Heather Cook 🦓🖖Autistic Coach
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autismchrysalis.bsky.social
Heather Cook 🦓🖖Autistic Coach
@autismchrysalis.bsky.social
#ActuallyAutistic coaching for #latediagnosis #Autistic humans to break a lifetime of shoulds, burnout, & anxiety.

#AuDHD #ND #EDS #Disabled, she/her, and happy

Find me: https://www.autismchrysalis.com
All my links: https://autismchrysalis.kit.com/
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When you find out you’re autistic later in life, all of a sudden so many things make sense, but you still have all of this conditioning from a lifetime of believing that you were broken, or terrible at being a person, or all sorts of stories that we told ourselves.

#ActuallyAutistic #Autistic
Have you recently figured out you’re autistic? Do you need some advice or information surrounding your new-found identity? I have some information on my resources page that could help you out:
buff.ly/HnJMGsd

#ActuallyAutistic #AuDHD #Autistic
Links Galore
Links Galore Sparking ideas. Here's a curated list of resources, perspectives, community, and support on topics of interest to the Autistic community and our allies. …
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February 15, 2026 at 9:22 PM
When Someone Interrupts Your Alone Time

buff.ly/tS9ioWY

#ActuallyAutistic #AuDHD #Anxiety
February 15, 2026 at 8:42 PM
Getting a professional autism diagnosis will not make it more real. If you're autistic, someone else saying you are doesn't make you any more autistic. Being autistic makes you #ActuallyAutistic.
February 15, 2026 at 3:16 PM
Reposted by Heather Cook 🦓🖖Autistic Coach
I remember sitting in the car with my mom in late high school, crying in a rare moment of emotional overflow, begging her to explain why I didn’t have friends, why the other kids didn’t treat me the same, what was wrong with me.

It took 2 more decades for me to understand why I was different.
1/2
February 12, 2026 at 6:15 PM
So often when we have those kinds of big life-upsetting moments, it feels very, very strongly like ‘this is the end of the story’ and ‘this is always going to be like this from now on’. But what if it’s not the end of the story? What if this is the middle of the story?

#ActuallyAutistic #Autistic
February 14, 2026 at 3:46 PM
When you’re in burnout, just taking a break is never enough because it’s not solving the issues at the core of it.

#AutisticBurnout #Burnout #ActuallyAutistic #AuDHD
February 13, 2026 at 3:21 PM
I remember sitting in the car with my mom in late high school, crying in a rare moment of emotional overflow, begging her to explain why I didn’t have friends, why the other kids didn’t treat me the same, what was wrong with me.

It took 2 more decades for me to understand why I was different.
1/2
February 12, 2026 at 6:15 PM
Sometimes I’ll slip into old thoughts every once in a while - but I’m doing things in ways that work differently now, and my mentality is different, and how I’m approaching things is different, and there’s a lot of things that I’m not stressing about anymore that I would have before.
#PersonalGrowth
February 12, 2026 at 3:15 PM
Will increasing internal awareness make things worse?

buff.ly/f1e9FfE

#ActuallyAutistic #AuDHD #Autistic #Sensory #Interoception
February 11, 2026 at 7:06 PM
Burnout and overwhelm make sensory issues more intense, and they also build up over time, so when you were younger sensory issues may not have been quite as big of a deal.

#ActuallyAutistic #Sensory #AutisticBurnout #AuDHD #Burnout
February 11, 2026 at 4:18 PM
You absolutely can be good at peopling and autistic! We learn social skills analytically instead of picking them up intuitively, but we CAN learn them. And when we do, we often get really, really good at them.

#ActuallyAutistic #AuDHD #Autistic #Neurospicy #Neurodiversity
February 10, 2026 at 2:41 PM
Sneak peak. New video tomorrow: Why Autistics are Lonely

So many autistics struggle with loneliness, even while aching for connection. But why?
It’s easy to think we’re just too different, people will never accept us, loneliness is simply our fate. But what if the real barrier is something else?
February 9, 2026 at 9:00 PM
For every #AuDHD #solopreneur who's been told to "Network constantly!" or "Hustle harder!" —I'm launching a new course soon—

Learn:
→Executive function hacks
→Marketing when you don't want to be perceived
→Pricing fairly without guilt
→Client boundaries and communication
And more → buff.ly/iGSIrxA
February 9, 2026 at 7:15 PM
If you want some neurodivergent and neuro-positive book recommendations, here are my favorites, ranging from fiction, to sensory advice, to autobiographies, to ways to dissolve internalized ableism.

You can find all of them at: buff.ly/ikt177u

#ActuallyAutistic #AuDHD #Autistic #Neurodivergent
February 9, 2026 at 5:27 PM
Autistic masking is a trauma response; there was a good reason why it started, and it’s going to bring up all sorts of insecurities to not protect yourself in this way. 1/2

#AutisticMasking #unmasking #ActuallyAutistic #Autistic #Neurodiversity
February 9, 2026 at 3:07 PM
The Impact Of Internal Awareness On Your Energy Levels

buff.ly/7fZnLc5

#ActuallyAutistic #EnergyManagement #AuDHD #BurnoutRecovery #AutisticBurnout
February 8, 2026 at 8:48 PM
NEW UPLOAD: There's no such thing as "lazy". It’s an excuse used by those in power to get themselves off the hook…

youtube.com/shorts/RFFUK...

#ActuallyAutistic #AuDHD #Autistic #Neurospicy #Neurodiversity
There's no such thing as "lazy"
I don’t believe there’s such a thing as lazy.I think there is such a thing as depressed, and burnout, and learned helplessness, and there are a lot of intern...
youtube.com
February 8, 2026 at 6:18 PM
Most of what has hurt me has not actually been my #autism, but the intensity of my sensory experiences in the world, and to other people reacting to my not meeting their expectations.
February 8, 2026 at 3:37 PM
What if you could talk to a version of yourself 20 years from now? What would they want you to know? What can they tell you that will help you right now?

#AskingAutistics #ActuallyAutistic #AuDHD #Neurodiversity
February 7, 2026 at 2:27 PM
If your nervous system is always ramped up, it doesn’t take a whole lot to push you a little bit too far.

#ActuallyAutistic #Sensory #AuDHD #AutisticBurnout #Burnout
February 6, 2026 at 2:41 PM
When You Can't Reach Out But There Was No Trauma

buff.ly/ukD4pVI

#ActuallyAutistic #AuDHD #Autistic #Neurodivergent #Neurodiversity
February 5, 2026 at 8:50 PM
All the confusion growing up and being told I was saying things wrong, but never being told how, had its effect later in life; I was never sure what I would say or do that would set people off. 1/2

#ActuallyAutistic #AuDHD #Anxiety
February 5, 2026 at 3:45 PM