Adelaide Dupont’s favorite Autistic blogs, part 3

First, a request: If you’re at all artistic, would you be willing to design a header image for the Actually Autistic Blogs List? I envision something simple, similar to The Art of Autism header image. If it incorporates our logo in some way, that would be a bonus.

We are preparing a post on Autistic travel blogs, including Travel and Holiday Tips from Autists. Please submit in the comments any relevant links you would like included.

Below is the third installment of Adelaide Dupont’s favorite Autistic blogs. Here are Part 1 and Part 2.

Yes, Julia from QUARANTINE ART [pencils, crayons, paints & clay – (art that I make)] is Autistic.
There is an About page on her blog which is in the top right-hand corner.
[and it is under the hamburger – the three lines].
pencils, crayons, paints & clay 2020-2022

Job-seeking while Autistic

Below are Resources for Autistic job seekers, Autistic experiences with employment, and Selected Google search results. .

Resources for Autistic job seekers (back to top)

Employment Resource Page – My Spectrum Suite (2022)

Stanford Neurodiversity Summit 2022 | Stanford Neurodiversity Project

Roadmap to Transition: A Handbook for Autistic Youth Transitioning to Adulthood (free pdf download) (read online) (2016) (from Resource Library – Autistic Self Advocacy Network)

The Autism Job Club: The Neurodiverse Workforce in the New Normal of Employment by Michael Bernick and Richard Holden (2015)

Adelaide Dupont’s favorite Autistic blogs, part 2

How has your autism affected employment? Please leave a comment below for an upcoming post about job-seeking while Autistic. Include both personal experiences and resources relating to Autistic employment and job seeking.

Below is the second installment of Adelaide Dupont’s favorite Autistic blogs (using her own descriptions from her comment, with links added and duplications removed). Here is Part 1 and part 3 is coming soon.

Another Bostonian who illustrates: The Quarantine Diaries – especially the worlds of anime and traditional art.
The Quarantine Diaries 2020-2021

Non-speaking Autistic bloggers

Non-speaking is defined as “speaking is not the primary form of communication”. Below are blogs by Autists who fit that definition. (See this comment if you’re looking for blogs that a mostly prose rather than poetry.)

Uniquely Hari Hari Srinivasan; Dx3; Male; ADHD, medical issues; student; NSp; USA (CA, Berkeley); 2006-2022; The Daily Californian
Sarah Stup’s Blog 30s; Dx4; Woman; NSp; 2013-2022
Niko Boskovic (facebook) 21; Dx3; Male; student, self-advocate, listener, NSp; 2015-2022
Not Too Trapped In My Head Anymore Pablo; 15; Dx3-; Male; NSp; 2018-2022
Mitchell’s Life with Autism Mitchell; 19; Dx4; Male; epilepsy; blogger; letterboard communication; NSp; USA (IL, Chicago); 2019-2022

Autistic blogs about grief

Below are blogs by Autists discussing grief, divided between blogs with grief as a category and specific blog posts about grief

Autistic blogs with grief as a category (back to top)

grief – A Dad trying to cope with the loss of his Partner and becoming a single parent. Parent of Autistic; dyslexia, ADHD; bereaved; UK (England, Yorkshire); 2017-2022

grief Archives — THINKING PERSON’S GUIDE TO AUTISM includes non-Autistic contributors; 2010-2022

A Grieving Autistic Adult 63; Dx49; Woman; Anx, Dep, fibromyalgia, OCD; part-time librarian; care-giving, grief, Christian; single; Canada (Ontario, Kingston); 2017-2021

Autists in medicine

Below are blogs by Autists in medicine, divided into three categories: Medical doctors, Other medical professionals, and Medical students and graduates

Medical doctors (back to top)

Autistic Doctors International (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter) (not a blog) a group of over 500 Autistic doctors and medical students)

@autisticgpshh Dx40+; ADHD, PDA; doctor (GP); UK; 2020-2022

The Autistic Doctors 40s; Dx40s; medic; UK; 2021-2022 (a female general surgeon)

Adelaide Dupont’s favorite Autistic blogs, part 1

Below is the first installment of Adelaide Dupont’s favorite Autistic blogs. Stay tuned for parts 2 and 3, coming up soon. (More about upcoming posts at the end.)

One of my favourite Autistic Blogs is by Aaron Likens – Life on the Other Side of the Wall.
Life on the Other Side of the Wall Dx18+; Male; 2010-2022

Another one is Rantin’ from Anton (2011-2022) which is all about the theatre and especially musical theatre. I discovered him on THE ART OF AUTISM.

There are other blogs from that source [they keep a long list of regular and occasional contributors – two separate pages]. I am thinking of Miya Sae and her Christian/faith blog.
Miya Sae 2021-2022

Dylan and OFTS.blog Introduction

Thanks for stopping by at Observations From the Spectrum. I am Dylan, the writer. Let me tell you a little bit about myself so that you are comfortable with my voice. 

For 48+ years I have been going left when others have gone right. Not on purpose. Not as a statement. Just as me. Authentically choosing activities that were yet to be hip and diving into them as best I could.

