Autistic Me

My Jeep Friend - The Autistic Me

As September ended I was involved in what seemed to be a minor traffic accident. I was rear-ended while driving our 18-year-old Jeep Cherokee. Unfortunately, the accident was too much for the Jeep:...

Podcast Episode 019 - Reflecting on Three Years as Parents - The Autistic Me

Podcast 0019; Season 02, Episode 05; October 2, 2018 People ask me how an autistic parent can be a foster-to-adopt parent. I might not be perfect, but with my wife’s support, I do okay as a father...

Weather, Foot, Stress - The Autistic Me

I am definitely a hypersensitive individual — physically (and emotionally). The cold weather of Minnesota forces me to wear more clothes, including hats, gloves, and even a face mask at times....

The Valentine's Freeze of 2021 - The Autistic Me

I am writing this from our guest suite just before 8:30 p.m. on Monday, February 15, 2021. [Note: Updates at end, February 20, 2021, 1:30 p.m.] When we moved to Central Texas, a primary reason was...

Reset in Texas Almost Complete! - The Autistic Me

We closed on the sell of our house in Pennsylvania this week, so now our Texas reset is focused on touching up our new home and completing tasks locally. I have been sick (as has my wife) for the...

Not Celebrating a Diagnosis - The Autistic Me

“I celebrate every autism diagnosis!” declares a post circulating among autistic self-advocates. I read this in several ways. First, the positives. Diagnoses help individuals receive services and...

Jerks are Jerks - The Autistic Me

Your disability does not give you the right to be a jerk. This isn’t going to please some advocates, but I am tired of people willing to exploit their challenges to get their way and push others...

Reflections on Love and Self-Destruction [Mature Content] - The Autistic Me

I have started and stopped work on a memoir repeatedly since 2007. For the last few weeks, I have been attempting to resurrect the work, in part because readers of this blog, listeners to the...

Am I Broken? Should I Care? - The Autistic Me

Whether I consider my oddities “autistic” or “birth trauma” (I vote for “complex entry into life”), I am certainly not normal. My wife will attest to this. Parents of special education students ask...

Podcast Episode 052 - Autistic, Anxious, and Introvert: Friendships and Social Skills - The...

Autism Exclusions... or Not? Airline and an Autistic Child - The Autistic Me

The following is the latest in a sudden “bubble” of stories about autism and access to spaces: churches, schools, and now airplanes. I have kept only the major sections of the story and suggest...

Podcast Episode 104 - SURJ on The Light Between the Oceans - The Autistic Me

Podcast 0104; Season 6, Episode 14; 13 June 2023 It’s my honor to welcome SURJ back to the podcast, this time to discuss his work as a solo artist. Listen as we discuss what music means to him and...

Autistics Struggle to Maintain Friendships - The Autistic Me

Over the last few months, I’ve been asked several times about friends. More precisely, the question has been if I have any friends. When I read online comments from autistic (“ASD” and “Aspie”)...

Podcast Episode 014 - Season Two Promo - The Autistic Me

Podcast 0014; Season 02, Episode 00; August 22, 2018 I’m getting ready for Season Two of The Autistic Me Podcast. You’ll want to subscribe on iTunes at: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-auti...

Podcast Episode 091 - Back to School, Back to Special Education Advocacy - The Autistic Me

Podcast 0091, Season 6, Episode 1; 16 August 2022 Back to School Each school year begins with preemptively contacting the teachers, administrators, and special education coordinators to ensure our...

Remote Diagnoses and 'Advocacy' - The Autistic Me

“Did you know Bill Gates and Tim Burton are probably on the spectrum?” Only a mental health professional has the right to “diagnose” somebody else — and only when that person is a patient. Of course,...

'Vincent' and Autism Depictions - The Autistic Me

I love the crime drama Vincent, a tightly-written series that ran on ITV in 2005 and 2006. There’s talk of a revival of the series, which is performing well on Amazon Prime and other streaming...

Unproductive or Overproductive? Definitely Exhausted - The Autistic Me

February 2024 is almost over and I haven’t managed to release a podcast episode with a guest since October 2023, nearly four months ago. The best I could do was a quick podcast on how busy we are,...

Another 'Life is Normal' Post - The Autistic Me

Our lives continue to be normal middle-class suburban lives. We sometimes feel that there’s too much happening, but then I listen to other couples and friends and realize how rather routine and...