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Rituals, Routines and Stims – Oh My! by Maura Campbell

Imagine you’re standing on a makeshift stage. Just you. It’s time to dance. You start to move around the stage, the dancing getting better as you feel more comfortable. Then somebody removes some of the struts holding up the rickety stage. You start to wobble. You slow down to a hesitant shuffle and eventually you have to stop… As an autistic, there are days when the world feels firm under my feet. Those are the days when what I’m doing seems familiar and ‘right’. I know what to expect and what is expected of me. I have the right balance between the demands being placed on me and the things I need to do to feel comfortable. I can move the way I need to. [...]

When so Little was Known of Autism by Lisa Morgan M.Ed. CAS

Autistic adults who are now in their 30’s and older are a unique group of people twice over. First, they are unique because they are autistic and second because most of them grew up undiagnosed. In the US, autism did not become a common word until the 1960’s, even so, it was still extremely rare to have a diagnosis of autism in the 60’s and 70’s or even 80’s. School kids were helped by IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) from 1975 and beyond, but at first all kids were labeled “disabled” and the techniques used to help them were scream rooms, restraints, and verbal abuse. Autism was first listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) in 1980, but before that [...]

It’s Here, and It’s Real: Emotional Pain in the Body by Mary P. Donahue, Ph.D.

In my experience working with autism and trauma, I’ve noticed a large number of autistic people who report physical pain that’s there “for no reason.” They haven’t over-exercised, moved furniture, or otherwise knowingly taxed the physical body. So, know this: physical pain can also result from strong emotional stress. It’s a real thing. Taking a few minutes to consider the miracle that is the body, physical pain resulting from over-taxing the brain makes sense; high stress creates high anxiety, and over time, that can cause tightened muscles, constrained blood flow, increased heart rate, and joint pain, among other things. Such pain is not “in the head.” It’s real. And it can be toxic. But there’s more. Besides the super high stress that can occur from [...]

Unmet Needs During the Pandemic By Lisa Morgan M.Ed. CAS

**Content warning: Suicide Crisis supports for the autism community are sparse. Autistic people need support specific to their way of thinking and understanding the world. This often differs from the type of support available for the general public. Thankfully, there is an existing research study published in Molecular Autism that we, autistic people, can use to help ourselves now, in real time, as we need it during the pandemic. This research can help guide us in how we can take care of ourselves and our loved ones as we experience the unexpected changes in the world. The immediate changes we were unprepared for in all aspects of our lives can be individually traumatic. Processing the experiences as they happen can prevent trauma from developing into [...]

Today by Lisa Morgan M.Ed. CAS

My alarm goes off. As my mind transitions from sleeping to waking up, I wonder what day it is. Oh, yeah, it’s today. It’s always today now. There’s no schedule to discern one day from the next anymore. It’s the spring of 2020 and the whole world changed just a couple of weeks ago. Then, I start to remember. This today is going to be a great day! Things are really going to get exciting! I had decided the night before to shake things up a bit and have my coffee in the living room by the window instead of at the kitchen table. I hurry to get up. I wonder what I’ll see! Maybe a bird or a squirrel if I’m lucky. If not, [...]

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August 2020 Segment: ASKING SPECTRUM WOMEN with Becca Lory Hector CAS, BCCS

by Spectrum Women in Asking Spectrum Women

A monthly Q&A with Spectrum Women Magazine’s hosted by Feature Writer/ Assistant Editor, Becca Lory Hector CAS, BCCS If you have a question you would like answered, please email Becca directly at info@beccalory.com

It’s Here, and It’s Real: Emotional Pain in the Body by Mary P. Donahue, Ph.D.

Reducing Workplace Stress: Working Together on Self-Care by Barb Cook, M.Aut., Dip.HSc.

How often do we hear ourselves saying “I just need to finish this job and then I can take a break”, or “If I can get this project finished, I can then take a couple of days off”? When we tell ourselves this over and over again, without taking action to ‘look after ourselves’, the cracks inevitably will begin to appear. The internal motivation of “I’ll get this job done, then I can…”, becomes the ultimate words of dread, with the “then I can…” [...]

Autism: A Brave New World? by Maura Campbell

“You’re very brave.” I get that a lot. In fact, I’ve been hearing it constantly ever since I ‘came out’ as autistic. It’s usually said kindly (I think) and so I try to take it in the spirit intended. But every time someone says to me “You’re very brave” it gets me thinking: why is it ‘brave’ to be open about being autistic? I think there might be a few reasons for that. They might see it as ‘brave’ for me to apply a word to myself that’s generally represented as something very different in popular culture – usually a [...]

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THE TOP TEN THINGS PARENTS SHOULD KNOW ABOUT GIRLS ON THE SPECTRUM

March 8, 2018

Feature photo: Becca Lory with her mom ©Becca Lory 2018 A Spectrum Women collaboration, edited by Maura Campbell In honour of International Women’s Day, the Spectrum Women writers have compiled a list of things we think it’s particularly important for parents or carers of girls on the autism spectrum to know. 1. Recognise how autism presents differently in girls In adult studies, the 4:1 male/female ratio in autism diagnosis disappears. This means autistic girls are not rare. Persist when they say so. Look for intensity and insistence on sameness. Many of our behaviours are quite typical but we won’t choose to […]

Six Kindnesses for Living by Jennifer Lisi in partnership with Happy Hands Toys

by Spectrum Women in General

The body is a wonderful thing, complete with a glorious system of nerves for experiencing our resplendent world. Most individuals seamlessly navigate their sensory environment. But for myself and other autistics, simple tasks lay at the mercy of sensation. I am forty-one years old trying to make each day of my life matter. I have [...]

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