Mike's Neurodivergent Toolbox

07/04/2025

07/03/2025

07/02/2025

I am honestly running out of ideas for online content so for now I am slowing down. My energies have moved onto other projects in the meantime. I will stick around but don’t take it personally if I am not participating as regularly as in the past.

07/01/2025

From someone who is already a good friend and gifted poet.

Built from all they Broke, poems from a SEND mums heart ❤️ by Me Michaela ❤️🤣

Will be available in the next few days!!

I will obviously keep you all filled in, big thank you to My 1st Steps for being there every step to help me get this done! You have been amazing! 🤩

Hopefully I’ll be able to share the book real soon and you can all let me know what you think 💭 ❤️🫂

07/01/2025

SAM (self advocates of Mecklenburg County) event last night.

06/29/2025

I made this comment on another page but it was worth repeating here:

06/28/2025

Muffins with blueberries from the garden this morning.

06/27/2025

I have heard both lately. But the emerging narrative seems to be that social rules are oppressive and that things would be enormously better for us all if we could be free of them. And that could very well be true of many of us.

But, as usual, I see shades of grey here. Certainly I avoid most rules that are arbitrary and seem to serve no good purpose. But I still religiously follow some rules I grew up with just because they provide a sense of order and stability and let me know what to expect, as long as they were presented explicitly and are not complicated to follow.

The blogosphere is probably skewed toward the free spirits and iconoclasts (and that is me for the most part) who, in part, want to find others who wish to cast off such limitations. And that's great. However, there is probably a fairly large rule-following percentage of us (including most I have met in person) who aren't interested in the online "scene" because they are happy following their rules.

I am not going to say that either is wrong. It simply seems that the "if we only could get rid of rules" narrative doesn't necessarily work for us all and is hence not altogether inclusive. And if you know me my own brand of iconoclasm resists any attempt to homogenize the autistic community.

I could not imagine a functioning civilization without at least some rules. But even if we could start from scratch the fact that we are all individuals with our own sensitivities and needs would make it very difficult to come up with neuro-affirming rules that work for everybody.

And as noted, many among us are comfortable with rules inherited from the cultures and traditions handed to them. I am not about to tell them that they are wrong for doing what works for them. (Not a fan of the label "internalized ableism" because it is usually used as a method of invalidating perspectives and ways of being that have been deemed "incorrect" and is generally condescending).

I don't pretend to have the right take on any of this. Just my observations given what I know and have experienced at this point.

06/27/2025

I was able to get with my adult autistic group last night and meet a few new people.

06/25/2025

My car thermometer this afternoon after work. 116 F (47 Celsius). And yes, I had the windows open all day. But I am better with the heat than most people I know, even here in the southern US.