Photo of Anne Corwin, as a child of about 7 years old with pale skin and dark hair with bangs. She is sitting on a tree branch while leaning against the trunk and looking into the distance.

On “Energy Budgeting” and Acknowledging Internal Autistic Realities

May 28, 2021May 25, 2022 by Anne Corwin

All humans deserve to be able to do energy budgeting in ways that make sense for us, and I hope to see the day when support for autistic people toward this end is considered a matter of basic ethics and decency.

Dora Raymaker, a white person with curly shoulder-length red hair with one teal underlock, glasses, and a steady gaze.

Autism

Autistic Burnout: An Interview With Researcher Dora Raymaker

August 29, 2019May 16, 2022 by Fergus Murray

“If the dynamic of autistic burnout really is related to spending more resources coping than one has, I’m not sure the real leverage in avoiding burnout resides with the autistic person alone.”

Disability

The Protective Gift of Meltdowns

July 30, 2018January 31, 2022 by Shannon Des Roches Rosa

Maxfield Sparrow unstrangemind.com Photo © 2017, Maxfield Sparrow [image description: a turtle in the middle of the road on a hot, sunny day. His skin is dark with bright yellow stripes and his shell is ornate, covered with swirls of dark brown against a honey-yellow background. The turtle is rushing to get across the street and his back leg is extended from the speed and force of his dash toward freedom.] I hate meltdowns. I hate the way they take over my entire body. I hate the sick way I feel during a meltdown and I hate the long recovery time—sometimes minutes, but just as often entire days—afterward, when everything is too intense, and I am overwhelmed and exhausted and have to put my life on hold while I recover. I hate the embarrassment that comes from a meltdown in front of others. I hate the fear that bubbles up…

Graphic with the title "Karla's Emotion Picture (FYI)" Vertical rectangle divided into five horizontal bars. To the left is an upward facing arrow labeled, "intensity" The bottom bar is white and labeled "Unaware". Text to its right reads, "When I was younger I was 100% unaware of any sort of emotion in me and would be shocked when I was in a meltdown all of a sudden. It still happens sometimes today though I try to actively practice awareness of my physical and emotional selves in order to survive." The next bar up is green and labeled "Happy or Sad". Text to its right reads, "Everything is just fine. I am a mostly happy being and sometimes sad. Neither of these emotions are bad to my current awareness nor cause me distress that I know of". Between the green bar and the next bar up is a dotted line labeled "Emotional Regulation Line" Next bar up is yellow and labeled "Some Fear/Anger". Text to its right reads, "I will feel 'off' here but most of the time I cannot articulate what that means and often cannot tie it to any one thing". Next bar up is red and labeled "Bigger Fear/Anger". Text to its right reads, "Here I know FOR SURE that if I do not take corrective action that I will have a Meltdown. Again I sometimes am not sure why this is happening. Mostly I just need to be left alone here." The top bar is black and labeled "Meltdown". Text to its right reads, "A meltdown to me is an intense mixture of fear and anger and other emotions that confuse me. Sometimes I laugh due to the confusion when nothing about it is 'funny'."

Autism

Autistic Grief Is Not Like Neurotypical Grief

August 1, 2012September 6, 2022 by Karla Fisher

There really are no good articles on how to help an autistic person process grief. It is with this hole in mind that I create this article.