Blog Posts

It’s a debate that has been going on for decades, more or less since autism has been described as a spectrum. This debate has recently come up again since a recent article was posted about the Autism Europe conference earlier this month ‘It’s time to embrace ‘profound autism’ However, subgrouping can lead down a dangerousContinue reading “Why Subgrouping Autism is Dangerous”

I don’t often watch BBC Panorama, however recently a few of their documentaries caught my eye ,as they either relate to my work, my lived experience or both. The 3 Panorama documentaries in particular I’m referring to here are Autistic people (or close to someone who is autistic) are unlikely to be surprised that youngContinue reading “BBC Panorama and autism: identifying the dots, but who is connecting them?”

April has always been a difficult time for the autistic community because of autism awareness and acceptance days, weeks or Month (referred to as ‘autism month’ going forward).  To the average person this may seem like a confusing statement, as they assume that this month is for us and “raising awareness” of the issues weContinue reading “Autism day/week/month. What’s the point?”

*Please note this is a critique of Simon’s research and published work and not personal character defamation. As I have never met Simon, I cannot comment on his character* Simon Baron-Cohen is arguably one of the biggest names in autism research. Unfortunately, his research has negatively impacted autistic people for several reasons. However, this canContinue reading “A Brief Overview Of Simon Baron-Cohen’s Autism Research”

Quite often I tend to tweet things in the moment if I feel a strong emotional reaction to it. This isn’t always wise but the nature of my neurodivergence means this happens from time to time. However, recently I tweeted about autistic people suffering from ableism rather than autism itself. Again this was an inContinue reading ““Suffers from autism””

What is masking? Masking (sometimes known as camouflaging) is when autistic people adapt their behaviour to hide their autistic qualities to fit into a neurotypical world (non-autistic world). Below are some other autistic people’s descriptions of masking.  Why do autistic people mask? How long is a piece of string? There are many reasons why autisticContinue reading “Autism and Masking”

Original Thread: A common belief I hear that’s it’s “essential” for autistic students to “socialise” in our schools, otherwise they will never develop the “social skills” they need in the real world. As an autistic adult, I fundamentally disagree with this view.🧵 — Sarah Boon #StopTheShock (@Saraheboon) November 27, 2021 A common belief I hearContinue reading “Autistic Children Socialising in School”

*This blog post is not parent shaming. It’s critiquing the documentary* This Wednesday on BBC one, there was an incredibly high-profile autism documentary in the UK. Naturally, being an autistic person living here, I was curious but extremely cautious about the documentary. I was cynical before watching it, as autism is frequently misrepresented in theContinue reading “My actually autistic perspective on ‘Paddy and Christine McGuinness: Our Family and Autism’”

Before I knew I was autistic, I was only observing autism. This may seem like an odd thing to say as I’ve always been autistic, but I was masking 24/7, and my internalised ableism at the time meant I was viewing everything through a neurotypical lens as the “right” way to experience the world. IContinue reading “Observing autism vs being autistic: it’s not the same”

Within minutes of the spectrum 10K announcements, it’s has been an emotional rollercoaster for many of us, with many twists and turns in the last few weeks. Like many other autistic, I’m exhausted. Also, a lot has been going on in my everyday life too. I’ve increased my work hours in one role and gainedContinue reading “Spectrum 10k paused. Good? Bad? Let’s break it down. ”

Click here to read my initial article “The Dangers of Spectrum 10K”. The last two weeks have been challenging and emotionally draining for the autistic community since the announcement of Spectrum 10K. There has been an intense backlash, and last night the lead researcher, Simon Baron-Cohen, released a statement claiming to address our concerns. SoContinue reading “Why I still don’t trust Spectrum 10K”

It was just an average Tuesday morning while I browsed through my Twitter feed when I came across the glossy brand Spectrum 10k research project. At first glance, it may seem harmless to your average member of the public, who may think it’s a good thing. However, as an autistic person advocating for acceptance, thisContinue reading “The Dangers of Spectrum 10K”

If you’re a general member of the public and have only come across the word autism in the media, you’ve likely read that autism is the worst tragedy that could happen to your child, and they will have no quality of life. Or that we all have savant-like abilities and will advance the human raceContinue reading “A tragic epidemic or human super power? What has autism got to do with it?”

TW: Murder, terrorism, extremism  To say autistic Twitter the last few days has been wild would be a massive understatement. The media and others were trying to link the Plymouth shooting with autism. Many pushed the narrative that lonely autistic boys get all incels, leading some to commit mass murder and terrorism. There is noContinue reading “Autism, murder and misogyny, WTF going on?”

