I am not a fan of scouring through the lives of famous historical figures and retroactively declaring them as autistic. Yet, there’s something inarguably fascinating about how, when we do post-diagnose our heroes, we often point to their obsessive tendencies as an indication of a spectrum-identity. I don’t know about you but, to me, this signals that innovation, excellence and autism can all be viewed as closely interlinked. Yet, one look at the autism community will show that not every autist was born to be the next Albert Einstein, Leonardo DaVinci or Greta Thunberg – so how true can this be ..read more

Did you know that autism has a high prevalence in people who are partially sighted/registered as blind? How about how, for many autistics, a lack of synchronicity between the eyes leads us to view the world as two overlapping images? Did you also know that for many autists our place on the spectrum can dictate whether we have eyes akin to a kaleidoscope or ‘super-vision’ that rivals a hawk? Yes, when it comes to autism, eyes and all things vision, autistic sight is just as diverse as the spectrum itself, but how (and why) do these differences present in the first place, and is there a reason w ..read more

Spring has been a Mr Boombastic season of seasons for the autism community – so much so that it took me a whole extra week to summarise my thoughts on it (yes, that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it). However, as with any proclamation which can summon the lyrical prowess of Mr Lover-Lover: Shaggy himself, the proof does remain in the pudding. So, let’s cut this verbal waffle short and find out exactly what I’m talking about. What follows are the five most juicy tidbits from in and around the autism community from Spring 2021; featuring all the announcements, all the achievements and all the a ..read more

In the world of autism, Alan Turing is somewhat of an inspiration. I mean, how often is it that our community can call dibs on someone who secured a victory within a war AND how often can it be said being autistic played a pivotal part in this outcome – you know, besides with Albert Einstein, Thomas Jefferson and most of the characters from the Underdogs series? Nevertheless, while we may spend many a day celebrating Alan Turing as an autistic war hero, there is many a fabrication of fact surrounding Turing which, when considered, brings his spectrum citizenship into question – but does this m ..read more

When it comes to the world of the talking pictures, television is the perfect medium to share the autistic experience. Of course, movies and films will always try their best (unless they’re being directed by Sia), however, year on year, autism in television only seems to get better – whilst the big screen walks a far less certain path; with the highs being very high and the lows being, well, I’m sure I don’t have to mention Sia’s film twice. Nevertheless, with the future of cinema currently looking uncertain, you would think that autistic television would now take the time to have a rest from ..read more

Autism and eye contact or, should I say, lack of eye contact, is often rolled out as a correlation you need to know for spotting early signs of autism. For some, this has made eye contact a definitive tell-tale of being on the spectrum, while others view the relationship as somewhat of a symptom – something to be treated through therapy or counterbalanced by a coping technique. As such, it’s safe to say that, when someone with autism can’t look directly at you, it’s not just because you have something on your face that is gross, grim or yucky (although you still might want to check). Instead ..read more

It’s not uncommon for brothers and sisters of autistic people to find themselves as part of an invisible majority, in view of our invisible disability. With siblings on the spectrum usually requiring the lion’s share of attention, brothers and sisters of autistic people can report feeling withdrawn and isolated (whilst, in contrast, 58% of autistic people will see significant increases to their social ability, reduced stress and less obsessive tendencies, all thanks to our kin). The thing is, siblings of autistic people are some of the most brilliant, caring and steadfast people you will ever ..read more

No one is denying that last year was a bit of a dud (I’m sure you don’t need reminding why). However, when it came to the autism community, last year wasn’t just a swing and a miss but a miss so hard that it swung around and hit us in the face. Understandably, this left many looking to the future and wondering what’s to come. But, now the future is here, how does it hold up? This is the question I will be answering in today’s Winter autism news roundup, a quarterly post where you will find links to all the biggest news items from the months that were (as well as some speculatory opinions of wh ..read more

Finding jobs for autistic people is never easy. Heck, finding a job in general isn’t easy either. It’s tough for those just getting started, it’s tough for veteran job seekers and, when it comes to searching for a new role after recent global events, well, let’s just say that finding opportunities can be like finding hay in a needlestack (and it can be just as painful). Nevertheless, with so many benefits to hiring autistic people, you would think that potential employers would be able to see around this and give our community a fair shot. However, all too often the success of an applican ..read more

Did you know that book sales are currently at an 8-year high? It’s true and, what’s more, I’m willing to wager that at least 80% of these sales doesn’t just background features to make people look smart on Zoom. Yet, what if I told you there was a way to look smart, be smart and get a kick-ass read at the same time? Autism books, i.e. books that contain autism themes, are one such genre that offers all of this as, quite simply, the unique perspective they carry is not only enlightening but fresh and informative at the same time. Nevertheless, due to many of these books coming from smaller publ ..read more