My experience of PMS as an #ActuallyAutistic person is of an enhanced sensory and emotional experience. This can include overwhelm and emotional distress, but also a hyper-realness that draws my attention to the beauty in little things. Like a pre-menstrual monotropism.

This post represents my thought patterns right now - jumping between ideas like points of light in the fog. As such, it’s not as polished as my other writing. I’ve decided to not over-edit, embracing my thinking how it is right now.

Beauty in the little things:

  • new life! - daffodils are coming up!

  • scent of pine wafting across the air, but I couldn’t see from where

  • a beautiful moment of walking into my local bakery - finding the person who works their with a customer’s toddler on her hip, wielding a half-eaten jam doughnut

  • hugs with my partner, holding me up while I feel this intensity

  • a calling to connect with nature

  • how good it feels to bite down on good food

What else I noticed:

  • spoken speech is difficult today, especially expressing all these ideas in my head

  • the grating intrusion of vehicles on the road

  • I’m crying at everything, even (especially) the nice things

  • I’m second-guessing interactions with a co-worker, worrying I’m not doing the socialling properly

I want to set aside this day every month to spend a day in nature, allowing myself to just ‘be’: connecting, withdrawing, feeling, resting, restoring.

I waited three months to hear from the Adult Neurodevelopmental Assessment Service that apparently my GP didn’t provide enough information regarding the impact of being suspected #ActuallyAutistic

School Uniform

Auto-generated description: Three students wearing matching yellow shirts, blue striped ties, navy skirts, and white socks with black shoes are seated on chairs.

In the UK, almost all schools have a uniform. Occasionally we have a debate on why that is - to (supposedly) reduce class divides, to look 'smart', to deprive us of any sense of individuality? I have a mixed relationship with uniforms, which I intend to explore in this article.

I’m sharing a Zones of Regulation poster I made for myself and my (adult) family to help with alexithymia. The 4 colours represent emotional states + energy levels. I think it’s a lot more intuitive for #ActuallyAutistic people than traditional emotion labels: drive.google.com/uc?export=down…

We will place magnets on the chart to represent us and our emotional state. Step 1) identifying what zone we’re in, step 2) using stims to work through undesirable emotional states. Also works to communicate our emotional state so we don’t trigger each other.

I first discovered Zones of Regulation teaching primary school children, but then realised it helped with my own alexithymia. Would anyone be interested in reading more about this? #AskingAutistics

#AskingAutistics What do you do when you know you're burnt out but you can't switch off?

Christmas cake

Auto-generated description: A beautifully decorated white cake features pine cones, dried orange slices, cranberries, and frosted leaves, set alongside festive star decorations and a candle.

Transitioning from 2021 to 2022 with the help from a sugary delight

Christmas and New Year is a time that is usually rife with a sense of celebration and holiday cheer for many around the world. It's a time to get together with family friends, throw your work schedule out the window and indulge in rich food, bright lights and overspending.