Hi everyone Quick post today! I wanted to share the updates on my ko-fi. I set up my ko-fi at the end of 2020 as my blog posts was a big-time investment for me, and I wanted to dedicate more time to writing about autism. I did not expect many (if any) people to ‘buyContinue reading “Ko-Fi Updates”

For the full strategy, please click here If you’re based in the England, you may be aware of ‘The National Strategy For Autistic Children, Young People and Adults 2021 to 2026.’ Basically, it’s the government’s plan to make our (autistic) lives better for the next 5 years and address the barriers we experience. The bigContinue reading “Is the new autism strategy any good?”

I‘d plan out social situations in advance, so I didn’t mess them up. /1  I pretended to be somebody else whenever I was around other people for my safety /2  Not knowing when to join conversations and by the time you’re about to contribute, the conversation has moved on. /3  Laughing along to fit in socially without actuallyContinue reading “Things that I thought were social anxiety but turned out to be autism”

If you have been following me on social media for a while, you probably think I see my multiple forms of neurodivergence as a positive thing. That would be correct, but that doesn’t mean I still experience challenges living in this neurotypical world. Although I don’t view myself as deficient, I do consider myself disabled.Continue reading “Why I view my neurodivergence as a disability”

Rarely a day goes by on Twitter without people kicking off about something. Sometimes it’s pointless, but today’s topic is something that’s worth discussing. Before saying anything further, I want you to read the screenshot below.  Obviously, it’s a school, but I couldn’t help thinking that an institution that strives to control anybody to thisContinue reading “Prison or school, Can you spot the difference?”

One thing I’ve been fortunate enough to do is to travel, and in my late teens, I discovered the joys of travelling by myself rather than with a group of people. I was talking about this recently, and many autistic people were interested, so I thought I’d write my next blog post about it.  WithContinue reading “Why travelling solo is liberating for me as an autistic”

I know this controversial title, but I wouldn’t be writing this statement if I didn’t think it had any credibility, but sadly, I think it does.  Now I’ve talked a lot about my experiences before, and I’ve had many other conversations with autistics about the injustices they’ve experienced due to society not understanding their autism.Continue reading “Does society violate autistic people’s human rights?”

TW: Eating disorder  Intro  My relationship with food has always been complicated, and my autism is undoubtedly part of why very few, including professionals, struggle to understand why. This post is a topic I’m particularly cautious about writing publicly as I have faced so much stigma, judgement, and ableism regarding my diet. However, it’s anContinue reading “Autism, ARFID and my relationship with food”

Since being active online in autistic spaces, I noticed varying opinions regarding people’s birthdays. This got me thinking about my own birthday in a few days time, but the question is, do I enjoy them or even look forward to them? The simple answer is yes (although in the last few years I’m not soContinue reading “How do I feel about birthdays?”

Some autistic people have borderline personality disorder (BPD), however, there are some autistic people whose autism is not recognised and doctors think it’s BPD instead. Many autistic people who are not diagnosed as a child can receive the incorrect diagnosis of borderline personality disorder (BPD) before finding out what doctors think borderline is actually autism.Continue reading “Why I thought I had borderline before discovering I was autistic and had ADHD.”

Now, I’ve talked a lot about how my masking made me become a people pleaser to extremes and how I was the shy, quiet student who always followed the rules at school. The type of child an old school behaviour focused teacher would describe as a ‘Model student.’   So if you’ve been following me onContinue reading “Why I identify with PDA as part of my autism”

As part of my work, I frequently create resources and plan lessons for ESL students. Sometimes I need to find some inspiration about how I can make my classes valuable and unique, rather than something generic that students can learn from a quick google search. Thankfully, I was delighted to discover Grandomastery, which is nowContinue reading “Why I use Grandomastery to help my ESL students”

Hello everyone! Happy autism Acceptance day! I have written a blog post for Hearts and Minds (A mental Health organisation I work for) about why Why I believe autism acceptance and understanding is better for our mental health than awareness. You can check it out below! if you enjoyed this thread and would like toContinue reading “Why I believe autism acceptance and understanding is better for our mental health than awareness”

I’ve written up my ADHD thread as a blog post. If you relate to many of these signs and it impacts your life significantly the it might be worth doing some research into ADHD (please note this is not a diagnostic tool and is purely based on my lived experience). There is info at theContinue reading “Signs of my ADHD that I did not realise were my ADHD”

I had my COVID vaccine yesterday, so I thought I’d do a thread doing this as an autistic person, so other autistic people will know what to expect. I got an email from my employer to book my vaccine because I am a key worker. I followed the link from the email to book theContinue reading “What to expect for your COVID Vaccine”

When I received my ADHD diagnosis, I wasn’t surprised as I had related to other people’s lived experiences a lot. However, I was convinced that my ADHD was only inattentive. Still, it turned out I have combined ADHD (both inattentiveness and hyperactive). that surprised me as I was never the child bouncing around the classroomContinue reading “Quiet hyperactive ADHD, seven ways I experience it.”