I didn’t ponder being autistic until my friend Jennifer, a first-rate special education teacher of note, and I were walking home from dinner one night and she casually stated, “you know you are on the spectrum, right?”

In that moment it was as if the stars aligned and I found myself. I was clear as to why I had struggled so much in the past. It eased everything. It was a life-defining moment.

Since then, I have had a successful career as a classroom teacher, life coach, ultra runner and I write and self-publish regularly. These are the ways I spend my time. 

OFTS.blog is a third view. I think many of us feel ignored or as though there is not a clear path laid out as there is for our normal-brained conservative and liberal neighbors. 

We see life differently because we experience it differently. I certainly don’t understand how we have arrived where we are today. The problems are clear, but any middle schooler can identify or create a viable solution because they have uncorrupted logic and reason as do many of us. We see life through a simpler lens, or at least I do. Right or wrong. Easy.

That’s a bit about me and OFTS. It’s an autistic adult’s point of view on a myriad of topics. Thanks for reading. Pleasure to meet you.

Observations From the Spectrum 2019-2022

Dylan is one of three Autists who have volunteered to help manage this website if something happens to me.
Please contact us if you are Autistic and would like to join this team. We already have enough volunteers to perform the tasks required, so further volunteers will have the opportunity to influence the future of this website without obligating themselves. The more the merrier!

As a reminder, please submit (or comment below) a list of your favorite Autistic blogs. Include your own if applicable, plus at least one other. Share the love with our 1900+ followers!

Sara’s introduction

Hello All! My name is Sara and I’m 44yo, queer, Autistic, and ADHD. I was diagnosed at 42. I’m Gen X, and we really are the “forgotten generation,” especially as far as ADHD and ASD diagnoses go. I showed so many signs growing up (see my blog, I have a post about this), but growing up in the 80s, ADHD and ASD were things only “boys” had.

I am a Special Education teacher at a high school. However, I have worked with students in grades K-5. I usually teach summer school, but had a terrible time last year, so I’m taking the summer off. I might start a mini online business. Just for a little extra money.

I have many special interests, such as cats, animals in general, history, reading, and creating art.

I love giving advice when I know the subject of the question. Please feel free to leave comments!

Que Sara Sara Sara F.; 44; Dx42; Woman; ADHD, hEDS; special ed HS teacher; artistic, LGBTQ+; USA (Maine); 2022-2022; Instagram

Sara is one of three Autists who have volunteered to help manage this website if something happens to me.
Please contact us if you are Autistic and would like to join this team. We already have enough volunteers to perform the tasks required, so further volunteers will have the opportunity to influence the future of this website without obligating themselves. The more the merrier!

As a reminder, please submit (or comment below) a list of your favorite Autistic blogs. Include your own if applicable, plus at least one other. Share the love with our 1900+ followers!

What are your favorite Autistic blogs?

We are starting a new series featuring lists of our readers’ favorite Autistic blogs.

Please submit (or comment below) a list of your favorite Autistic blogs (including your own, if applicable). Preferably include a brief description of each blog and why you like it. Please only include blogs written by Actually Autistic people. Spread the love!

Thank you in advance. I hope this helps us identify worthy and enjoyable Autistic blogs we might not otherwise discover.

I’ll start. To avoid unnecessary repetition, I’ll state up front that all bloggers below are excellent writers, brutally honest, and fiercely independent thinkers.

Thing of Things 2014-2022; WordPress, Medium
Ozy Brennan is a prolific, nonbinary, polyamorous, rationalist, utilitarian, intersectional feminist, fangirl, person with borderline personality disorder, effective altruist, animal rights supporting independent thinker with a large, loyal following. I love reading their unique, detailed, extensive, well-thought-out opinions.

this great ape 40s; Dx40s; chronic pain, ME; life with invisible disabilities; 2014-2022
Christine M. Condo has staunchly advocated for Autists since becoming aware of her autism in 2015 and has described in wrenching detail her difficulties with chronic pain. I like her dedication, authenticity, and heartfelt tirades.

Ada Hoffmann 34; Dx13; science fiction author; Canada; 2014-2022; Substack
Ada Hoffmann is the author of the space opera novels THE OUTSIDE and THE FALLEN, as well as dozens of speculative short stories and poems. She is an Autistic self-advocate, an adjunct professor of computer science, a former semi-professional soprano, tabletop gaming enthusiast, and LARPer. I love her extensive reviews of autistic speculative fiction and her insights into the Autistic community.

Just Stimming… Woman; 2011-2022
Julia Bascom is an Autistic woman, writer, and self-advocate who writes about Autistic identity, community, and language; disability rights; theory vs. praxis; and personhood. She doesn’t post often but when she does it’s superb, especially regarding the more disabling aspects of Autism.

