Michelle Mahoney
@michellemahoney.bsky.social
Neurodivergent Activist, Writer, Educator, Disability Advocate.
Author of Strange Fellow Bobby: The Neurodivergence of Robert F. Kennedy, Sr.
Substack: michellemahoneyautisticadvocate.substack.com
Author of Strange Fellow Bobby: The Neurodivergence of Robert F. Kennedy, Sr.
Substack: michellemahoneyautisticadvocate.substack.com
If they are lucky, Autistic people are able to find their tribe of fellow neurodivergent weirdos. After a lonely childhood, Bobby Kennedy managed to find his.
Misfits: RFK's Neurodivergent Friendships
Chapter 3: Relationships (Part 3)
open.substack.com
November 28, 2025 at 5:30 PM
If they are lucky, Autistic people are able to find their tribe of fellow neurodivergent weirdos. After a lonely childhood, Bobby Kennedy managed to find his.
New blog post addressing some questions about whether we should identify Autistic historical figures who lived before Autism was defined as it is today.
Is It Unethical to Diagnose Historical Figures?
Addressing some common concerns about retrospective diagnosis of Autism
open.substack.com
November 25, 2025 at 11:37 PM
New blog post addressing some questions about whether we should identify Autistic historical figures who lived before Autism was defined as it is today.
For anyone who finds the idea that Robert Kennedy might have been Autistic far-fetched, here is what Kerry Kennedy posted in honor of his centennial birthday yesterday.
November 21, 2025 at 6:53 PM
For anyone who finds the idea that Robert Kennedy might have been Autistic far-fetched, here is what Kerry Kennedy posted in honor of his centennial birthday yesterday.
This installment of Chapter 3 is about how RFK developed friendships. In honor of his 100th birthday today, annual subscriptions to read the full book are on sale for $12.50.
"So intense that it created a barrier": RFK and Friendships
Chapter 3: Relationships (Part Two)
open.substack.com
November 20, 2025 at 9:55 PM
This installment of Chapter 3 is about how RFK developed friendships. In honor of his 100th birthday today, annual subscriptions to read the full book are on sale for $12.50.
“The good Bobby is ill at ease with liberals. The bad Bobby is ill at ease with grownups.”
The first installment of Chapter 3 is about how RFK’s way of relating to others affected his public image, with some seeing him as a ruthless opportunist and others as a paragon of compassion.
The first installment of Chapter 3 is about how RFK’s way of relating to others affected his public image, with some seeing him as a ruthless opportunist and others as a paragon of compassion.
Ruthless: Public Misconceptions of RFK
Chapter 3: Relationships (Part 1 of 8)
open.substack.com
November 14, 2025 at 9:26 PM
“The good Bobby is ill at ease with liberals. The bad Bobby is ill at ease with grownups.”
The first installment of Chapter 3 is about how RFK’s way of relating to others affected his public image, with some seeing him as a ruthless opportunist and others as a paragon of compassion.
The first installment of Chapter 3 is about how RFK’s way of relating to others affected his public image, with some seeing him as a ruthless opportunist and others as a paragon of compassion.
This final installment of Chapter 2 addresses RFK’s difficulties with others’ non-verbal cues. The conclusion unpacks how his non-verbal communication contributed to his “ruthless” public image and his feelings about being misjudged.
Frighteningly Cold and Metallic
Chapter 2: Non-Verbal Communication (Part 4 of 4)
open.substack.com
November 6, 2025 at 7:03 PM
This final installment of Chapter 2 addresses RFK’s difficulties with others’ non-verbal cues. The conclusion unpacks how his non-verbal communication contributed to his “ruthless” public image and his feelings about being misjudged.
Halloween rant about how my favorite scary move franchise got completely ruined.
From Solid Disability Representation to WTF?
How the A Quiet Place franchise derailed.
open.substack.com
October 31, 2025 at 10:44 PM
Halloween rant about how my favorite scary move franchise got completely ruined.
