New Post from me, about fear (as many of us are experiencing at the moment...) and how we use it: open.substack.com/pub/spectrum...

It's been a while! I have been busy navigating adding a new animal to the family...! Here is a new post from me: "Navigating Relationships, Friendships and Workplace Environments as Autistic People" open.substack.com/pub/spectrum...

Governments should not just apportion taxes to provide for the care of people. Humans are not more important, valuable or worthy of life than other species. Governments should also be allocating funds for the care of animals, where people cannot afford to provide that care themselves.

It's not a great combo having ADHD *and* PMDD week the week before Christmas. I just ordered 3 important Christmas presents. Will they be there on time?! No they will not 🙈😅

Just in case you needed reminding: it's not your job to fix everything. It's ok to pick your battles and decide which hurts to mend. There is so much needing attention. We can't heal the world, but we can make a real difference when we focus our attention wisely ❤️

I just watched all of Life on Mars & Ashes to Ashes (British version) end to end. Have you watched it? What did you think? I did *not* see the end coming.

I had a pretty weird day today. Charlie (our 15 yr old 🐕) was attacked by another, bigger dog this morning. It's only happened 3x in his life. Last time was 9 years ago & it made him more anxious, I'm worried about him. Hold my little guy in your thoughts if you can. (He seems OK physically 🤞)

💯 this

Eldest Kiddo (11) and I are sat in a coffee shop, both on our phones, and it's parallel play and we are both very happy 😊❤️

Very sad and grumpy boi today, I hope these naughty jumpy friends are gone soon 💔❤️

I had a hair appt today. My hairdresser is 👌🙌. She lives nearby (crucial as I don't drive), & has a salon in her house. It's really quiet, just us, meeting my sensory needs. I feel relaxed there & we talk really openly. It's everything, I looked a long time for a hairdresser I feel comfortable with.

The vet discovered Charlie has FLEAS... which makes a whole lot of sense of many of his symptoms. He also has been prescribed Librela as additional pain relief. Here he is after a haircut this evening (we cut his fur ourselves) ❤️

We are on the bus to the vet again, in pursuit of more effective pain medication, and possibly a biopsy🤞 Wish him luck!

I have a condition needing daily medicine (underactive thyroid). My father and son are reliant on medication to stay alive. I also live in England. I have been following the current convo about healthcare in the US with interest and this article nails it 👌

I went out tonight. It was calm, I was home before 10, & I really enjoyed myself. Now I'm wide awake at 1.45am, with an active brain that is processing & filing the conversations & the info from the evening. I mostly avoid activities at night for this reason; it's very annoying! #ActuallyAutistic

New Post from me entitled: "Why are so many children with SEND out of school in England?" My substack is free & it's where I post my longer pieces of writing substack.com/@spectrumy7/...

New Post from me about our sad week. My substack is free & it's where I post my longer pieces of writing open.substack.com/pub/spectrum...

❤️

Went to shops. Twice. Shops bad. Everything hurts. 1* do not recommend 🫠😅

New Post from me: 'Letting Go' My substack is free & it's where I post my longer pieces of writing open.substack.com/pub/spectrum...

New Post from me, called "The Power to Leave": open.substack.com/pub/spectrum... My substack is free and it's where I post my longer pieces of writing.

This is from @elizafricker.bsky.social (Missing the Mark on the zuck place). This is my experience absolutely. My main memories of school as an adolescent (apart from the bullying) are of feeling chronically panicked and overwhelmed.

There aren't more SEND kids recently. There are more stressed out SEND kids. There have always been lots of us. But we haven't always been so stressed out.

New Post from me, on the topic of Relearning Conflict: open.substack.com/pub/spectrum...

Helen at Autistic Realms has made a neuro-affirming starter pack, check it out 👇🌈 Thanks Helen!

We are having a wonderful week here, in a very autistic way. There have been animals and good experiences. This is all ❤️

A bebby, just a little bebby ❤️ (Pic: Charlie dog asleep with his head on my lap)

We met a friendly cat today. In our house, that constitutes a GOOD day 😁🐈‍⬛️ Who else lives for friendly cats?

Just in case you didn't know, what you do as a parent carer to neurodivergent small people is COMPLEX and IT MATTERS. You are highly skilled.

Yes!

A festive poodle ✨️🥰✨️

...Autistic burnout eh 💔 Credit to: @lamarhardwick.bsky.social

100% the hardest thing about being autistic is not being able to talk to people about their obvious autism. That's it, that's the hardest bit 🤣

Seen in The Autism Comedy Club on FB 🤣

From Sunshine Support on FB - they are marvellous

Do you have people who you love but don't like, and do you feel there are people who love you but don't like you? It's a yes for me, to both.

Remember it's ok to talk about the things you've been through. No ifs, no buts. No "if you're in therapy" - gatekeeping healing for those that can afford it. No. You get to take control of your healing. It's ok for you to talk about the things you've been through.

I don't tend to put myself forward for things because I've been rejected so much, and it hurts too much if I get overlooked or turned down. Who else is like that?! 👋 (Remember this is a public space)

Those things you think no one else feels? Other people feel them. Those things you think you can't tell anyone? Find someone safe. And share those things. You are not alone. And the world can become a lighter place.

Not doing good, paranoia bad. Stuck in the house with colds all week. I need human contact. But the longer I'm low & stuck inside... the less confident I feel socially 🤦‍♀️ Mental illness sucks, social trauma recovery sucks. Let's build autistic kiddos a world where they're not ostracised & excluded.

Still here. I don't currently have many thoughts making sense as I have a cold. I'm not a great sick person. Disruption of the routine🙃

Ignore anybody who tells you that your acts of resistance should look exactly like theirs.

You are awesome and I'm glad you're around 😘