One of the most difficult parts about being Autistic is the relentless bullying that starts in childhood and often continues for the rest of our lives.

Today I am going to talk about strategies for dealing with Autistic Chronic Fatigue. I want to be clear at the start here that I have no idea what causes chronic fatigue syndrome or CFS. CFS may have multiple underlying causes. We don't know. However the symptoms do seem to be shared in a similar way by multiple people. My working hypothesis is tha…

Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome and you or someone you know.

There is such a thing as being too flexible.

The title says it all :)

The Intense World Theory is a hypothetical model of Autism that posits that Autistic traits are the result of heightened sensory sensitivity and that different Autistics have different sensitivities.

Some of the many ways that Autistics and Allistics communicate differently.

A few strategies

Autistic traits can include wide variations of how we process visual information internally

I'm seeing a lot of people I love giving up on wearing a mask in public. It's breaking my heart and you can hear it in my voice on this episode. Covid is not over.

In this episode I talk about Functional Labels and Applied Behavioral Analysis. I don't go into a lot of grisly details so you should be able to listen to it if you want to without hearing anything traumatizing. It's just a very quick overview.

Sometimes the only way to win is not to play the game

Lists of Autistic traits on social media is one of the ways that many adult Autistics figure out who they are

Hyper focus and dedication to learning everything about a particular topic are very common Autistic traits

Autistics are often said to have "Spiky Profiles."

Getting an official diagnosis can be difficult and expensive but is it even worth it?

Autistic Burnout is devastating and we know a lot about what can trigger it but very little about what causes it.

Yes, Autistics are often highly empathic!

Autistics often have much higher sensory perception than Allistics do. This can lead to both pleasure and pain. When there is too much sensory input without enough time/space to process it that can lead to an Autistic meltdown

Yes! Autistic brains are different

Self diagnosis is not only valid it's essential.

A brief discussion about the connection between Autistic traits and jesters

Autistic masking - what is it and do all Autistics do it?

Many Autistics don't know they are Autistic until they are adults. It's a discovery that can be quite joyful but also has unique challenges.

Terminology in the Autistic community - a brief summary of a contentious topic

In this episode Rachel discusses how to spot predatory organizations

A brief announcement about the upcoming Autism Appreciation Month episodes

Hullo peoples! Hope you are all doing as best as can be hoped under the circumstances. <3

Just a brief episode to say hi and declare what should be freaking obvious. Black Lives Matter.Di Rachel Aanstad

Rachel explains what she was doing last year and that the podcast will be moving to a new hosting service since Whooshkaa chose a global pandemic to start squeezing us for moneyDi Rachel Aanstad

Rachel says hi and has a chat about current events with herself. More interviews soon. <3Di Rachel Aanstad

Hullo lovely people's this isn't even really an episode. It's more of a message in a bottle to let you know what's going. Tl:dl - I had to take a short break but will be back soon. <3Di Rachel Aanstad

I read Jane's marvelous 1998 essay about discovering her Autistic identity. "Thoughts on Finding Myself Differently Brained" by Jane Meyerding http://www.planetautism.com/jane/diff.htmlDi Rachel Aanstad

Anlor Davin - Actually Autistic Meditation Teacher and published Author and I talk about how her meditation practice reshaped her interior landscape and helped her survive her greatest challenges.Di Rachel Aanstad

Kim Crawley, Actually Autistic Cyber Security Blogger, and I talk about her difficult road to an accurate diagnosis, school, cyber security, how we can make ourselves safer online, and how her Allistic Rock-n-Roll boyfriend rocks her world.I also spend sometime at the beginning of the episode talking about the podcast itself. Here is the FB group I…

Tema Krempley, Actually Autistic Graduate student getting her Masters in Social Work, and I talk about Grad school, Beethoven, GoT, Burnout, Masking, tips for telling your family and coworkers about being Autistic, and tips for family members wanting to support Autistic adults.Di Rachel Aanstad

Hilary Reyl, non-Autistic identified (Allistic) Author, of the YA book, "Kids Like Us" that features an Autistic protagonist. Not only is Hilary a talented writer, and a lovely human being, she's one of my oldest and dearest friends. We discuss her new book, the Autistic community, parenting, empathy, Echolalia, Autistic Burnout, Masking, her amazi…

Dr. James McGrath, Actually Autistic Author and Poet, and I discuss his wonderful book "Naming Adult Autism: Culture, Science, Identity" where he focuses on how our culture perceives and defines Autism. We have a fun and free wheeling conversation that touches on The Beatles, Dr. Hans Asperger, the joys of having a favorite cafe', bullies, the impo…

Samantha Craft aka Marcelle Ciampi, Actually Autistic Advocate, Author, (and much much more) and I talk about her list Females with Asperger's Syndrome: An Unofficial List https://the-art-of-autism.com/females-and-aspergers-a-checklist/ and her Autistic journey. Masking vs not masking, the joys and perils of online Autistic communities, and her cur…

Rachel and @mykola , Master Tweeter, Software Engineer and Actually Autistic Activist, talk about how Les Misérables changed his life, his rocky road to accepting himself as Actually Autistic, and the epic viral Twitter thread that has helped thousands of people to see Autism in a new light.Di Rachel Aanstad

Rachel and Morénike Giwa Onaiwu, Actually Autistic Activist, talk about Functioning Labels (and why we don't need them), Intersectionality, parenting, romantic gifts gone awry, Graduate school, Steven Universe and much much more!Di Rachel Aanstad

Rachel and Shona Davison, Actually Autistic educator and advocate, talk about Aphantasia and Hyperaphantasia. The risks and benefits of coming out as Autistic, Parenting, Challenging Behavior, how to make money gambling, and Sherlock Holmes.Di Rachel Aanstad

Sarai Pahla MD, Actually Autistic medical translator, speaks 4 languages and can kick your video butt in first person shooters. We talk about Sarai's transatlantic journeyto find a place she could call home and we make an effort to demystify Allistic ways of talking. Mostly we laugh a lot at ourselves and the world we find ourselves in. Be sure to …

Rachel and Konstantine Anthony, Actually Autistic Parent, Activist, Public Servant, Researcher, and Improv Comic and Trainer, talk about Autistic brains, Dendritic Pruning, Synesthesia, the home videos that helped him understand himself, and the magic of Yes And. Then he schools me on why you don't have to be Autistic to be funny (Although I think …

Rachel Aanstad and Dr. Wenn Lawson, Autistic Advocate and author of over 20 books, discuss being an Autistic parent, over-committing to projects, the advantages to aging as an Autistic, his experience transitioning to being a man at age 61, his love of birds and the art of saying "Oh well."Di Rachel Aanstad

Host Rachel Aanstad, and Sarah Hendrickx, Internationally recognized Actually Autistic Autism expert discuss diagnosis for Autistic women, spiky profiles, the art of stand-up comedy, imposter syndrome, anxiety, love, and the joys of making soup.Di Rachel Aanstad

Callie Wright, from the Podcast Queersplaining interviews me, Rachel Aanstad, for my own show. We talk about labels, my obsession with Shakespeare, and how it felt for me to discover, as a middle-aged lady, that I'm Autistic.Di Rachel Aanstad