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Testing Tips: Advice from an Autistic Grad Student

I was a sophomore in high school when I got my first failing grade on a test. It was for Spanish two, and my comprehension of the subject was slightly above that of my peers, but we had been given a page-long story (with at least four different conjugations) to translate in 90 minutes. In a classroom full of stressed students, all either shuffling pages, sniffling, or similarly having a hard time, I spent a good amount of that test on the verge of tears. My 62% was slightly above the class average, with one of my friends getting the highest grade at 82%, but it ended up being struck from the gradebook because we’d all failed so spectacularly, and the test didn’t accurately reflect our knowledge of course concepts, given that most people weren’t able to finish in the given time. That being said, testing can be really stressful, especially when it goes differently than what you’d expect. This is doubly true for me as an autistic person and compulsive overachiever, so I’ve picked up a cou...
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One of Those Autistic People - The Problem with Functioning Labels

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“My cousin is on the autism spectrum, but they're not like  those autistic people who are always flapping their hands in front of their face,"  an acquaintance explained by demonstrating, miming the action of flapping her hands in front of her face. I've heard similar explanations about the differences between high functioning and low functioning autism before, and I thought I'd spend some time talking about the use of this kind of language, how it attempts to differentiate between "good autism" and "bad autism," but actually just ends up hurting all autistic people.  What are functioning labels? A functioning label is usually given to an autistic person by other people, and it is usually used to imply how well they can "function" within a neurotypical world. "High functioning" is often used to refer to people who appear "less autistic" and "low functioning is used to refer to people who appear "more autistic...
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Media Representation of Autism: From Best to Worst

 In my earlier blog post, I talked about important factors when thinking about autism representation of media. This is a list of a wide variety of autism representation in media (primarily movies and tv shows), and each one has their pros and cons. Personally, I would say that I don't have an absolute favorite as of yet, because I still haven't seen any autism representation that looks like me. That being said, the more autistic participation, the better, but nearly all autism representation has some room for improvement.  This list is not a comprehensive list of every confirmed autistic character in media, and I hope to add to it in the future as we hopefully move towards more authentic and complex autistic characters, but for now I have a list of movies, a brief summary, and what I thought about their representation of autism. I hope this list is helpful for others as you think about the good, the bad, and the ugly in autism representation. Media Representation of Autism: Fr...
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Autism Representation: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Sheldon Cooper. The Good Doctor. Rain Man. Music. The Blue Power Ranger. Donatello from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Temple Grandin. Even Matthew from The Chosen. All of these movie characters have something in common: their creators characterized them as being on the autism spectrum. Some of these examples are better than others, and some of them are actively harmful in their representation of autistic people. This week, I'll be going into the aspects of autism representation, why it matters, things to avoid, and how to do it well. What is Autism Representation? In media, autism representation happens when a character exhibits various traits of autism. These traits do not necessarily need to be labeled as autism, in fact many characters with autistic traits are simply referred to as "eccentric," "quirky," or "socially awkward." Even if a character wasn't originally intended to be seen as an autistic person, one only has to look as far as the inte...
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Hyperfocusing, Special Interests, and Procrastination

As an occupational therapy student, one of the hardest classes I'll have to take is Anatomy, and I'm taking it right now. Aside from the sensory hell I experience from the bone saws, the embalming fluids, and... other fluids, it hasn't been quite as bad as I thought, but I'm always nervous when we get to the exams, so I'll usually try to study a lot to compensate.  This weekend, instead of being responsible and studying for my upcoming exam, I realized about halfway through the day that my cat absolutely needed a costume for Halloween, and I spend the next three hours going to the store, buying yarn, and knitting him the beginnings of an Ewok hood to match my Leia cosplay. I did get about five good hours of studying in that day, but in-between those times, I was playing Minecraft, watching NCIS, and trying to think of meals I could eat that would maximize time playing and minimize time spent cooking. I would consider this weekend relatively productive, but obviously...
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The Importance of Language: Arguments Against Impostor Syndrome

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"Alright everybody, raise your hand if you've ever experienced Impostor Syndrome! All of you without your hands raised, you're a liar." During my freshman year of college, at least three of my classes included this exact conversation. Everybody being told that everybody feels like they don't belong, and that they should publicly declare this feeling of not belonging with the world.  Even before my autism diagnosis, I found this tendency frustrating even though I couldn't explain why at the time. Now, though, I have quite a few opinions about the use of this label with this diagnosis in mind. First of all, I want to clarify that I'm not against the idea of people feeling like they don't belong; that is a very real feeling that people experience. My biggest issue is with the naming of "Impostor Syndrome."  According to google, a syndrome is "a group of symptoms which consistently occur together, or a condition characterized by a set of ass...
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Life Hacks Part 1: Kitchen Chores

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Chores are hard. They take up a lot of time and energy, and they're never really done. For autistic people especially, there's a lot of obnoxious sounds, smells, and textures that can make many chores very mentally taxing, and I include myself in that statement. If I didn't find ways around these sensory nightmares, my house would be a mess. Thankfully, the internet is a treasure trove of helpful tips for making these tasks easier, so I thought I'd share a few of my own. I'll be organizing these tips by whether they're a kitchen chore, a living room chore, etc. Hopefully these tips can help others like they have helped me, whether you're on the autism spectrum or just hoping to cut down on the effort involved in house chores. 1. Dishes When I moved out, I moved into a place without a dishwasher, and I became extremely aware of how many dishes I use on a regular basis. I discovered that using disposable plates, cups, and utensils drastically decreased the num...
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