Giving the time and space to do a deep dive. ☺️ what about you?

No one believes me when I say I am so it’s more condescending and rude. I’ve contemplated laminating my paperwork as proof and keeping it on hand. 🙃

So nice to see you here on bluesky! I’ve always enjoyed your content. I was also diagnosed later in life, so your journey really resonates with me. The clarity it brings is life-changing! Thank you for creating a space where people feel seen and supported! 🤍

Nonfiction That Hits Different

Unmasking Autism—Validate yourself. 🧠
Loud Hands—Essays that’ll hype you up. 📢
NeuroTribes—Autism history, but not boring.

💬 Read any of these? Got more recs? Drop ‘em. 💙

✨ For Adults

On the Edge of Gone—Sci-fi but make it real. 🚀
The Kiss Quotient—an autistic heroine gets the guy (and it’s spicy 👀).
An Unkindness of Ghosts—intense, beautiful, unforgettable.
✨

✨ For Preteens

A Kind of Spark—Justice, humor, and heart.
Can You See Me? – It’s like reading a bestie’s diary. 🧡
The Goldfish Boy—Mystery + neurodivergent vibes.

✨ For Kids

My Brother Charlie—Sweet sibling love, no fluff.
All My Stripes—Stripes = strengths. 🦓
I See Things Differently—A Soft Intro to Autism.

This isn’t just about individuals; it’s systemic. Brilliant professionals miss the signs because they’re not taught to look for them.

We need better training, better understanding, and better support.

#AutismInGirls #Masking #Neurodiversity #Parenting

For me, that three-second rule for eye contact became second nature. But it was never natural. My daughter’s already walking the same tightrope.

We need professionals to see beyond the mask.

Autism in girls doesn’t look the same. It’s not always meltdowns or hyperactivity, it’s mimicking, masking, and adapting.

And this is the experience of a white, middle-class girl. Black and POC girls face even greater barriers to being seen and understood.

Masking is why so many autistic girls are overlooked. They work so hard to appear “normal” that people assume they’re fine.

But they’re not fine.

The toll of masking is real—and the patriarchy’s obsession with “polite,” compliant girls only makes it worse

Here’s what frustrates me: the evaluator is brilliant. She’s younger, educated, and compassionate. But even she isn’t fully up to date on how masking skews how autistic girls are perceived.

We’re still failing girls like my daughter.

So when I read in my daughter’s evaluation that she had “socially modulated eye contact,” I knew what that meant. She’s already learning to mask, to hide, to blend in, just like I did.

It’s heartbreaking to see her on the same path.

I used to think my social skills came naturally. They didn’t. I had memorized and practiced them to survive. What I thought was “normal” behavior was actually masking.

Masking is exhausting and it hides so much of who you really are.

I told her, “Well, I learned a loooong time ago that you’re supposed to hold eye contact for three seconds, then look away for a second before looking back. So in my head, I’m always counting to three.”

Her response? “Yeah... We should look into this further.”

That moment reframed my entire life.

When I finally brought it up to my doctor, I felt ridiculous. “I don’t think I’m autistic,” I said. “I make great eye contact.”💁🏼‍♀️

She looked at me and asked, “What do you mean by ‘great eye contact?’”

That question changed everything.