks for dental work to share with us let me know!

In this episode Jeanne (she/her) shares quotes from autistics about things they wish others understood about being autistic and family holidays, along with suggestions for both autistics and others on ways to reduce stress and issues, from changes to routine, new social environments, different food, and more. Transcript available at https://docs.go…

In this episode Jeanne (she/her) introduces several common ways of viewing disability and differences: the medical, social, neurodiversity, and deficit models, and highlights the pros and cons of each. The neurodiversity lens holds that neurological differences are a natural part of biodiversity and should not be thought of as inherently inferior t…

In this episode Jeanne (she/her) looks at an autistic perspective of eating struggles both through research and personal experience, how this connects to high rates of autistics diagnosed with eating disorders, and gives some suggestions for ways to improve autistic eating experiences, including a favorite recipe. She is joined by past guests Gigi …

In this mini-episode Jeanne (she/her) highlights two upcoming conferences featuring autistic speakers as experts in autism, PARC Critical Autism Studies - Autumn Conference 2021, October 18 and Understanding Autism through the Actually Autistic Lens, October 19 - 21, and highlights the importance of gaining broader perspectives rather than learning…

A classic diagnostic trait for autism is “deficits in social communication.” However, as past episodes have highlighted, many new studies are showing that this is more a case of autistics and non-autistics struggling to communicate with each other, with both sides failing to interpret differences. By viewing autistic communication through the lens …

Language is important and can influence our perspectives of people. Many trainings in recent decades have focused on what is termed “person-first” language, where you say “person with x” instead of “x person.” For some diagnoses this is the preferred term, but in the autism community there is a strong preference for “identity first” language - I am…

This week a new project was announced in the UK called Spectrum 10k, with the goal to collect the DNA of 10,000 autistics for various research purposes. It is supported by several big names in autism research, but numerous autistics have raised serious concerns regarding the use of genetic testing to eliminate or cure autism, as well as regarding s…

As a break from some of our heavier topics around ableism and the trauma autistics face, in this mini episode Jeanne (she/her) highlights some famous autistic actors, writers, and athletes (and a few wonderful autistic advocates who might not be famous but should be) to remind us that there are always autistic professionals in any field if you’re w…

In part 2 of a 3-part set on autistic communication, Jeanne (she/her) discusses autistic masking and how it impacts autistic communication and presentation, including the consequences pressure to mask can have on autistics, looking at studies showing a concerning relationship between autistic masking and suicide, depression, anxiety, and PTSD. Jean…

In this mini-episode, Jeanne (she/her) talks about how splitting autistics between “low” and “high” functioning does immense harm, and how such labels and others are used to justify abuse as seen in both the Free Britney and Stop the Shock movements in response to current cases in disability rights in the US. These functioning labels over-simplify …

In this episode Jeanne (she/her) speaks with Morgan Leander Blake (they/them) for the first episode as part of a larger discussion about autistic communication. Autistic communication has historically been seen as deficient/lesser, but recent studies that look at information transfer have found that autistics are often just as capable at effective …

In this mini-episode Jeanne explains how the prevailing narrative of autism viewed exclusively as a deficit causes immense harm to autistics by vilifying their behaviors and ways of thinking and the infantilization autistic adults, which encourages abuse (both intentional and unintentional) by caretakers and support professionals, and causes depres…

For this first episode Jeanne (she/her) speaks with with three other autistic individuals, Gigi (she/her), Morgan (they/them), and Amanda (she/her), regarding how the historic focus on white boys/men in research of the autism spectrum has missed large sections of the autistic population, created inaccurate diagnostic criteria, and harmed those who …

This is a short introduction to Actually Autistic Educator - a podcast sharing autistic perspectives combined with current research to teach about Autism. Designed primarily for those in education and mental/physical healthcare to improve your understanding of ASD by learning from #ActuallyAutistics. Hosted by Jeanne Clifton, an autistic adult with…

Just a brief episode to say hi and declare what should be freaking obvious. Black Lives Matter.Von Rachel Aanstad

Rachel explains what she was doing last year and that the podcast will be moving to a new hosting service since Whooshkaa chose a global pandemic to start squeezing us for moneyVon Rachel Aanstad

Rachel says hi and has a chat about current events with herself. More interviews soon. <3Von Rachel Aanstad