The Autism Sleeve
Autism Spectrum
A different operating system, not a defective one. Sensory realities, social decoding, and self-understanding.
Autism Autistic Inertia: Why Starting and Stopping Are Both So Hard Autistic inertia is the difficulty getting into — and out of — an activity. It's not laziness or stubbornness. It's a body at rest staying at rest, and a body in motion staying in motion. Here's what actually helps. Jul 15, 2026 Autism Interoception: The Sense That Tells You You're Hungry (Except When It Doesn't) Interoception is how your brain reads signals from inside your body — hunger, thirst, needing the bathroom, emotions. When it runs quiet, a lot of confusing neurodivergent experiences finally make sense. Jul 15, 2026 Autism The Need for Sameness: Why Routine Isn't Rigidity Autistic people are often called rigid, inflexible, controlling. But the need for sameness is how a lot of nervous systems create safety in an unpredictable world. Here's what routine actually does — and why change hurts more than it should. Jul 15, 2026 Autism PDA: When Your Nervous System Says No Before You Do Pathological demand avoidance — increasingly called a persistent drive for autonomy — is when ordinary requests trigger a genuine threat response. Here's what it is, what it isn't, and why 'just do it' backfires so hard. Jul 15, 2026 Autism Stimming, Explained: What It Is and Why You Don't Need to Stop Stimming — self-stimulating, repetitive movement or sound — is how a lot of neurodivergent nervous systems regulate. It's not a bad habit to break. Here's what it does, why suppressing it costs you, and how to stim freely. Jul 15, 2026 Autism The Double Empathy Problem: Autistic People Don't Lack Empathy The old story says autistic people struggle to understand others. The double empathy problem flips it: misunderstanding runs both ways, and it's a difference in wiring, not a deficit in autistic people. Here's the idea that's reshaping how we think about autism. Jul 15, 2026 Autism Sensory Overload, Explained Kindly What sensory overload actually is, common triggers, how it feels from the inside, and gentle strategies and tools autistic people use to find relief. Jul 12, 2026 Autism Autistic Masking, Explained With Compassion What autistic masking and camouflaging really are, why we do it, what it costs, and how to begin unmasking gently and safely on your own terms. Jul 9, 2026 Autism Late-Identified Autism: Recognizing Yourself as an Adult Why so many adults are identified as autistic late in life, the relief and grief that follow, and gentle next steps toward self-understanding. Jul 6, 2026