Danielle Tate's Posts

"But you can speak... You don't know what it's like." by Danielle Tate Posted in: Blog Posts in Autism & Autism Spectrum I can speak. Once in a while, people assume that because I am autistic and can speak, that means I can talk only about autistic people who are "like me"--that is, autist ... Read on »

Gift-Giving by Danielle Tate Posted in: Blog Posts in Autism & Autism Spectrum Gifts are a form of social communication--a ritual meant to strengthen social bonds. When someone gives you a gift, it's because they're following that ritual, to str ... Read on »

Q&A: Newly Diagnosed Toddler by Danielle Tate Posted in: Blog Posts in Autism & Autism Spectrum I was hanging out at Wrong Planet when a new topic popped up, one that's very common at WP. A parent with a newly diagnosed three-year-old, worrying about her future. I ... Read on »

Eye Contact by Danielle Tate Posted in: Blog Posts in Autism & Autism Spectrum When it comes to making eye contact, there's one hang-up that often needs to be taken into account. Autistic brains like ours have a hard time multi-tasking; and that me ... Read on »

LOST: My Motivation by Danielle Tate Posted in: Blog Posts in Autism & Autism Spectrum LOST: My Motivation Small, bright spark of energy. Answers to "interest", "focus", or "perseverance". Very attracted to coffee, libraries, and difficult math probl ... Read on »

Link: "What Makes Institutions Bad" by Danielle Tate Posted in: Blog Posts in Autism & Autism Spectrum I don't have anything of my own to say today, but I'd like you all to go over to ballastexistenz and read one of her recent entries about institutions. The point she mak ... Read on »

Don't Leave "High Functioning" People Behind by Danielle Tate Posted in: Blog Posts in Autism & Autism Spectrum Just 'cause some people need more help than others, doesn't mean they should be the only ones who get help. It's kind of like trying to reach a guy down a well with a ro ... Read on »

S#!T Ignorant People Say To Autistics by Danielle Tate Posted in: Blog Posts in Autism & Autism Spectrum A friend of mine e-mailed me the link to this video... I just have to share it. And, for those of you with auditory processing issues, there are even captions! (Y ... Read on »

Holding on to Hate by Danielle Tate Posted in: Blog Posts in Autism & Autism Spectrum As the various civil rights movements have made progress, society has slowly begun changing. Minority groups are being accepted as equals, and the youngest generation is ... Read on »

Obligatory SOPA/PIPA-related post by Danielle Tate Posted in: Blog Posts in Autism & Autism Spectrum You've seen it; it's all over the Internet. Wikipedia is blacked out and there are banners everywhere. So I don't really need to explain, do I? But, for the record, her ... Read on »

The Embarrassment Contagion by Danielle Tate Posted in: Blog Posts in Autism & Autism Spectrum You ever notice that, when you embarrass yourself, the people around you also feel embarrassed? Maybe it's in sympathy, maybe because they feel like facepalming; but it seem ... Read on »

Note to Self on the First Day of School by Danielle Tate Posted in: Blog Posts in Autism & Autism Spectrum Raise your hand. Don't fidget. No, don't twitch either. Flicking your fingers in front of your face is even more obvious. Stop it; you're distracting the others. ... Read on »

Why I Don't Eat Fish by Danielle Tate Posted in: Blog Posts in Autism & Autism Spectrum I don't eat fish. Or, hardly ever. This is a different thing from not liking to eat fish. In fact, I have no problem with that. The taste is fine, the texture is fine. I' ... Read on »

Impulse Control, Conversations, and Annoyed Friends by Danielle Tate Posted in: Blog Posts in Autism & Autism Spectrum Once again I come to the autism-spectrum community for advice. One of my friends (yeah, I have friends now; shocking, isn't it?), with whom I play tabletop role-playing g ... Read on »

Pass it On by Danielle Tate Posted in: Blog Posts in Autism & Autism Spectrum Sometimes when one person helps another person, and they're asked by their thankful friend, "What could I ever do in return?" they reply, "Just pass it on." I've heard it on ... Read on »

Rainbows, Religion, and Love by Danielle Tate Posted in: Blog Posts in Autism & Autism Spectrum When I was in my early teens, my aunt Johnanna came to visit, and we got to talking about the topic of boys. "I've never had a boyfriend," I said to her. "I don't really ... Read on »

Adulthood by Danielle Tate Posted in: Blog Posts in Autism & Autism Spectrum I'm 28 years old, and most days, I feel like I'm still a child. But recently, I've been realizing that, however much help I need, however unsophisticated my interaction styl ... Read on »

True Faces by Danielle Tate Posted in: Blog Posts in Autism & Autism Spectrum It seems very counterproductive to try to act non-autistic. I would much rather understand and use my autism to my advantage--to be a happy, healthy autistic person rather t ... Read on »

Note to Self by Danielle Tate Posted in: Blog Posts in Autism & Autism Spectrum You know how everybody thinks that you've only got a good life if you've got a big house with an Olympic-sized pool, a job that involves filling said pool with cash and swim ... Read on »

Depression & Cures by Danielle Tate Posted in: Blog Posts in Autism & Autism Spectrum This might be a little bit odd to say, but, if given the choice, I don't think I would choose not to have major depression. I have had several episodes of major depressio ... Read on »

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