For me, receiving my autism diagnosis at age 24 was a euphoric sense of relief. I was happy and finally on the path to discovering my authentic self. I thought that my diagnosis would only be a positive thing. Although this is true for me most of the time, but I can’t help thinking whatContinue reading “Grief Post Diagnosis: How Do #ActuallyAutistic People Feel About This?”

Recently a study was published where three researchers (Dr Suzanne Macar, Dr Angelina Vernetti and Dr Katarzyna Chawarska) at Yale did an experiment where they aimed to scare both autistic and neurotypical children, trying to establish a link between distress and autism in early childhood, while suggesting it may impact ‘emerging affective and behavioural symptoms.’ Continue reading “Is Yale University Justifying Child Abuse?”

Some of you may be familiar with the concept of the ADHD tax. ADHDers have extra expenses due to their condition. E.g. I’m always buying new umbrellas because I can’t remember where I put it! (this happens to me every winter multiple times).  However, I feel that this concept could be extended beyond just ADHD.Continue reading “The Neurodivergent Tax; Beyond Just ADHD?”

Hey, everyone, the last few days has been a bit crazy (both on and off Twitter), so I thought for today’s blog I’d do a little life update with what’s been going on.  Sia  I don’t think I need to repeat how many autistic people feel about Sia’s new film ‘Music’. I was disappointed thatContinue reading “Sia, Life Updates and Christmas Shopping!”

This is a post I’ve meant to write for a while, but now seems the right time to share it.  You hear a lot of ‘Your disability doesn’t define you’ and ‘You’re more than just your autism.’  An outsider might see that as a compliment, but it doesn’t reflect my lived experience.  The thing isContinue reading “Yes My Autism Does Define Me”

To be openly autistic or not to be openly autistic, that is the question, and there is no easy answer. I decided to be opening autistic as masking regularly was slowly destroying me, and I craved to live more authentically. However, the fact that I have a choice to mask or not is a privilegeContinue reading “Openly Autistic, the Good, the Bad and the Ugly”

Hello, Hayley Edwards (@Hayley_TEP) and myself have noticed the number of autistic people who’ve had negative experiences studying psychology. To better understand what people have experienced, we are currently doing a survey to help make positive changes in the UK. If you are: -Autistic -Have studied psychology at any level (From GCSE to Doctorate) -HaveContinue reading “Autistic Psycholgoy Students, We Want To Here From You!”

We may not give standard or expected answers. Usually, in job interviews, the interviewers will already have some idea of what type of answers they are looking for when asking their questions. However, an autistic person may provide an entirely valid answer, but is not appreciated or misunderstood by the interviewer. Additionally, the interviewer mayContinue reading “Why can Job interviews be so challenging for autistic people?”

Hello everyone, please read the following post by Gemma Short. It highlights how badly autism can be respresented in academia. The other day I posted a tweet, which was pretty random and just simply venting a feeling that i’ve had for a while. It read: “Honestly one of the … The worst part about beingContinue reading “The worst part about being an autistic psychology student by Gemma Short”

If you follow me on twitter, then you may be aware of the COVID scare I had last week which invovled two COVID tests (thankfully, I don’t have COVID). Based on my experinces I decided to share what it’s like, so that other autistic people have some idea of what to expect if they needContinue reading “An Autistic’s Guide to getting a COVID test”

Starting the day with a grapefruit for breakfast, and ending it with a glass of Sherry without fail. They blamed your emotional responses on a physical health condition. I now understand them as your responses to an overwhelming world. You didn’t understand why you experienced social isolation. This was because the world didn’t understand howContinue reading “To My Grandmother Who Never Got Her Diagnosis”

Many people would assume that autistic people cannot be teachers, but trust me there are many autistic teachers out there! (Just have a look at autistic twitter). I have previously worked as a teacher as an autistic woman, so I thought I would share what it’s like from my perspective and experiences. It can beContinue reading “What is it like to be an autistic teacher?”

