Blogs by Charlie

  • 5 Years of Ausome Charlie Transcript Extract

    Extract from my nostalgic monologue at the start of the 5 Years of Ausome Charlie online event with David Gray-Hammond, Katie Munday and Quinn Dexter on 8 June 2023 (see YouTube link at the bottom). “I have been flicked through the old tweets on my Ausome Charlie Twitter. I had been on Twitter longer, but Read more

  • Neurodivergent school kids with interoception and proprioception issues

    Neurodivergent school kids with interoception and proprioception issues. I received this message this morning, from my friend Angela Loynd, of Umbrella Alliance: ‘I heard yet another story today about a young autistic girl refused a toilet break during class time at school, who then ended up wetting her pants as a result. I’m so sick Read more

  • Neurodiversity is Neurological Diversity

    Don’t worry about avoiding the word ‘neurodiversity’ after recent events. It is, after all, simply a portmanteau of ‘neurology’ and ‘diversity’, just like ‘biodiversity’ is just a portmanteau of ‘biology’ and ‘diversity’. Just like ‘ausome’ is just a portmanteau of ‘autistic’ and ‘awesome’ 😎 In Alice Through the Looking Glass, by Lewis Carroll, Humpty Dumpty Read more

  • Neurodiversity and intersectionality

    On neurodiversity (the uniqueness of all human brains) and intersectionality: We are each an individual product of our neurology and physiology and our life experiences.  No human fits any neat pigeonholes, so let’s treat all individuals humanely, whatever their characteristics. Why not offer “reasonable adjustments” to all individuals, so they can all thrive at work.  Read more

  • Sharing pronouns

    Charlie specifies her pronouns in their auto-signature, on social media, in meetings.   Here is what her pronouns mean to them and why she shares them, in Charlie’s words: “She/they”, sometimes expressed as “she/her or they/them”, means that I do not mind being referred to using the traditional female pronouns or gender-neutral alternatives.  Although I do identify as Read more

  • Alexithymia

    Alexithymia: Difficulty experiencing, identifying, describing our feelings. This is common with autism and ADHD. My emotions can be buried deep under the surface, then bubble up suddenly, engulfing me. I can feel nothing, and compartmentalise my feelings. I lock them up in a box, and do whatever I can to feel something. Often for me, Read more