Have you ever watched one of those TV shows where people buy the contents of abandoned storage lockers base only on a quick look from the doorway, usually seeing just piles of boxes and odd shaped objects covered in tarps? I could never do it but it can be fun to watch others taking those risks! In most of the shows I have seen, at least one locker turns put to contain some type of…
I have been in trouble many times. I was frequently in trouble as a child and have not exactly avoided being in trouble in my working life. Nothing too serious or criminal, I would add, but I have been far from well-behaved, at least as far as others are concerned. Sometimes the trouble was well-deserved. I knew that I had done something wrong, and I may very well have known that it would lead…
Why mental illness should be taught in schools is one of those questions that I hope will one day become redundant. It will be such an obvious priority that people will be aghast that there was a time when it was not taught to all children as part of a full and well-rounded education. There are several reasons why greater education and understanding of mental health and mental illness are needed across society, starting…
If you are new to the world of autism and neurodiversity, perhaps having just discovered that your child or another friend or relative is autistic, it can be a worrying time. You will have lots of questions, like can autistic people work, and it is absolutely the right thing to do to ask them and find out as much as you can. That is the best way to equip yourself to give an autistic person…
I have felt exhausted almost all the time for about as long as I can remember. I know that being autistic is a factor in this as I have talked about in other articles, not least because I have to spend much of my life living an “act”, trying to work out what a supposedly normal person would do in my circumstances. But I also know that my depression and anxiety play a huge role…
The word “essential” is perhaps one of the most overused of our time. It’s definition according to lexico.com is “Absolutely necessary; extremely important.” And yet I frequently see it used in a myriad of ways which are patently at odds with that definition. The misuse that irritates me the most, for no obvious reason, is “essential oils”. I have never used one of these oils in my life – indeed I am not even sure…
First things first, I really don’t like this question! It is full of presumptions, most if not all of which I profoundly disagree with. But the simple answer is no, an autistic child will never be normal, they will always be incredibly special and that is a wonderful thing, not a problem. So let’s try and unpack that question a bit more. I totally understand why people would ask it, and if you have arrived…
Good question, and thank you for asking (even if you didn’t ask and just stumbled across this by accident). In many ways, this is one of those situations where asking the question at all is really more important than trying to absolutely nail down a definitive answer. It is always a wise move to try and put yourself in someone else’s shoes, even if only for a brief time. And I can only describe what…
I have to admit, some days at the moment are turning into a real slog for me. I have lots of things on the go, and I am well aware that instant results do not happen despite all those emails I get telling me I can make £10,000 a week by doing nothing at home! But when you go for a little while in your own business or even in your wider life and seem…
I had a sudden and vivid memory last night. In September 2001, when the 9/11 attacks took place, I was working in a large office building in central London. Our access to the internet was limited, but we quickly picked up on the terrible events on New York City, and like the rest of the world struggled to find more details as the horrifying events unfolded. As we left for the day, keen to get…