Details: Goose Boy?

One of the questions I found most helpful in the initial quiz in Cynthia Kim’s I Think I Might Be Autistic was in the section about “intense or unusual interests.” The author asks, “Do you find that you naturally focus more on the details of things than on the whole?” I’m grateful that Kim went on

2 Face Blind 2 Furious

An autistic acquaintance mentioned that although she has aphantasia and therefore experiences some of the same issues I do with movies and new people, she finds face blindness mystifying. I don’t blame her. I feel the same way, and I have face blindness. I can say this: it’s not that I don’t pay attention to how

Baby Steps

Me: (reading I Think I Might Be Autistic) Me: (at a glacial pace) Me: (seriously people it’s 111 pages) Me: (kinda sad it’s taking me this long to finish is all I’m saying) Me: (anyway) Book: Do you repeat sounds such as animal sounds, grunts, growls or hums? Me: wait what? Me: whoa Me: okay that’s

The Really Hard Job

Me: Now that Boo has a place of their own, I’m taking the opportunity to go through our apartment, clear out things we don’t need anymore, and enjoy the new space. Last month, I culled about five hundred books from our shelves and boxed them up. Thank goodness I don’t have to lug them anywhere.

Living In A Popcorn World

Me (holding my forearm up) (almost breaking my spouse’s nose with my elbow in the process): This doesn’t look scary, does it? Spouse: um Me: I banged it really hard about twenty minutes ago and it still hurts. There’s not much of a mark or anything. I just want to make sure I’m not ignoring

Just a Little One

I was proofreading my most recent post when something happened that made it almost impossible for me to finish. Don’t worry: everything’s fine. No earthquake; no broken pipes (I manage a building); no sudden storm of rocks falling from a blue sky (I read a lot of weird fiction). If you’re neurotypical and you’d been

The HORROR

Spouse: Hi, honey! Me: YEAH HEY WHAT’S UP OR WHATEVER Spouse: …what happened this time? Me: NOTHING’S WRONG EVERYTHING’S GREAT WHY ARE YOU EVEN ASKING Spouse: Me: okay okay yeah somebody was stupid today Spouse: I’m shocked!  Me: About autism. Spouse: Shocked, I say! Me: but like REALLY stupid Spouse: I’m running out of “shocked” here.

Blind Mind and the Elephant

I have to admit I’ve had a hard time understanding what’s so hard to understand about aphantasia. I mean, it’s the lack of an ability. Shouldn’t we be the ones peppering the neurotypicals with questions about what it’s like to be able to “see” in your head? Some of us spend plenty of time doing just that, without

I’m Afraid (Not)

“WAKE UP!” my best friend screamed, startling me from a sound sleep. It was midnight, I was ten years old, and we’d just conked out after a giggly evening at her house. “What is it?” I asked, immediately alert. It was impossible to be groggy through her ear-splitting shrieks. “FIRE THERE’S A FIRE WAKE UP

Actually, I CAN Imagine

Spouse: hey, did you get a chance to read that article I sent you? The one about aphantasia? Me: YEP Spouse: …I thought it brought up a lot of interesting points. Me: SURE DID Spouse: Um, I liked that the author specifically countered the idea that aphantasia equals uncreative. I loved hearing about that guy