A Neuro-Affirmative Perspective on Autistic Adults In recent years, a growing movement known as the neuro-affirmative approach has emerged, seeking to understand and appreciate the diverse experiences of autistic individuals. This approach emphasizes celebrating the inherent strengths and unique qualities of autistic adults, fostering a culture that embraces neurodiversity. Central to this philosophy is the recognitionContinue reading “Celebrating Autistic Happiness”
Category Archives: Geen categorie
Autism and Identity: The Complex Relationship Explored
How does autism influence our identity? That’s what I try to explore in this blog.
Is self-diagnosis of autism via Tiktok dangerous?
‘Things I experience due to autism’ and ‘How to know if you have autism’. TikTok is full of such videos. What impact does that have? Experts are clear: ‘If someone labels themselves, it can have negative consequences.’ Photo by Solen Feyissa on Unsplash It is becoming increasingly common these days to find videos and podcasts onContinue reading “Is self-diagnosis of autism via Tiktok dangerous?”
What are the least understood things about autism?
While there has been significant progress in understanding autism, there are still many aspects of the condition that are not well understood. Here are some examples of the least understood things about autism.
From one obsession to another… autism and obsessions
A short text on how my life is still mostly dominated by my obsessive interests but the way I deal with them has changed.
What can I do to better serve autistic customers? … autism and shopping
How can I better serve autistic customers? Sometimes sales people ask me this question. In this blog I try to explain what would help my wife and me to improve our shopping experience.
The Reason I Jump … a documentary on communicating with autistic people
A review of ‘The Reason I Jump’, a documentary on non-verbal autistic people and their relatives, based on the book of Naoki Higashida. In recent decades, autism has increasingly become a topic in films, series and in pop culture in general. As We See It, Everything’s gonna be ok, Hors Normes, Follow the SOA, TheContinue reading “The Reason I Jump … a documentary on communicating with autistic people”
Writing in English
Writing a text about my feelings, thoughts, ideas in a foreign language is tricky. Somehow I have to simplify what I mean. So that’s why I only write in Dutch, the language in which I grew up. Although I have had many years of education in English. Still it remains difficult to express exactly what I am trying to say.
Furthermore, I am a bit afraid to make stupid mistakes. English is rather difficult to write in. Especially if I want my text to be more than a series of online quotes put together. Or something like the texts and talks of non-native speaking politicians and entrepreneurs abroad. But then, why not give it a try? If everyone else fails to write well, I shouldn’t bother to make huge errors. It is, after all, a free world, and writing without errors is so unfashionable.
How about autistic happiness?
Some of the more popular books that are published on autism, are about recovery. Not about acceptance or social inclusion, but about stimulating children, youngsters and adults, yes even elderly people with autism to outgrow their autism, or, if you like, loose their autistic symptoms. So that they can appear, from the outside, normal. NormalContinue reading “How about autistic happiness?”
The European Autist 