Several really awesome advocates in the autistic community have come up with a content creation challenge centering around the hashtag #TakeTheMaskOff. The content that is created during the challenge will (hopefully) better explain what the “Mask” is and why we seek to “Take It Off” (and why we’re wearing it in the first place), but,… Continue reading #TakeTheMaskOff Masterpost
Someone posted this ausome list of post/blog topics for Autistic Acceptance Month (which starts today!) on a Facebook Group that I’m in: Autistic Acceptance Month 20 Days of Acceptance And Appreciation Day 1: Intro Post [a.k.a. the post you’re looking at now] Day 2: What I Love About Being Autistic Is… Day 3: My Diagnosis… Continue reading Autistic Acceptance Month Day 1: Intro and Article List
If you are in Texas and are in need of immediate rescue: “The National Guard is being deployed to our Texas area. If you find yourself in a state of emergency. Call (281) 558-1742. ” Keep tabs on the most recent happenings with Hurricane Harvey and the rescue/recovery efforts currently happening with that with the… Continue reading Resources For Floods, Hurricanes, and Natural Disasters
The community aspect of the Autistic Community never ceases to amaze me. There are a lot of disagreements within the community, a lot of in-fighting, and, unfortunately, sometimes a lot of drama. But, sometimes, we come together and pull off something incredible. Type “#TakeTheMaskOff” into the search bar of Twitter or Facebook (if you click… Continue reading #TakeTheMaskOff Impact and Thoughts
I mean, I can’t claim to know how it feels to be you, specifically, and to deal with your specific circumstances. Possibly, you are dealing with situations that I have never dealt with and may never have to deal with. But I get suicide. I get that life is hard. Even when it’s “easy”, even… Continue reading I Get Why You Want To Kill Yourself.
I’m not coping; I’m surviving. As I write this, I am continuously wiping tears from my face and snot from my nose. I feel overwhelmed and helpless. A friend is upset, and I’ve fallen short in being there for her, which has furthered her upset. This reminds me of all of the other times that… Continue reading #TakeTheMaskOff Week 6: Coping (Or Merely Survivng) and Masking
I became a lot better at “acting normal” once I knew how, exactly, I wasn’t. I’ve been called “weird” for as long as I can remember. The thing about “weird”, though, is that it often offers little in the way of specificity (especially when being used by the young). “You talk weird.” “You dress weird.”… Continue reading #TakeTheMaskOff Week 5: Diagnosis and Masking: The Relationship Between “Weird” And “Autistic”
My sister says that I “snapped” in high school. My high school friends said that I went from relatively calm and happy to “jumpy and overwhelmed.” Five years after graduation, my parents still caution me not to get “too overwhelmed”. The problem with that, though, is that I can’t not live my life. Burnout happens… Continue reading #TakeTheMaskOff Week 4: A Balancing Act Which I Constantly Fumble: Burnout and Masking
Imagine if you lived in a world where the floor, the ground, every surface was literally lava. Imagine everyone else that you knew had no problem with this whatsoever. Imagine if their feet didn’t so much as sweat or dry out as a result of this, let alone blister or burn or anything else. Imagine… Continue reading #TakeTheMaskOff Week 3: Step Out Of The Lava (Mental Health and Masking)
I wrote a fairly extensive post about stimming during Autistic Acceptance Month in April (I apologize for the reminder that April exists…but there are some good things that happen in the autism world during that month, I promise!). “Stimming” is a natural and inevitable bodily response to both the world inside of us and the world… Continue reading #TakeTheMaskOff Week 2: Unstillness In An Unstill World (Stimming And Its Relation To Masking)
