The Asperger's Girl Guide

Recently I've been thinking about becoming more positive and trying not be negative.  In the past I've allowed myself to be negative for no reason and pushing away opportunities through lack of confidence and not understanding my talents properly.  For me it has been a struggle to get to the point where I feel confident enough to get myself into a world that I sometimes feel alienated from, but somehow i'm going to have to fit in. And this is where I thought about the knock on effects of negative emotions and thoughts.  Changing my mental attitude is a hard process and something I have to think about and although i've began writing post it notes with positive messages about my body confidence, intelligence and even to the point of saying trust yourself and your gut!  It seems strange and a little bit weird, but it helps to have a visualisation of what my attentions about myself are, it can help drive you to go for stuff that you wouldn't normally and ...

Anxiety is a normal thing that every human has, it's actual definition is: A feeling of worry, nervousness or unease about something with an uncertain outcome.  But when Anxiety takes over and the worrying, nervous and uneasy feelings become apart of your daily life and even begins to dictate your decisions it can become isolating, painful, and even destructive.  People with Aspergers know this feeling all to well and with the aid of the self analysing every moment of your life in overdrive it can become more of a debilitating cycle that if not broken can ruin your life if not addressed properly.  Now before you run around the room, with your hands on the side of your head trying not to rip your hair out, the first thing to do is take a step back and breathe.  Just one simple thing that can just allow you one little minute of time where you can say to your head STOP!   If you want to shout stop out loud then do it , it's whatever...

There has been a lot of controversy surrounding the proposed cuts to essential benefits that allow the disabled population to support themselves.  Since the UK Budget last week the Chancellor George Osbourne proposed over the next 5 years, 4.4 billion pounds will be cut from disability benefits such as Personal Independence Payment and Employment and Support Allowance to cut the deficit. What that means for those who rely on these benefits would lose £30 a week from their benefit.  Over the weekend there has been some drastic changes that have come from this with a huge backlash from major disability charities such as Scope who have been outraged and disgusted with the governments choices, Conservative back benchers calling for the chancellor to rethink the cuts to vital benefits and also more importantly the resignation of The Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith who in his resignation letter said:  "I have for some time and rather ...

All Aspergers Girls and Boys at some point will have a meltdown!  For those who are confused to what a 'Meltdown' means, it basically is a massive release of anxiety or frustration which can turn violent in many circumstances and for loved ones can be a traumatic experience to see their autistic child/partner lose themselves in a meltdown.  It isn't pretty and it can be frightening for anyone involved including yourself, I hate to say this but when it all gets to much we all fall into the Meltdown cycle.  Depending on how stressful life is at the moment, pressure with exams and other things such as work commitments, family life, grief and other normal daily stresses can pile up on you and make you flip that switch in your head.  It is important to see the signs as usually Meltdowns come from Anxiety or Frustration which manifests itself over time. It can be days, weeks or months worth of anxiety that you think you are managing that can sudden...

You'd think in the 21st century attitudes towards Autism would finally be one that is positive rather than negative?  But a recent story published online and via various media outlets have proven that still some people's attitudes to Autism are lacking the compassion and understanding and even questioning the equal rights for those who are considered disabled.  Meet Andy Foster, a 45 year old with Autism started working three weeks ago as a waiter in Grenache restaurant in Walken Manchester.  Andy is a passionate and hard working man who when not working in Grenache cares for his elderly mother who suffers from alzheimer's, was discriminated against openly due to his Autism.  Luckily Andy has an amazing employer who was just as outraged and disgusted by the costumers comments and has stood up for his employee following the incident that took place one night.  The costumers complained to management about Andy in particular, and alt...

You might have seen in The Observer this Sunday an article about how the police 'need more training' when it comes to their treatment of autistic people. It's an issue like anything to do with Aspergers and indeed autism that I feel needs to be taken into consideration and although we are getting there slowly with public awareness of autism there is a point where we need to address the services we may need to rely on in the future.  From what I understand from the article itself written by journalist Jamie Doward is that in order for autistic people to feel comfortable and have a better trust in the police, the police first need to understand what it is like to live with autism.  I have in the past thought about this subject in depth before and have had instances where I have told a police officer that I am autistic and have received a confused look and a bad attitude to go with it.  I am not in anyway saying that the police are in the wrong or that they are...

I know I have been absent of late and this is due down to my work experience placement at the BBC.  I cannot give out many details about what I have been doing as the programme I'm working on Rip off Britain (Some of my UK readers might of heard of it) is currently in production and well I can share some new about my time there. So I have been in their production office which is based in Media City Uk in Salford, my old home for three years when I was a mire University student  to now be working in the current affairs department with professionals who know their stuff about the television industry and how to make a programme with a quick turn over look easy. It's an amazing time at the moment and I understand anyone's frustration if they have been looking on here on tuesdays and gone: Where is the blog post??  I've been a rubbish person when it comes to posting new content of late but I haven't forgotten about you guys honestly!  I have been wo...