Reflections

Image of a group of people gathered around a laptop.

I'd rather stab my eye than do this... (spoiler: it's group work) autism behaviours learning styles neurodivergent Aug 13, 2021

I still cringe inside when remembering the moments I heard “Okay everyone, find a partner”, or “So we’re going to get into groups of three”...

No.

Nah, not doin’ it.

I would rather stab myself in the eyeball with a rusty fork than engage in...

Photo of a woman and child playing and laughing together, holding hands in a backyard.

I’ll never ‘overcome’ my PDA neurobiology. behaviours parenting pathalogical demand avoidance pda radical acceptance Aug 13, 2021

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.

...

My Dreaming Life anxiety autism behaviours resilience trauma Aug 13, 2021

*Trigger warning: Trauma nightmares, self-harm, police, psychiatric ward*

My dreaming life.

As I age, it becomes more intense; a beckoning for me to process what feels like insurmountable, unfathomable pain, buried away.

There are many parts to my story...

A school-aged child stands behind a bright yellow school bus, carrying a backpack on her back, and smiling.

She is so much more. autism behaviours parenting schooling Aug 05, 2021

I often touch on how important it is to move beyond the generic support framework for our autistic children in the classroom. This includes a timer, dot points on the board and visuals.

Whilst these are really great supports for many of our children, I often see them used without...

Image of a pile of pink coloured calendars with gold embossed letters and numbers.

My PDA neurobiology. adhd anxiety behaviours pathalogical demand avoidance pda radical acceptance Jul 29, 2021

I'm up at 5am this morning.

I have an appointment in the city and it's at a new address I haven't been to before.

This means that I get up early, google the address over coffee to check out some images of the building and its surroundings, places to park and how long it takes...

School Trauma: Tuning into the language of behaviour. behaviours communication neurodivergent schooling Jul 08, 2021

For many of us, when we withdraw our children from school after prolonged challenges within that system, we expect that our children will begin to do better at home.

This isn't always so.

Our children do the best they can, in survival mode.

Survival mode...

A photo of Australian-based Autism support specialist, Kristy with a group of people who are dressed as Stormtroopers from 'Star Wars'

Appearances can be (so very) deceiving. autism behaviours communication neurodivergent socialising Jul 01, 2021

I'm a PDA autistic (Pathological demand avoidance).

This means that my social connectedness; my ability to engage with others naturally and to make eye contact gives the impression that I possess a higher level of social "ability" than what is expected of me.

As a PDA autistic,...

A photo of Australian-based Autism support specialist, Kristy and her husband.

How I show up in friendships. autism behaviours friendship neurodivergent Jun 24, 2021

Hi!

I'm Kristy, and I'm TERRIBLE at being a friend in the neuronormative sense.

I take months to respond to messages in my inbox, if ever.

Sometimes I say things that come across as blunt, forceful, offensive and/or rude.

I say No (a lot) to outings, catch-ups and people...

Sensory overload and a social hangover. autism behaviours neurodivergent socialising Jun 10, 2021

Sitting here reminiscing about the good ole masking in social situations; days of extreme and intense anxiety for weeks, months leading up to events with other people.

The day would finally arrive and I’d be frozen ALL DAY, unable to get moving.

A last-minute sprint clean...

Close up of a blue eye with gold glitter all around.

I'm not looking at you. autism behaviours commuincation neurodivergent Apr 22, 2021

I can’t tell you how concerning it is that we have such an incredibly uninformed requirement for autistic people to make eye contact.

When we understand autism as an identity and culture, we are able to reframe the way we understand eye contact and perhaps stop placing such...

Hello there, passive-aggression. autism behaviours commuincation neurodivergent Apr 15, 2021

This morning whilst packing up from a weekend away, one of my children told me I had been passive-aggressive.

It was a shock.

I had said “I’m sensing annoyance in your tone” and that was their response: “Yeah because you were being...

An image of a lady sitting at a desk with a superimposed Jedi mask covering her face

Why wasn't I invited to be a Jedi? (a fun one) autism behaviours neurodivergent Mar 03, 2021

Random weekday memory...

I once went against my better judgement out of curiosity (it's ALWAYS that autistic curiosity and fascination with humans, concepts and belief systems) and sat in on a live webinar on DNA spiritual and energetic cleansing.

Yep, I just said that.

...

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