I used to be a disability examiner for SSI & SSDI claims. I just put up an article on my Substack on how mental health disability claims are evaluated (including those for Autism). Lots of helpful info & resource links to improve odds of getting approved quickly.
How SSA Processes Mental Health Disability Claims
A former disability examiner's advice on how to prove you're disabled by a mental health condition
open.substack.com
October 25, 2025 at 7:13 PM
I used to be a disability examiner for SSI & SSDI claims. I just put up an article on my Substack on how mental health disability claims are evaluated (including those for Autism). Lots of helpful info & resource links to improve odds of getting approved quickly.
Campfire breakfast potatoes, anyone?
October 25, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Campfire breakfast potatoes, anyone?
Bobby Kennedy had such a hard time with people reading rudeness into his facial expressions that when his ad men promised to show him as “warm and sincere”, he quipped, “You gonna use a double?”
"You Going to Use a Double?": Body Language and Facial Expressions
Chapter 2: Non-Verbal Communication (2/4)
open.substack.com
October 24, 2025 at 12:11 AM
Bobby Kennedy had such a hard time with people reading rudeness into his facial expressions that when his ad men promised to show him as “warm and sincere”, he quipped, “You gonna use a double?”
Today, I kicked off Chapter 2 of Strange Fellow Bobby:The Neurodivergence of Robert F. Kennedy, Sr. over on Substack.
A Neck Injury or Furtive Guilt: RFK and Eye Contact
Chapter 2: Non-Verbal Communication (1/4)
open.substack.com
October 16, 2025 at 10:55 PM
Today, I kicked off Chapter 2 of Strange Fellow Bobby:The Neurodivergence of Robert F. Kennedy, Sr. over on Substack.
“If you could hear in the motorcades what people yell about my hair…you wouldn’t want to.”
The final installment of Chapter 1 is about how Bobby Kennedy wasn’t as image conscious about his physical appearance as you’d expect a public figure to be.
The final installment of Chapter 1 is about how Bobby Kennedy wasn’t as image conscious about his physical appearance as you’d expect a public figure to be.
Keeping Up Appearances (Or Not)
Chapter One: Reciprocity (Part 6)
open.substack.com
October 10, 2025 at 2:36 AM
“If you could hear in the motorcades what people yell about my hair…you wouldn’t want to.”
The final installment of Chapter 1 is about how Bobby Kennedy wasn’t as image conscious about his physical appearance as you’d expect a public figure to be.
The final installment of Chapter 1 is about how Bobby Kennedy wasn’t as image conscious about his physical appearance as you’d expect a public figure to be.
Following JFK’s assassination, Bobby Kennedy would periodically lose the ability to speak, which alarmed those close to him and would continue to happen at times for the rest of his life. Situational mutism is something that Autistic people often experience.
Chapter One: Reciprocity (Part 5)
Situational Mutism: "It was as though someone had turned off his switch."
open.substack.com
October 2, 2025 at 9:06 PM
Following JFK’s assassination, Bobby Kennedy would periodically lose the ability to speak, which alarmed those close to him and would continue to happen at times for the rest of his life. Situational mutism is something that Autistic people often experience.
My eye doctor’s signature looks like a pair of glasses.
September 26, 2025 at 11:34 PM
My eye doctor’s signature looks like a pair of glasses.
Part of Bobby Kennedy’s Autistic communication style was asking so many direct questions his conversation partners felt like they were in a police interrogation. Reporters complained to his Press Secretary that he’d often start interviewing *them*.
Chapter One: Reciprocity (Part 4)
Overuse of Questions: "He didn't hold his questions back as many of us do..."
open.substack.com
September 25, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Part of Bobby Kennedy’s Autistic communication style was asking so many direct questions his conversation partners felt like they were in a police interrogation. Reporters complained to his Press Secretary that he’d often start interviewing *them*.
