For the Birds: A thoughtful & idiosyncratic compendium of resources

aka a slow-built archive for fellow divergent travelers

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Film photo by M.

Dear birds,

For about a year and a half now, I’ve been saving, bookmarking, obsessively re-reading, and quietly hoarding links—personal essays, researched articles, creative texts, and everything in between.

To put it bluntly: These materials have helped me integrate the life-changing revelation of my autism. More than that, they’ve helped me name the nameless things, and begin training my attention toward that which has been beckoning me for a long time.

The collection below is a little messy, deeply personal, and absolutely non-exhaustive. But it’s full of things that matter greatly to me. And I’m guessing some of them will matter to you, too.

My hope is that when you look at this list, you don’t feel overwhelmed with homework, but hugged by a deep sense of possibility and validation. There are some good goods below, friends—nothing here was haphazardly saved.

I encourage you to bookmark today’s letter and return to it as needed—in your own time, and at your own pace.

As you do, may you find a steady mix of joy, illumination, and oh my gawd same-ness.

xoxo,

S

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Autistic “Memory-Foaming”

• Hands down one of the most powerful, mind-blowing ideas I encountered in the last two years. Written by Attlee Hall.

On disability

• One of my favorite poetic prose essays from the past year. Written by Joanne Limburg.

Self-awareness

• “You can’t see what you can’t see”—an extremely helpful metaphor. Written by Shawntistic.

Autism & Buddhism

• A poetic exploration of the undeniable connections between these two identities. Written by Helen Mirra.

• Short illuminating interviews with four autistic Buddhists.

• On selfhood and “forgetting the self.” Written by Sarah Whiteside.

Autism & poetry

• A book like no other: May Tomorrow Be Awake. Written by Chris Martin.

Language & communication

• The kind of language some autistic folks reach for. From Chavisory’s Notebook.

• On “good” communication and stuttering. Written by Emma Alpern.

• Some thoughts on respectful and effective communication. By Reframing Autism.

Autism & habits versus routines

• A fantastic convo from the Autism In Women reddit thread.

Autism & gender

• This 2017 article is slightly outdated but still contains foundational wisdom. By Natalie Engelbrecht.

• 8 things autistic women want you to know. Video by Iris.

Autism & intuition

• Spoiler: You should trust yours. Written by Kristy Forbes.

Emotional regulation

• “‘Thoughts are not feelings’ is shitty psychological advice.” Written by Devon Price.

Intense World Theory

• A comprehensive and deeply compelling theory of autism. Coined by three researchers in 2007, this particular article was written by James Ward-Sinclair.

Monotropism

• A wildly thorough (but accessible) explanation of monotropism. Written by Helen Edgar.

• A fantastic informal questionnaire. Created by David Cary.

Spoon theory

• An accessible overview. Written by Jacqueline Raposo.

On later-in-life diagnosis

• A really succinct and accessible personal story. Written by Julie M. Green.

• You can actually (re-)cultivate your stims! Video by Mom on the Spectrum.

Stimming

• See previous entry.

• A truly wonderful list, from the Autism Translated reddit.

Masking

• Masking versus self-monitoring. Written by Megan Anna Neff.

• The long-term damage that masking has on self-esteem. A study published in the National Library of Medicine.

Identifying your capacity

• On being “more autistic” some days than others. Written by Julie M. Green.

• On skills regression. Written by…woops, me!

Classic Hannah Gadsby :)

• This: “I’ve always understood far more than I’ve ever been able to communicate.” But also this: “Ah, well, it’s all part of the soup. Too late to take the onions out now.”

• Oh gawd, I love them so much—this, too:

“Diagnosis gave me a framework on which to hang bits of me I could never understand. My misfit suddenly had a fit, and for a while, I got giddy with a newfound confidence I had in my thinking. But after Grandma died, that confidence took a dive, because thinking is how I grieve. And in that grief of thought, I could suddenly see with so much clarity just how profoundly isolated I was and always had been.”

Helpful visual graphics

• Nearly a dozen explanatory visuals focused on neuronormativity & neurodivergence, from the Lived Experience Educator.

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Dear Birds,

What’s missing?

What would you add?

What are you dying to see someone write about? I hope you’ll let me know.

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