I need to talk about a thing. It’s a really difficult, embarrassing & earth-rocking thing for me but talking about this stuff in public is how I process & own them. It takes the sting out. And maybe it’ll help someone else feel less alone or ashamed. So here goes. Deep breath. 1/ I got a call from social services because someone (almost certainly a neighbour with whom I share a very thin wall) had reported crying & shouting. My autistic meltdowns, folks. Yep. The worst-nightmare scenario, the thing you’re terrified others are thinking but put aside 2/

It’s very telling how apoplectic people get when you’re like “consider someone might be undiagnosed autistic & treat them with compassion instead of judgment” If you’re so offended at the idea of recognising common autistic traits when it’s so massively underdiagnosed that you refuse to make basic allowances & accommodations for people displaying them, you’re guaranteeing misery for vast swathes of undiagnosed autistic folks

I love Queer Eye but they urgently need training on neurodivergence because if I have to sit through them shaming one more very probably undiagnosed autistic person for not being able to eat vegetables or dressing for comfort I’m going to flip a table Someone coming into my house, digging through my cupboards, making me justify my diet then pressuring me to try every type of fruit and vegetable in order to broadcast it on an international streaming platform is worst-nightmare stuff.

One thing I’ve noticed about the “denying biology” argument of transphobia is that they often seem confused about what’s meant, when for example we talk about “people who menstruate”. They think it means trans women BELIEVE they menstruate, as opposed to some trans men. 1/ I don’t know any trans people who aren’t acutely aware of biology. Is that not the whole point? I don’t know a single trans woman who thinks they’ll transition and start having periods. The transphobes often don’t even understand the thing they’re arguing against 2/

I’ll never forget the first time I accidentally waded into a discussion on trans issues. It was a few years ago, I hadn’t really encountered the transphobic crowd before. Someone posted complaining about the term “people who menstruate” to describe, well, people who menstruate 1/ The poster wanted to call them WOMEN. Embarrassingly, I knew very little about trans identities. So I wasn’t thinking about trans men or non-binary folks who might still have periods when I said I didn’t understand the problem with the term 2/

I think Starmer is a prick. But I will NOT tolerate being blamed for this government for spending 4 years BEGGING people to take the antisemitism that came with Corbyn’s Labour seriously by people chanting “Keith” on their own timelines. Either that’s enabling Tories or it’s not. You’re no progressive if you think every group should be believed about the discrimination they face except Jews. And if you think disliking one Labour leader makes you responsible for a resulting Tory government, but doing the exact same with the next doesn’t, you’re a hypocrite

This cannot be allowed to happen for so many reasons, not least because it will make healthcare inaccessible to the disabled & chronically or long-term ill people who need it the most.

https://twitter.com/skynews/status/1616624617757757440

Do people have any idea of the already exorbitant expense of existing while disabled or with a chronic condition? Every simple thing needs a workaround. Adding yet another de factor disability tax is so far beyond unacceptable.

Pals - I wrote a book. I’m proud of how well it’s been received & that autistic people feel seen by it.

However - my big dream is for more non-autistic folks to read & understand more about our experiences. I’d love your help in spreading the word!

amzn.eu/d/7AOzoEk I think people see the title & assume it doesn’t apply to them - but I promise you, even if you don’t realise it, you know several autistic people, all of whom are working their butts off to fit in to a society that isn’t designed for us. The more people who get it, the better.

Whenever I talk about covid mitigation with non-disabled people, their go-to is always “so you want us to give up our whole lives?” despite that not being what I’m saying *at all*. I’m saying live your life but take basic precautions. So why the overreaction? 1/ It’s because when presented with the long-term harm covid will do to our public health, our economy & all of us as individuals - alongside really easy ways to reduce that harm, it’s impossible to maintain the position of doing nothing. 2/

All of the Beatles were funny - but George was the comedy writer. He understood the mechanics of comedy better than any of them. At every pivotal moment in Beatles lore, he had a punchline for things others didn’t even realise were setups & turned precarious situations into wins When Paul nearly wrecked their early relationship with Brian Epstein by refusing to show up on time to a meeting, saying he’d be there when he finished his bath & Brian got upset that he was very late, George responded: “He may be very late, but he’ll be very clean”

Someone I once admired greatly wrote that in order to put your soul back together, you have to really feel remorse for the harm you’ve caused. I wish she was still around to have a word with the person she’s become. If I’m honest, the whole thing scares me silly. I don’t believe, funnily enough, in immutable binaries. I don’t believe people are all good or all bad. But it terrifies me that someone who seemingly tried so hard to bring light into the world gave in to their darkest impulses.

It’s a tough time of year for people who find socialising difficult, so here are a few icebreakers to help you through the holiday period 🧵 1/ “I didn’t want to come here and I’m waiting for the earliest acceptable moment to leave” 2/

A couple of years ago, someone found my home address via an old (now removed) companies house listing & posted it into a thread of antisemites being antisemitic about me. I had to phone the police & install a security camera. I was terrified to answer my door. That was doxxing. And despite the context, despite sleuthing friends finding out exactly who the anonymous poster was and passing that info to the police, I was still told they could do nothing because before I ever thought I’d have any kind of public profile, I registered a company once.

Reasons an autistic person might be misread as manipulative & untrustworthy when they’re actually the opposite 🧵 : 1) avoiding eye contact. We’re taught that lack of eye contact = guilty conscience / a sign of lying. Actually many autistic people find eye contact painful & where they’re looking has no bearing on the content of what they’re saying.