So I started a blog, or whatever.

I did. I started a blog about being autistic.

I suppose it would be great to say that I want the world to better understand the everyday life of an autistic person, or something, but the truth is, I just have things to say from time to time and nowhere to say them.

All those things are from the heart, though. I was diagnosed with autism late in life — less than a year ago, in fact — and with the zeal of the converted, I’ve been having lots of Thoughts. Some of them are researched and informed, because researching and informing myself is kind of my thing. Some of them are musings, concerns, ideas — the kind of things that come up as you’re mulling through the process of going from weird young woman to possibly autistic woman to yeah, you were right, you totally are autistic woman. And you get to read them! Lucky you.

I speak with no qualifications or authority beyond my own experience. That said, if other autistic people take in these Thoughts and feel a little less alone in the world, ohmygod that’s great. And if non-autistic people see it and start to gain a little more understanding about autistic people and all the stuff, that’s great, too. All I want to do is help.

Sort out my thoughts via writing, and help. Sort out my thoughts via writing, help, and find one pint of Ben & Jerry’s Chubby Hubby, because the B&J site swears it’s everywhere, but the site lies. But those first two things, I can do via this blog.

Who the hell do I think I am?

Just some autistic chick.

Seriously. I’m not an expert (on this subject, anyway). I have no formal training, I have no deep connections within the community, I’m definitely not anyone who should be seen as a face for said community. I’m just a late-in-life-diagnosed autistic woman who has a lot of stuff to say and got tired of typing it out and not doing anything with it.

There’s boundless diversity within the autistic community, and I certainly shouldn’t be seen as representative of anyone but myself. You’re going to hear it a lot here: If you’ve met one autistic person, you’ve met one autistic person. And that’s why I’m just Some Autistic Chick — one of many. I have a job, and a partner, and too many dogs, and a passion for writing, and quasi-perfect pitch. And for as long as I can remember, I’ve felt like a weirdo. And recently, I discovered that I’m not a weirdo — I’m just perfectly normal for alternate definitions of “normal.”

So that’s what you’re working with here.

A few essential caveats

Before we go any further:

1. As noted above, this is not going to be a terribly research-heavy blog. It’ll definitely be in there, because I’m fascinated by such stuff, but this is going to be mostly about my personal experiences and feelings. Along the way, I’ll come up with some links to blogs and sites that are more citation-worthy. (I’ll actually start by name-dropping The Articulate Autistic, because it actually is focused on more generally applicable topics to help people understand their autistic loved ones. It’s been an essential resource to me as I’ve been coming to understand myself.)

2. I may, from time to time, prove to be a Bad Autistic Person. I might post things that other autistic people disagree with, or even feel doesn’t support our reputation in general. I recognize that and am sincerely sorry for it, and I am committed to never posting anything that, in my judgment at least, would even possibly be damaging. But at the same time… K. I’ve spent my entire life carefully editing every aspect of my existence for the satisfaction of others. I’m damn sure not going to keep doing it on my own blog. I promise to remain aware and do my best, though.

3. I have a bit of a potty-mouth, so if that’s not your thing, this might not be your blog.

Welcome, I guess, or whatever.

Sincerely, I do hope you get a lot out of this blog. While realistically, I’m guessing I’ll have about as much of an audience here as I did when I was saving text files to a folder in my GDrive called “Autism stuff,” I do like the idea that someone might stumble in here and maybe be inspired into sincere curiosity about the realities of autism, or something. Or at the very least, realize there’s at least one type of Autistic Person that isn’t Rain Man or Sheldon Cooper.

I’ll take what I can get.

Thanks for coming.