To Stay Healthy, Should You Show You’re Autistic Or Not? Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don’t
Blog

To Stay Healthy, Should You Show You’re Autistic Or Not? Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don’t

People who belong to minority groups that are viewed negatively cope with that in different ways.  Some of these are positive, such as finding communities of similar people. Others, such as alcohol and substance abuse, are negative. The biggest choice is whether to show or hide that they are a member of that minority group. When it is possible, people often choose to hide. For example, someone may choose to wear an in-ear hearing aid that is invisible to others. A person with low vision may choose not to use a cane in familiar places where they can navigate unaided. When it comes to autism, visibility is complicated. 
Manifestations of Adult ADHD
Blog

Manifestations of Adult ADHD

Your laundry is piled on the couch, you’re 2 days late submitting your report for work, and there’s a past-due notice for an unpaid bill sitting on your kitchen counter. If this sounds familiar, you may be one of the thousands of adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). When most people think about ADHD, they think of things like missed deadlines and unfinished tasks, however, there are many ways in which ADHD can affect your life. Some symptoms are easy to identify, while others, like challenges with planning and low frustration tolerance, may not be as obvious.
Neurodiverse Communities Might Support Autistic People’s Health by Helping Them Cope With Minority Stress
Blog

Neurodiverse Communities Might Support Autistic People’s Health by Helping Them Cope With Minority Stress

Being part of a minority group that is seen negatively can harm people’s physical and mental health. The unpleasant experiences that people in these minority groups face increases their physiological stress, which in turn, puts them at risk of diseases. This process is called “minority stress.” However, people in minority groups are not helpless in the face of minority stress. When they accept each other, identify with each other, and work together, that can reduce the effects of minority stress and benefit their health. Autistic people are a minority of the population. They are viewed negatively (as less intelligent, capable, and likable than others). That means they are subject to minority stress.
How Neurodiverse Communities Changed My Life (And Might Improve Yours, Too!)
Blog

How Neurodiverse Communities Changed My Life (And Might Improve Yours, Too!)

I discovered neurodiverse communities by accident. It was 2008 and I was in college, desperately trying to understand why life seemed so much harder for me than for those around me. At that point, I wasn’t diagnosed with anything. That wasn’t because I had developed typically. In the early 1990s, when people thought ADHD meant hyperactive and male, my preschool teachers suggested I, a not-particularly hyperactive girl, should be tested for ADHD. They didn’t know what to do with a child who couldn’t throw or catch or cut with scissors, who wandered out of line to dance, who “zoned out” and talked nonstop and cried in class. They worried about how I would “fit in” in kindergarten. However, my parents ignored their advice. They did not trust teachers who ignored my strengths. The teachers couldn’t explain how a diagnosis could benefit me or what services I needed.