Nothing if not verbose Kate; 40; Dx30s; Woman; ADHD, EDS, JHS, Dep, CPTSD, SAD, Crohn’s, chronic pain, FB, endometriosis; marine biologist; married to Autistic/ADHD; Australia (Melbourne); 2013-2022
Kate is an Australian marine biologist with a Ph.D. in genetics who blogs on the management of chronic pain, mental health, the challenges of working out so that her muscles can support her bendy joints, politics, feminism, various scattered opinions, trauma, abuse, dog training, how nice it is to sleep on boats, why she likes airplanes, and just about anything she gets interested in (and when she gets interested in things, it’s an intense and overwhelming experience). She conveys her enthusiasm so well that after reading a typically-verbose post, I can’t think of any part I’d want to eliminate.

Spitfyre Phoenix Rising 44; Dx39; Woman; EDS, PTSD, Celiac, other autoimmune, HH; biracial (Caucasian-Cajun-Native); divorced; USA (Texas); 2008-2022; the silent wave, Who Loves Kitty, Laina’s Collection, YouTube, Maidenlion
Laina is a child-free hearing-impaired Wiccan-Buddhist-Hindu-Pagan/Pantheist from South Texas, recently widowed and living with a roommate and three cats, with insatiable compulsions to study biochemistry/economics/history, become an excellent marksman, search for natural dopamine sources, live off the grid, think outside the box, and maintain a stubborn optimistic vision that maybe–just maybe, organic food, martial arts, detoxification, neurodiversity, dark chocolate, libertarian public policy, ethnic downtempo music, a yin-yang balance, and Dr. House, MD can save the world. I love her prolific writing about oddball subjects (as suggested by her preceding self-description) and her devotion to helping others.

Jennifer Lee Rossman – Speculative Fiction Author Dx18+; USA; 2016-2022; Amazon
Jennifer Lee Rossman is a queer, Autistic, and disabled science fiction writer from Binghamton, New York who cross-stitches, watches Doctor Who, and threatens to run over people with her wheelchair. I love her cheerful, ironic, honest acceptance of her physical disabilities and the quirky and captivating short stories carrying unexpected messages posted on the blog.

Predisposition Dx45; 2021-2022
Predisposition is an American, white, cis-gendered man who explores identity through the lens of neurodiversity and recovery. I like his insights into how alcohol use, eating disorders, autism, and privilege have intertwined in his life.

Melanie Magowan 50s; Dx42; Woman; self-employed; New Zealand; 2012-2022
Melanie Magowan blogs about her below-the-knee amputation, her business as a personal trainer, competing as a disabled athlete, and how Autism affects her. I like her passionate dedication to self-improvement.

Autism and Expectations Rhi Lloyd-Williams; Dx30s; Mother of NDs; writer, advocate, mentor, public speaker; a positive and practical approach; married to NT; UK (Wales); 2016-2022; Autact Theatre CIC, Autism HWB
Rhi Lloyd-Williams writes and performs poetry, speaks at conferences and training days, runs workshops, serves as a mentor and advocate for other Autistic adults, and wrote (and toured) the play The Duck about her experiences as an Autist. I like her insights and devotion to the Autistic community.

Autism Unfurling (Formerly The Aspie Teacher) Dx36; Mother of Autistics; 2012-2022; Tumblr
Geeky Science Mom is a mom of two, a science teacher, and a crazy cat lady who has been through multiple traumas and advocates for her children and herself. I like her searing descriptions of the effects of trauma.

Another Spectrum 73; Dx60; Male; migraines; married to NT; New Zealand; 2014-2022
Barry worked in customer support until health issues forced early retirement at the age of fifty. I like his thoughtful commentary on social issues.

Diary of Self 29; Dx20s; Woman; GAD; IT specialist; married; USA (MD); 2017-2022
Cara is a feminist queer twice-exceptional (intellectually gifted and Autistic) blogger who often brings awareness to neurodiversity, mental health, social justice issues, and grad school. I like her fresh perspectives.

Life on a Blue Moon Dx50+; Woman; Dep, Anx, agoraphobia; 2017-2022
Life on a Blue Moon is a woman of a certain age locked in a painful body and a dark grey mind trying to find joy and gratitude every day, with a special interest in fragrance (perfume). I like her perennial gratitude in the face of incapacitating debilitation.

Bonus: This page includes additional recommended blogs.

Finally: Would you be willing to help maintain this website if something happens to me?

I would like to request 10 Autistic volunteers who have demonstrated support for the Autistic community. I’ve been thinking about my own mortality recently. Gmail has an Inactive Account Manager, wherein I can list up to 10 people to gain control of my Gmail account if it becomes inactive for three months. These volunteers could also control this website by signing in with my email address and selecting “Email me a login link” or “Lost your password?” (I’m asking for 10 because some may change their minds when the time comes, which could be far in the future.)

These volunteers can do what they like with this website after I’m gone, with my only request being that it benefits the Autistic community in some way. The main assets of this (free) website are its search engine prominence and 1850+ followers. The “requirements” are minimal, flexible, and optional: moderating comments (only 16 comments required moderation within the past year) and reviewing spam comments (about a half-dozen per day, only two of which have ever been valid comments misclassified as spam).

Please tell me your ideas regarding taking this website in new directions. Thank you in advance.