Your Autistic Life

Category: Article

  • Was Autism A Factor In My Divorce?

    No, and yes. It is a complicated question for which both answers are correct. I’ve always maintained that my autism wasn’t the cause of my divorce. This is true, insofar as neither of us knew that I was autistic. That’s something I realized after the divorce. However, I’m still engaging in The Great Reflection. As…

  • Janette Bertrand, The Lady Who Listened

    Janette Bertrand knew how to listen to those who were cast aside by society. I’m pretty sure she’d be fine with me calling her by her first name. So let me tell you about Janette. She was a big name on TV when I was growing up in Québec. She had one project after another.…

  • Sleep Disorders

    I used to be able to sleep just fine, but I lost that ability with age. Sleep disorders are common among autistic people. The fact that I progressively lost the ability to sleep normally is one of the reasons I think that I was starting to lose the ability to mask prior to my cancer,…

  • I Like Repetition

    There are multiple ways in which repetition is a feature of my life. Society tells us that repetition is a bad thing. Then again, society is dominated by neurotypical people. I’m neurodivergent, autistic, and thus my relationship with repetition is more complex than what society tells us. My choice of clothing shows a desire for…

  • Stimming

    I’ve stimmed all my life, but its manifestation has changed over time. As I reflect on earlier episodes in my life, I realize that a lot of the symptoms associated with autism were present in me, but masked. I’ve stimmed way before my cancer weakened my ability to mask, but I did not know what…

  • Why Saying “Everybody Is A Little Autistic” Is Harmful

    I’ll explain why this saying and its siblings are harmful to actually autistic people. I was talking with someone recently, asserting that I was actually autistic. His reply was that we’re all neurodiverse. In other words, my case is not special at all, and I should just shut up. The claim that we’re all neurodiverse…

  • Why I Don’t Seek Formal Diagnosis

    It is likely to end up being pointless in the USA. Once in a while I run into someone who insists that I should get a formal diagnosis. If you live in the USA, this is often a futile, frustrating, and expensive endeavor. It is not worth it if you are unlikely to get accommodations.…

  • Social Anxiety

    Social interactions have always been difficult. As a general observation, social interactions have always proved to be a minefield for me. I did my best to step carefully through this minefield, but I did step on some landmines. I thought that was just me being “quirky” but I think now it is my autism. Truth…

  • My Autistic Life: The Realization

    I’m just realizing at the age of 50 that I’m autistic, and I’m now looking again at earlier events in my life with a new perspective. It is only since March 2023 that I’ve seriously entertained the notion that I’m autistic. Earlier in life, there were some moments where I thought I might be, but…

  • No Social Media Icons For Sharing On This Site

    I’ve thought about it, but I decided against it. Maybe I’m acting against my own best interests here… but it seems to me rather frivolous to add a strip of icons on every page so that users can share the stuff here to some social media platform. If you want to share, you can do…