Osime is disabled. He is vulnerable. He has been failed by the services and people that were supposed to protect him. He has been harshly and wrongfully imprisoned. He is traumatised and has been worryingly ill since July (he has a heart condition that has previously required two surgeries). Now he faces being torn awayContinue reading “CALL TO ACTION: Help Osime Brown”

TW: Bullying and Sexual Assault It isn’t an easy topic to write about, but it’s necessary. Its been on my mind to write this post for a while. But one tweet I saw recently made me realise it was essential to talk about this, as I am not the only one. So thank you, DrContinue reading “I was the perfectly behaved girl, but school traumatised me”

Most people think if you are autistic or an ADHDer, then you’re diagnosed as a child and then all of a sudden, it magically disappears when you turn 18. Oh, how naïve this assumption is. I didn’t even get my autism confirmed until I was 24, and my ADHD the following year. Now I’ve talked about gender-bias aContinue reading “Did my ADHD mask my autism? (and vice-versa)”

Hello everyone! I thought I do a quick post updating everyone what’s been going on recently and my plans for the blog. Firstly, I have finished my master’s degree (yah), it was a lot of work. Still, I really enjoyed doing a dissertation in the end. Once I get my feedback (and I know I’veContinue reading “Life updates, Neuro Pride, Petition and Blog Posts”

If you’re involved with education or neurodiversity advocacy, chances are you came across a recent article in the guardian ‘The battle over dyslexia’ by Sirin Kale. The main part of The article explores Julian Elliott (an educational psychologist) views on dyslexia. Naturally, as a dyslexic person, I was intrigued by the headline alone and wantedContinue reading “What does a dyslexic person think about ‘The Battle over dyslexia’ article?”

So two weeks ago was the anniversary of my autism diagnosis. As being diagnosed autistic late was such a positive thing for me, I decided to celebrate as if it was my birthday. I was aware of the other autistic people acknowledging their autiversary on the anniversary of their diagnosis. I love this idea, soContinue reading “My Autiversary: Celebrating the first Anniversary of my autism diagnosis”

I talk a lot about how autism presents differently in women and girls. I’ve just been looking through old home videos from my family and to me, it’s obvious looking back! (even though I was undiagnosed). So I thought I’d share some clips, so more people understand how autism can present. Also, it’s not onlyContinue reading “So What Can Autism Look Like In Young Girls?”

If you follow me on twitter, you may be aware I’m a Sims fan. I loved the video game since I was a child during the early days of The Sims 1. However, it’s only recently I’ve come across mods and custom content on the sims (which I have found to be a game-changer). WhileContinue reading “Review: Sims 4 Autism Mod”

For the original twitter thread see here: https://twitter.com/Saraheboon/status/1249393998579597312 Too often, autistic girls go through school undiagnosed or unrecognised as being autistic. As a late-diagnosed autistic woman, I thought I would share a thread on my experiences of going through the education system. (Pls share with those who work in education/anyone interested) I was seen asContinue reading “Going Through School as an Undiagnosed Autistic: Twitter thread”

Now unless you have been through it, being assessed for autism may seem like a mysterious process. To be honest, it is, and I had very little idea of what my day would entail until it arrived. I completed the whole assessment process in one day, with the diagnosis confirmed by the end of theContinue reading “What Is An Adult Autism Assessment Like?”

I’ve often heard people say ‘Why do you need an Autism Diagnosis? You’re an adult!’. However, receiving my diagnosis in my twenties was genuinely life-changing. Here is why I consider it crucial that I received my autism diagnosis later, rather than never. I’m not going to outgrow my autism Autism is lifelong and isn’t exclusivelyContinue reading “Why Getting My Autism Diagnosis As An Adult Matters”

I have been autistic all my life, but it was not recognised until my twenties (which was a massive relief) However, the signs were there, even if they were less noticeable.  I am going to write about what signs there were before I was recognised as autistic. Hopefully, this article will help some people whoContinue reading “10 Signs Of Autism That Were Missed”

Now I know you might be thinking really? With this headline. However, after watching Frozen 2. I am convinced Elsa is autistic. As a woman on the spectrum, she displays a more subtle profile (on a surface level) of autism, as many autistic women do. So here are my reasons why I am convinced ElsaContinue reading “19 Reasons Why I Am Convinced Elsa Is Autistic”

Hello and welcome to my first post on my blog! And thank you for taking a look. I thought the based place to start is how I found out I am autistic in my mid-twenties. As many people are diagnosed in childhood. Not for me! Here is one of many stories of discovering you areContinue reading “How Did I Discover I Was Autistic?”