Articles
Plain-language, evidence-labelled writing for parents, professionals, educators, and autistic people.
Executive Function in Autistic Adults
Why the dishes, the email inbox, and the doctor appointment feel impossibly hard — and what actually helps.
Masking and Camouflaging in Autistic Adults
What masking is, why so many autistic adults do it, and the mental-health costs research is beginning to document.
Autistic Adults and Healthcare: Barriers and What Helps
Autistic adults face measurable barriers to healthcare — and preventable early mortality. Knowing the barriers is the first step to changing them.
Late-Diagnosed Autism in Women and Gender-Diverse Adults
Why so many women, nonbinary, and trans adults are diagnosed later — and what the research now says about the female autism phenotype.
Co-occurring Mental Health Conditions in Autistic Adults
Anxiety, depression, ADHD, and PTSD are common alongside autism. Recognizing the overlap changes what treatment actually helps.
Autism and Employment: What Actually Works
Autistic adults face persistently high unemployment. The evidence points less at employability skills training and more at accommodations, matched roles, and manager education.
Autistic Burnout: What the Research Actually Says
Autistic burnout is a distinct state of chronic exhaustion, loss of skills, and reduced tolerance to stimulus — described by autistic adults and validated in peer-reviewed research.
Getting an Adult Autism Diagnosis: What to Expect
A plain-language walk-through of the adult autism assessment process — who does it, what tools are used, cost, and what a diagnosis can (and cannot) change.
Autistic Adults, Relationships, and Intimacy
What healthy autistic relationships actually look like — and why social-skills advice from neurotypical culture often misses the point.
Sensory Processing in Autistic Adults
Sensory differences do not fade at 18. Understanding your own sensory profile is one of the highest-leverage things a newly diagnosed adult can do.
Bullying and the Autistic Student
Autistic students are bullied at more than twice the rate of their peers. How schools and families can spot it, stop it, and support recovery.
Anxiety in Autistic Children and Teens
Anxiety affects roughly 40% of autistic youth. How to recognize it (it often looks different), and evidence-based treatment options.
Screen Time and Autistic Kids: A Nuanced Take
Blanket screen-time limits rarely fit autistic families. How to think about content, context, and co-viewing instead of just clock time.
Autism and Driving: What Families Should Consider
Many autistic teens can drive safely — with the right prep. What research shows about risk, when to start, and how to build skills.
Autism and Employment: Finding and Keeping Work
Why the autism unemployment gap is so wide, what actually helps autistic adults get hired, and how to think about disclosure, accommodations, and job fit.
Transition to Adulthood: Planning the Years Before 22
A step-by-step roadmap for families and autistic teens moving from high school to adult life — legal, medical, financial, and daily-living pieces to line up before age 22.
Social Skills Groups: What Works and What to Watch For
Social skills programs can help — but the wrong kind can teach masking. What to look for, what to avoid, and evidence-based programs.
Feeding, Nutrition, and Selective Eating
Why food selectivity is so common in autism, when to worry, and how to expand a limited diet without turning meals into a battle.
Toilet Training the Autistic Child
Why standard toilet-training advice often stalls with autistic kids, and a structured, low-pressure approach that works better.
Puberty and Autism: What Families Should Know
Puberty can be harder and start earlier for autistic kids. A calm, concrete guide to hygiene, privacy, mood changes, and how to talk about bodies.
Sleep and Autism: Why It's Harder and What Helps
Between 50–80% of autistic children have chronic sleep problems. Evidence-based strategies from the Autism Speaks Autism Treatment Network sleep toolkit.
Wandering and Elopement: A Safety Plan for Families
Nearly half of autistic children wander from safe settings at some point. A concrete safety plan, based on AWAARE Collaboration guidance.
How to Get an Autism Evaluation for Your Child
The step-by-step process: from first concern to diagnostic report. What to expect, how long it takes, and how to reduce the wait.
Meltdowns vs Tantrums: What's Really Happening
Why the difference matters, what triggers meltdowns, and what actually helps in the moment and after.
Floortime and the DIR Model
DIR/Floortime is a developmental, relationship-based therapy that meets children where they are through play. What it is, evidence, and how to try it at home.
Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions (NDBI)
ESDM, JASPER, PRT, and other NDBIs blend behavioral science with child-led play. Here's what they are and how they differ from traditional ABA.
How to Choose (or Vet) an ABA Provider
A practical checklist for parents evaluating ABA clinics: red flags, green flags, and the questions that separate quality providers from harmful ones.
Autism-Friendly Parenting Strategies That Actually Work
Low-demand parenting, predictability, sensory accommodations, and the shifts that reduce daily conflict.
Supporting Siblings of Autistic Children
How to talk to siblings, share attention fairly, and raise kids who are close — not resentful.
Respite Care and Parent Self-Care
You cannot pour from an empty cup. How to find respite, ask for help, and take care of yourself without guilt.
Navigating Insurance for Autism Services (US)
ABA, speech, OT, evaluations — what's usually covered, how to appeal denials, and how to use Medicaid, private insurance, and school services together.
What is ABA Therapy? A Balanced Overview
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is the most commonly funded autism therapy in the US. Here's what it is, what the research says, and what parents should weigh before starting.
Building Your Child's Support Team
Who does what: pediatrician, developmental pediatrician, BCBA, SLP, OT, school team, and you. How they fit together.
Occupational Therapy for Autistic Children
OTs help with sensory regulation, motor skills, and daily living. What to expect, what works, and how to find a good one.
Speech Therapy for Autistic Children: A Parent's Guide
What SLPs actually do, what to look for, and how to tell if therapy is working — beyond word counts.
What is Autism?
A comprehensive, respectful, evidence-based guide to autism: what it is, how it is diagnosed, how it shows up across the lifespan, the neurodiversity paradigm, co-occurring conditions, and how to actually support autistic people.
IEPs and 504 Plans: A Parent's Starter Guide
The difference between IEPs and 504 plans, what your child is entitled to under US law, and how to prepare for meetings.
Co-Occurring Conditions in Autism
Autism rarely travels alone. An overview of the conditions most frequently diagnosed alongside it, and why screening matters.
Introduction to AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication)
What AAC is, who benefits, and why early access matters — even for kids who can sometimes speak.
Executive Function: What It Is and How to Support It
Executive function differences explain many "won't do it" struggles. A practical guide for autistic people, parents, and educators.
Identity-First vs Person-First Language
Why most autistic adults prefer "autistic person" over "person with autism" — and why language matters.
Autism in Girls and Women
Why autistic girls and women are under-diagnosed, what presentation often looks like, and what to ask for.
Getting Diagnosed as an Adult
A practical guide to seeking, preparing for, and processing an autism diagnosis later in life.
Early Signs of Autism in Young Children
A plain-language summary of the developmental signs the CDC and AAP recommend watching for in the first three years.
I Was 38 When I Found Out I'm Autistic
A composite testimonial from late-diagnosed autistic adults — drawn from published interviews and research — about what diagnosis changed.
Understanding the DSM-5 Diagnostic Criteria
A clear walkthrough of the two core domains and the support-level system clinicians use to diagnose autism.
The First Year After Our Son's Diagnosis
A composite parent testimonial from published interviews — the grief, the early mistakes, and what we wish we'd known.
Autistic Burnout: What It Is and How to Recover
A research-grounded explanation of burnout — distinct from depression — and an evidence-informed recovery framework.