The Asperger's Girl Guide

It's no secret that we all have Periods, apparently it's the 'most natural thing in the world' a girl can experience and is a symbol of finally becoming a woman!  What they don't tell you in your handy health class is that your boobs feel like the size of bowling balls and are sensitive or tender, your stomach feels like it's in a vice and your back constantly aches, Bloating and feeling Fatter than normal and if all that wasn't bad enough prepare yourself for crying at any given time, feeling depressed and moody and just generally craving anything sweet, deep fried or covered in loads of chocolate.  Periods are somewhat a taboo subject even now in the 21st century, it's something to do with the fact that people really don't want to understand or even acknowledge that blood comes from the intimate area of your body every single month with or without warning.  The best representation of what a period can do to you! They arrive with th...

Emotions or feelings are something that we all have and can not hide from!  No matter how hard we try not to let them escape or cause chaos in our lives, they are always going to be there and it's hard to deal with them when they arise.  The thing about being Aspergers or Autistic is that when these emotions arise we don't know how to deal with them or register what they are. It's frustrating and to be able to communicate these emotions when you possibly don't understand what they are can be even more infuriating.  I've covered meltdowns and how they are usually triggered from the build up of stress, anxiety or frustration towards a situation or bottling up feelings that have been simmering away beneath the surface without letting them out in a safe and controlled manner.  The thing is we are not robots and neither are we designed to not have emotions, because everyone does.  Knowing what they are and where to put them is not that easy to do a...

Sleep is an allusive beast when you are Autistic, it seems that although you can do so much physical exercise that your body wants to fall into bed and stay there for eternity, your mind on the other hand has other ideas.  This can be anything from what is happening in your life, something you've over analysed or mine for example likes to make me stay awake until whatever time in the morning writing scripts or even books just so it can tire itself out more easily.  Not being able to sleep is higher amongst Autistic Adults which is no surprise, and insomnia I imagine seems to be higher amongst Autistic Adults.  But why is it that we cannot sleep? I mean we need up to 8 hours a day to be healthy but yet this never seems to happen.  My sleeping patterns change constantly and dramatically depending on my anxiety levels and what is happening in my life at that period of time. Usually the number one cause for not being able to sleep with auti...

It can be difficult in Social Situations to engage and interact with the people you work, socialise and live with.  Many of us use the technique of Masking, which in a sense is copying 'Normal" behaviour but in social situations if the trusty mask slips it can be the most awkward thing in the world and misread by your friends, work colleagues and even to some degree family.  We've all seen many TV programmes now integrating Autistic Characters into their dramas and comedies with the most popular  being Sheldon off The Big Bang Theory, but as per usual there hasn't been a development of Autistic girls in TV programmes due to the lack of awareness and also because when it comes to performing extreme autistic characteristics in forms of behaviour there is a lot more documentation on Males with Aspergers and Autism in general.  Which in a way is ironic, but aside from this Masking is something that I sometimes feel girls do more effectively ...

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 ...