A social enterprise helping people on the autistic spectrum and the people around them.
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4 Conversation techniques to add to your social script
Posted: 10 months ago
Many autistic people create for themselves a 'social script' to help them know how to interact in social situations. A social script is a guide for planning what to do and say inside a social setting.
The Girl With The Curly Hair uses a social script whenever she meets up with her friends. Specifically, she uses 4 conversation techniques:
How to cope when you can’t do the things you love
Posted: March 20, 2019
Nobody likes it when they have to stop doing something they love doing for a reason outside their control. For example, having to stop exercising because you have an injury or being unable to sew because you have arthritis. Or what about no longer being able to do something because you physically moved away? These experiences are upsetting and perhaps even more upsetting for people on the autistic spectrum.
How reactive are you?
Posted: March 9, 2019
Someone who is unreactive might never say or do anything at all. Someone who is very reactive might talk too much, might talk inappropriately, might stand too close to people, be too "touchy-feely", or they might attempt to 'take over' an activity being done. The former is what you probably understand to be an autistic introvert, the latter an autistic extrovert.
Narrow minded or narrowly focused?
Posted: February 27, 2019
People on the autistic spectrum are often described as being "narrow minded." The definition of narrow minded is not listening to other people's views, which has negative connotations such as being self-absorbed or stubborn. Autistic people can be like this... however, there is another way to think about narrow mindedness: how about considering it as being "narrowly focused" instead? And being narrowly focused has plenty of benefits...
Performing your best performance: 5 steps
Posted: February 17, 2019
Most people want to get the best performance out of themselves. They want to do something the best they can. These situations can be anything, such as: giving a talk, hosting an event, having an interview, participating in a competition, performing something either in front of others or just for yourself. There is a method we can follow to increase the likelihood that we perform at our best for whatever situation we would like to be at our best for. 4 ways to get better at anything
Posted: February 6, 2019
Are there any things that you wish you could do but find hard or can't get started? Have you ever got really excited at the thought of being amazing at something? Have you ever had dreams of writing a book, creating an item of clothing, producing a song, being a spectacular dancer? Autistic people can get quite passionate and one track minded about things. They can have impulsive ideas and immediately want to convert them to reality. The problem is, what happens when you realise that that plan or idea you had wasn't as "easy" as you first thought?
Why have I become more introverted?
Posted: January 29, 2019
I quite often read that people feel they become more introverted as they get older. I was wondering how this was relevant to autistic people. Let me investigate...
Alis is a finalist for an Autism Professionals Award
Posted: January 24, 2019
Alis has just found out that she is one of the three finalists for the Award for Outstanding Achievement by an Individual on the Autism Spectrum. There were an enormous number of nominations so it's a big achievement to have reached this stage!
Why autistic people should do sport
Posted: January 20, 2019
One of the ways in which I have learned to cope with my Asperger's Syndrome is to participate in a sport. My sport happens to be Olympic weightlifting but yours could be anything. A sport can teach you many important lessons that carry over and help other aspects of your life. In this article I will discuss this in more detail.
When are expectations of people damaging?
Posted: January 12, 2019
One of the greatest challenges I experience with my relationships is the other person not adapting the way they interact or work with me despite me telling them that I have ASD. It's incredibly frustrating and disheartening having to deal with people who aren't flexible, but it happens to me so frequently that I am used to it.
One of the 8 best books about autism
Posted: January 6, 2019
Alis's book Asperger's Syndrome and Communication made it into the newspaper The Independent's list of 8 Best Books About Autism. "Asperger’s Syndrome And Communication is a guide, written for autistic people, about how to communicate well. It has simple pictures, is written concisely, and is also useful for people not on the spectrum."