One upon a time, I was tasked with doing an ABA-style intervention with a child with Down Syndrome. He was treated with more respect and had more reasonable expectations placed on him (given that both kids were only 3) than his Autistic classmate was in his ABA.
That Time I Did ABA
How Autistic kids are treated differently than other disabled kids
open.substack.com
September 23, 2025 at 5:58 PM
One upon a time, I was tasked with doing an ABA-style intervention with a child with Down Syndrome. He was treated with more respect and had more reasonable expectations placed on him (given that both kids were only 3) than his Autistic classmate was in his ABA.
This week’s installment of Strange Fellow Bobby is the freebie excerpt for Chapter One, but you can get the whole book delivered to your inbox over the next year for $17.50 for an annual subscription.
Chapter One: Reciprocity (Part 3)
Small Talk: "What a shitty way to make a living!"
open.substack.com
September 20, 2025 at 4:04 PM
This week’s installment of Strange Fellow Bobby is the freebie excerpt for Chapter One, but you can get the whole book delivered to your inbox over the next year for $17.50 for an annual subscription.
I’m a Xennial, and my most Gen-X complaint is how we somehow now need separate remotes to turn on our supposedly smart TV, change the channel when watching cable, and turn the sound up.
i don't want to hear your most boomer complaint. what's your most millennial complaint?
September 20, 2025 at 1:29 PM
I’m a Xennial, and my most Gen-X complaint is how we somehow now need separate remotes to turn on our supposedly smart TV, change the channel when watching cable, and turn the sound up.
New glasses, who dis?
September 17, 2025 at 4:03 PM
New glasses, who dis?
Let’s try this again without the weirdly cropped thumbnail. I’ll be serializing my book Strange Fellow Bobby:The Neurodivergence of Robert F.Kennedy, Sr. on Substack over the next year ($17.50 for a yearly sub). There will be generous excerpts up for free, as well, so check it out!
Chapter 1: Reciprocity (Part 1)
First Impressions: "If you didn't get the beat, you didn't get to dance with Robert Kennedy."
open.substack.com
September 11, 2025 at 11:41 PM
Let’s try this again without the weirdly cropped thumbnail. I’ll be serializing my book Strange Fellow Bobby:The Neurodivergence of Robert F.Kennedy, Sr. on Substack over the next year ($17.50 for a yearly sub). There will be generous excerpts up for free, as well, so check it out!
When Autistic people converse with Neurotypicals, a lot more has to be processed at the conscious level. It doesn’t always go smoothly. It definitely didn’t for Bobby Kennedy.
Chapter One: Reciprocity (Part 2)
Conversation: "Is it your turn or mine?"
open.substack.com
September 11, 2025 at 10:53 PM
When Autistic people converse with Neurotypicals, a lot more has to be processed at the conscious level. It doesn’t always go smoothly. It definitely didn’t for Bobby Kennedy.
I wonder how the public and press reacted when George Wallace got shot…was there this much hand-wringing? Were there tons of op-eds reminding us that political violence is bad? Before the 24 hour news cycle and before social media, was it more like “well, that happened… moving on”?
September 11, 2025 at 2:09 PM
I wonder how the public and press reacted when George Wallace got shot…was there this much hand-wringing? Were there tons of op-eds reminding us that political violence is bad? Before the 24 hour news cycle and before social media, was it more like “well, that happened… moving on”?
Why, yes, my book does start with JFK saying “Goddamn, Bobby” in response to RFK being socially awkward during the Cuban Missile Crisis. One can forgive him for not being able to mask when the world was about to end.
Chapter 1: Reciprocity (Part 1)
First Impressions: "If you didn't get the beat, you didn't get to dance with Robert Kennedy."
open.substack.com
September 3, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Why, yes, my book does start with JFK saying “Goddamn, Bobby” in response to RFK being socially awkward during the Cuban Missile Crisis. One can forgive him for not being able to mask when the world was about to end.