I’m often asked how, as a PDAer, I am able to overcome my need for control in parenting my own children with a PDA profile of autism.
I don’t overcome it.
I’ll never ‘overcome’ my neurobiology.
It is central to my being and doing.
I have, however, made peace with my...
I want to preface by saying I am afraid of making mistakes, afraid of my ignorance, but also well aware of my privilege in being able to say so. This writing is a reflection of my desperation to be an adequate ally and neurokin to my autistic siblings from other identities, cultures and...
(Disclaimer: I have made the choice to allow my advocacy to naturally transition into tapping into my true neurodivergent experience which extends beyond the limited language of verbal communication. I do this out of a sense of pursuing an organic lens of being, and an unexplored expression of...
You know what drove me to a raging meltdown as a kid, more than anything else?
My perfectionist brain.
If my socks didn't sit right, even when they weren't uncomfortable.
If the picture on the wall was leaning a smidgen.
My perfectionist brain would very quickly and very easily fast track into...
I am different.
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I feel it from a multidimensional perspective.
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It is more than a neurotype, it is a way of 'being' in this world.
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Yet, the words 'being' and 'world' are not enough.
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There is no language to express my "autism".
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Because it's more than autism.
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Words, verbal language is not my first...
Driving in the car last night, my eldest daughter told me that she "actually legitimately, really loves me now. Like, this is probably the most she's ever loved me".
Bless her PDA heart.
And I get it.
It's difficult when we're bombarded by a world of demand pressure to feel anything.
It's almost...
When I REACT to my child in their most vulnerable moments,
I am called to explore within.
Do I have unmet needs?
Am I hungry, tired, thirsty, lonely, sad, scared?
Am I unidentified neurodivergent, therefore experiencing extremely fragile central and pheripheral nervous systems?
Are my sensory...
Part of my PDA autistic expression is the inability to continue on with hobbies, projects and plans that excite me; that I really want to engage in.
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The very act of planning has the potential to activate the threat response in my brain.
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The part of my brain that receives information from the...