Activities of Daily Living: Change the World By Making Your Bed? Activities of daily living may seem like a small thing. But it’s the small things that make the biggest difference. Small Decisions Made Me Get Behind I’ve gotten behind in writing posts for this blog. It started when I was training for another Chicago Marathon. This year it was toward the beginning of October. I started telling myself, “I’ve got so much training to do, I’ve got this to do, and I’ve got that to do.” And...

You’ll agree with me, I hope, that autistic burnout is real. If you haven’t had a chance, please check out the Thrive with Aspergers podcast episode number 88, called 3 Reasons We Should Be Talking About Autistic Burnout. In this post, I’m sharing autistic writers’ tips for burnout recovery. What Is Autistic Burnout? It’s a term that I’ve heard come up in reading many different articles and forum posts. Karla’s ASD Page has a picture that illustrates some of the symptoms of burnout: *...

If you’re reading this, and you’ve been feeling depressed, would you like some easy tips to help you feel better? In this article, I’m going to share 5 behavioral activation tips that are easy to use. If you work on this, either by yourself, or with a loved one, you’ll start to feel better. What is Behavioral Activation? And Why Should You Care? Think of yourself as a car. You’re a prime model, but you’re engine is cold from not being used in a long time. That’s what it’s like when...

Integrative Health. Have you thought much about it?  Well, if you live in one of 20 something states who have licensed naturopathic physicians, you’ll be familiar with it. In the Thrive Community a few weeks ago, several members were asking about holistic health tips.  I then found out that one of our members, Greg Garoppolo, is completing his doctoral studies in naturopathic medicine. He graciously agreed to join me on the show. In This Episode, You’ll Learn: * about Greg’s work in...

It’s not every day that you find easy ways to change your life for the better. I first encountered James Swanick when I was listening to the Spartan Up Podcast.  He talked about the fun and health benefits of giving up alcohol! I was intrigued. I’m not much of a drinker, but I have noticed that when I do drink some alcohol, I feel a bit “blah” a bit later. Then I found out that James has done a lot of research on sleep and its benefits. Health and sleep! You and I can change our lives...

“My burnout started at age 45 and ended up in complete collapse at age 47. My coworkers thought I was the same as usual; but my body was going through literal hell from not being able to relax. I often wished I could run screaming from the building, but I felt like I had no option. I think one thing that may be different about a person on the spectrum going through burnout, is they may have learned a social facade that can be carried into periods when they are horribly stressed.”  ~ Katie...

Even though I grew up in the Amazon rainforest, I don’t have a lot of outdoors survival skills. When we’re feeling dull and uninspired, you may feel like I did when I tried to start a camping fire on many a camping trip. I’d put all the kindling together, build a nice stick structure, and try to get the fire going. But often, the wood was too wet, or there was too much wind, and after many unsuccessful attempts, I’d give up. How To Motivate Yourself: Like Starting a Fire? Maybe you’ve...

Gus Hardy, an autistic author, shared his story about another autistic friend from high school: I talked a year ago with an old friend from high school who shares my disorder but not my belief. My friend had attempted suicide, reasoning that “I’m not contributing anything to the world, and since we’re all screwing up the environment, I might as well not use up any more of the earth’s resources.” This friend could only see the world in terms of resources and expendability—with no mention of...

Did you know that Thrive with Autism/Aspergers has its very own reporting team? Just kidding. Michael and Cici, from TWAP054 Happy Aspergers Marriage Secrets, attended AspieCon this year. And they graciously submitted their report of their time there. What Is AspieCon? According to their website, AspieCon is everything you love about ComicCon combined with the best aspects of a community resource fair. It celebrates the incredibly diverse interests of people on the autism spectrum while...

Life is a struggle. In the midst of the struggle, I find myself turning to stories for inspiration. Anita Lesko’s story is one of those stories that inspire me to keep going even when I’m down. Anita was diagnosed with Aspergers in her 50s. Upon being diagnosed, she immediately started a support group for families with autism. She’s a CertifiedRegistered Nurse Anesthetist who’s maintained a successful career in the midst of a stressful and interaction filled environment. In This Episode...

Embracing life autistically – what’s it all about? In this episode, I talk to Judy Endow about discovering autism later in life, and how she has “made sense” of autism both for herself, and also for the clients she works with in her consulting and counseling practice. Judy is a licensed social worker, author, and mother of three.     Website: JudyEndow.com Twitter: JudyEndow You’ll Learn: how she discovered she is autistic, and embracing life autistically her response to...

Do you want relationship help?   You may be struggling in your marriage. David Finch was struggling in his marriage before he discovered his Aspergers diagnosis. But once he figured out his mind worked differently, he designed his own personal development plan that saved his marriage. David’s here to share his story, a bit about his Journal of Best Practices book, and his own  personal development journey.  He shares some tips for both non-Aspergers and Aspergers spouses. Let’s get...

What I Found Out From A Group of Men I remember sharing my life story with a group of men from my church. We shared our private struggles as well as our victories so that we could really challenge each other and grow. We also promised that we would keep our stories confidential. As one guy after another shared their story, I was surprised to hear that many things I thought only I struggled with, other guys struggled with too! But when you’re alone, it’s hard to know that anyone else out...

