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Employment

Tech Reject and Still Autistic. An Opinion Piece by Jen Elcheson SWM Features Writer

August 5, 2017 Spectrum Women

It goes without saying that autistic people should have reasonable access to gainful employment in a supportive and understanding workplace. How ‘inclusive’ is it when people automatically assume the most suitable jobs for autistics are always in the tech industry? What about those of us who are lucky enough to just be able to navigate the basic functions of our computers or electronic devices and are employed or seeking employment in non-tech industries? Are we not worthy of support and accommodation? Don’t we deserve the job or career that best suits us? All I know is society still has a […]

My Life

My Safe Space – Barb Cook

July 28, 2017 Barb Cook

Putting on my big black motorcycle jacket, boots and helmet makes me feel safe. I have an armour protecting me from the outside world that I don’t want to let in… but only for a while. I need this time away, so sorry, I am not letting you in behind this barrier…. this time is for me and me alone. I need this time; this space is for me, just me, so I can find my way back into the world with a mind that has unscrambled itself. When the world around me gets too loud, too bright, too confusing […]

Featured

POEM by Lennée Reid

July 28, 2017 Spectrum Women

Say I’m sensitive. Do not enlighten people with neurology 101 or explain how I feel sound like whispers are feathers and pow wows are heart beats and a dog squealing in pain stings like needles. Say I meditate. Don’t say transcendence is one of your hobbies. No one knows what a zen master actually does anyway. Be general and vague. Say I’m a walking encyclopedia a treasure trove of information knowledgeable well read observant. Do not hint that I download skills like Neo in the Matrix. Say you’re a geek or a nerd. Briefly people will think of Bill Nye […]

Latest News

Why We Are Not Puzzle Pieces – Renata Jurkevythz

July 26, 2017 Spectrum Women

So, let’s talk about the dreaded puzzle piece. The community of autistic adults is hurt by it because we perceive it as offensive. On the other hand, non-autistics who have autistic people in their lives, be it a family member, friend, colleague or client, consider it not harmful because it just represents their wish to “figure autistics out”. My goal here is to address both sides and explain why in the end it does hurt people on the spectrum and why, in my humble opinion, it doesn’t actually make sense. Starting from the beginning: non-autistics live in a world that […]

My Life

The Glass of Milk – Maura Campbell

July 24, 2017 Spectrum Women

The teacher, a stern woman of a certain age, folded her arms across her ample bosom and stared intently over the top of her thick-rimmed glasses.  The reason for her evident irritation cowered before her – a painfully shy seven-year-old girl. A glass of milk sat untouched in front of the child. Mrs S. had presided over her terrified charges in this classroom for as long as anyone in the school – teachers and pupils alike – could remember. The children knew she meant business and none of them had ever had the temerity to defy her. Not until the […]

Featured

The women who don’t know they’re autistic

July 21, 2017 Spectrum Women

Fabienne Cazalis, École des Hautes Études en sciences sociales (EHESS) This article was co-written by Adeline Lacroix, who works with Fabienne Cazalis and was recently diagnosed with Asperger syndrome. A second year master’s student in psychology, she is working on a scientific literature review about the characteristics of high-functioning autistic women. Let’s call her Sophie. The description we’ll give could be that of any woman who is on the autistic spectrum without knowing it. Because they’re intelligent and used to compensating for communication impediments they may not be consciously aware of, these women slip through the cracks of our still-too-inefficient […]

Autism April

THE SENSORY WORLD – Renata Jurkevythz

April 14, 2017 Spectrum Women

One thing very common to autistic people (but not exclusive to our type of brain) is the so-called “Sensory Processing Disorder”. Being perceived as a disorder, people tend to only refer to the problems it brings… there are indeed many (some very difficult ones), but overall I personally do not like the term “disorder” very much. I prefer calling it a different way to perceive the world through your senses. It might be better or worse, depending on your levels of sensitivity and the situation you are in. It is indeed very different from the “regular” way of processing your […]

Featured

Autistic Women, Pregnancy and Motherhood – Lana Grant

February 16, 2017 Spectrum Women

I was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome in 2007 at the age of 38. I was already a mother of five children when I received my diagnosis. The process was not straightforward and it followed on, as is quite common, from one of my son’s diagnosis of Asperger syndrome. Two years later I was pregnant with my youngest child. As I had my diagnosis I decided to use Mr. Google to see if I could connect with other autistic, pregnant women. Unfortunately, the results returned were not exactly what I was looking for. If you type in pregnant + autistic you […]

Book Releases

Living Through Suicide Loss with an Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) ~ Lisa Morgan M.Ed.

November 20, 2016 Spectrum Women

An Insider Guide for Individuals, Family, Friends, and Professional Responders Losing someone to suicide brings daily tribulations and long-term challenges. These challenges are exacerbated when you have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This book looks at how suicide loss is experienced and processed by people who have ASD, and how they can be supported by those around them. Losing someone to suicide can open up a world of pain, confusion and grief, and for people with ASDs, the effect can be acute and extremely challenging. Reaching out to fellow Aspies, Lisa Morgan proffers her insight and advice to ensure that others […]

Employment

AUTISM IN THE WORKPLACE – MAURA CAMPBELL

September 8, 2016 Spectrum Women

I was born with the social skills of a used teabag. Seriously, I thought maybe the other kids in school had been handed a manual on “peopling” one day when I was off sick or something.  But thankfully I’ve learned enough over the years to “pass” when I need or want to, mostly through trial and (lots of) error or by observing other people. I’m at a point now where I can function pretty well socially; it just takes a hell of a lot of effort to do it and I have to be selective in how and when I […]

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