Finding Balance: How an Autism Diagnosis Helped Me Be a Better Mom

Finding Balance: How an Autism Diagnosis Helped Me Be a Better Mom

Being a mother is learning about strengths you didn’t know you had…and dealing with fears you didn’t know existed. Linda Wooten It’s no secret that working moms have exceptionally high standards placed on them. Society judges us if we give anything less to our children than a stay-at-home in the 1950s. We must justify our…

Putting Words First: Why Eye Contact Shouldn’t Be Used to Measure a Person

Putting Words First: Why Eye Contact Shouldn’t Be Used to Measure a Person

When I was a child, my parents encouraged – well, more like forced – me to make eye contact. “Look me in the eyes when I speak to you,” they’d bark. They didn’t understand how painful making eye contact can be for me. It feels like I’m forcing myself to hold my hand over an…

Autistic Women and Facial Expressions

Autistic Women and Facial Expressions

Facial expressions are a form of non-verbal communication that accompanies a verbal message and can help convey the intent behind the message and the speaker’s emotional state. In short, it rounds out the complete picture for the receiver. And for neurotypicals, a conflict between a person’s words and facial expressions can lead to misunderstandings. For…

Stimming in the Office

Stimming in the Office

Although everyone stims to some degree, it’s necessary for autistics. Stimming helps us regulate our emotions and relieve anxiety. But in the workplace, our stims can distract coworkers – drawing unwanted and unnecessary attention. Not all workplaces are a safe environment for autistics to be our authentic selves. Our social challenges often cause our coworkers…