When I went off to graduate school in 2004, it was because I couldn’t stop chasing the dream of teaching. After the master’s degree, I chased the doctorate, trying to improve my chances at that elusive higher-education job. And then, the master of fine arts in 2017, capping a 13-year…
The Autistic Me
“Her Asperger’s is a superpower.” “His chronic illness brings clarity.” And so it goes…. The Shiny Aspie. The Dying Prophet. The Super Crips, here to save humanity. The last two weeks have featured a series of stories on these disabled advocates, who are not all disabilities advocates. And then we…
Podcast Episode 0029; Season 03, Episode 01, September 16, 2019 It’s time for a new beginning. The Autistic Me Podcast and this blog kept limping along through the years. However, we moved this summer and our entire family is ready for a new start. I’m not sure where the projects are…
Moving isn’t easy for anyone. It is one of the most stressful life events we experience, yet people move several times during their lives. We know that moving depends on many factors, and some of those are also stressful. We move to… Pursue our career goals. Remain employed when transferred. Attend…
The Autistic Me is now an Austin me. More precisely, a northern suburb of Austin, Texas, me. The break in blog posts, podcast recording, and many other life activities was the direct result of coordinating the adoption of our children and a move halfway across the continent. The last time we moved…
Severe test anxiety haunts me. I hate exams of any kind. Like many people, I feel sick leading up to any test and I feel uncertain of my knowledge. I worry for weeks before a test, during the test, and for the time after the test until I receive my…
The Autistic Me has been silent for much of 2019 because so many things are happening (mainly good things) that I don’t believe are appropriate to share until those things are finalized. We’ve been parents since October 2015. It became official this year, when the adoption of our daughters was…
Whenever I would speak to groups, they’d ask if I have a special diet. The answer was always a firm, “No way!” Gluten free? No thank you. Casein free? Nope. I love baking and eating, especially cookies. Eating cookies requires milk. I love my grains and pastas, too. Well, so much…
Many of the autistic writers with children I’ve read were diagnosed later in life. For some, it was the diagnosis of a child that led to their diagnosis. These autistic adults had “Aha!” moments as they tried to help their children obtain appropriate supports and services. People commenting on the…
The first autistic lawyer in… The first autistic actor to… The first autistic scientist specializing in… The first autistic…. The moment I read that phrase, I know the rest of the story is sloppy journalism and probably inspiration porn — those feel-good stories about how amazing it is that “someone…