On April 2, we’ll be celebrating Autism Awareness Day. Gratitude: Be Thankful For How Far Society Has Come Autism Speaks is a polarizing organization! To be sure, there’s a lot of misinformation coming out of there. But it’s important to celebrate increased awareness of autism. In the words of my colleague, Violet, As I have observed over time,  Autism Speaks was a voice for those unable to speak. Any group that grows will eventually have conflicting priorities. It seems to me that...

Is there any way to improve the workplace for autistics and Aspergians? Holly thinks so!  Workplace accommodations are a key strategy to make work a better place. As a member of the Thrivers community and an employee at a major corporation, she’s educating her co-workers about autism via her workshops. She’s also found surveys from autistics about some of the most helpful workplace accommodations for autistics. In This Episode You’ll Learn More autistic and Aspergian characteristics in...

What’s autism and the workplace all about? In this episode, I speak with Holly Anonymous, a Thrive with Aspergers/Autism community member about her background and her autism advocacy in corporate America. You’ll Find Out * How Holly found out about Aspergers * How she discovered she has Aspergers * Holly’s experience with selective mutism growing up * How the school system failed Holly growing up * How society’s failures have inspired Holly to increase awareness of autism in the...

What if you planned to travel to a foreign country where you do not speak the language? And what if, when you arrived, the tourist guidebook was written in that country’s language? I don’t know about you, but I’d find that guidebook very hard to understand! Star Ford, the author of A Field Guide To Earthlings, has written a guidebook to neurotypicals from an autistic’s point of view. She’s made the neurotypical world much easier for autistics to understand. And it’s very helpful for me,...

A recent listener was right. This person wrote, “Dear Steve, I wanted to propose a suggestion for a future podcast topic – complex PTSD, and Aspergers. There is a real lack of information in the therapy profession about both of these conditions and I imagine that many of your listeners are affected and need more help.” I searched for books addressing both complex PTSD and Aspergers and I only found one! Thankfully, I found some articles about trauma and Aspergers that helped me start...

I went from being a stressed-out guy to a reasonable citizen after learning to practice mindfulness meditation. This didn’t happen overnight. I learned about mindfulness meditation while listening to episodes of the Tim Ferriss show. He’s interviewed hundreds of successful leaders from different industries. One of the common keys to their success has been mindfulness meditation. So I figured I’d give it a try. As a caveat, I come at mindfulness meditation from a Christian worldview, so...

“Autistic Grief Is Not Like Neurotypical Grief” That’s the name of an article written by Karla Fisher, author of the WikiSpace site called ASDCulture. As I read quite a few comments at Wrong Planet about grief, I realized more and more how right she is. One of the Thrive with Aspergers/Autism community members recently asked me to make a podcast episode about the topic of grief, bereavement, and autism. In this article/episode, I’ll be speaking more specifically about a type of grief,...

I still remember hanging out with Brazilian kids after being away in the United States the previous year. I’d forgotten a lot of the Portuguese I’d learned, and I found myself smiling, nodding my head, and trying to put phrases together. It was uncomfortable, to say the least! But I wanted to fit in with my peers, so I gave it my best effort. In today’s show, I’ll be talking about camouflaging autism. Camouflaging Autism: You’ll Learn * What camouflaging is * Motivations for...

Anger Management and Molding Clay All my life I’ve had an explosive temper with a hair trigger. Can anyone suggest a way – any way to keep it under wraps and on a tight leash? Anonymous, Wrong Planet I love the picture in this article. I picked it because I think of learning to manage anger as a skill much like creating a pot out of clay. Our anger is an emotion – raw, untamed, unfamiliar. If we’ve never created pottery, we’ll make a mess out of the lump of clay, which represents...

Dealing with anger.  It’s not something I used to do very well. I most often denied I was even angry. Then when my anger came out: watch out!  Unfortunately, those around me would pay the price for my verbal rants and rage. In today’s episode, I share accounts of Aspergians and Autistics who experience anger in their lives. I learned a lot from this young Aspergian lady in this video – I hope you will too. Dealing With Anger:  You’ll Learn * The Heavy Costs of Anger All of us...

Communication skills are vital to a healthy and satisfying relationship. Here’s why according to research quotes at Every Day Life Communication researcher Jonathan Pettigrew reported in a study published in 2009 in the journal “Marriage and Family Review” that couples who sent each other text messages experienced increased feelings of connecteness. Researchers unanimously agree that couples who communicate effectively consistently report greater marital satisfaction, and satisfied couples...

Online learning never sleeps. It’s always there for you. You don’t need to travel, you don’t need to get dressed up.  All you need is a computer and some spare time. In today’s episode, I’m sharing 7 Online Learning Links to help you increase your life skills. Perhaps you’re new to the autism community, whether you received a late diagnosis of Aspergers/autism, or your child did, or you’re a professional new to autism. What I’d Like You To Do With These Online Learning Links First,...