Don’t Feed the Flying Monkeys

26/11/2025

I love this way of looking at it!

22/10/2025

14/10/2025

25/09/2025

23/09/2025

Thank you ane well said Emily itsemilykaty

with - Why are people so obsessed with identifying the ‘cause’ of autism? Autism isn’t a disease or an illness. It’s a neurotype. Autism is highly heritable, largely influenced by genetic factors with hundreds of genes involved (Rylaarsdam & Guemez-Gamboa, 2019). Autistic people have always existed and will always exist. 🧬🫂

Certainly, some autistic people have high levels of need that require high levels of support. Many also have co-occurring conditions that require appropriate treatment or management whilst taking into account their autism. But to seek a ‘cure’ for autism is to seek to eradicate a large percentage of the population who think differently, see the world differently and experience life differently. Quite simply, this is eugenics.

If only the people in power were as motivated to research ways to support autistic people to thrive. If only they were willing to talk to a range of autistic people and see what would benefit their lives. If only they were willing to accept that autism isn’t the ‘epidemic’ it’s being painted out to be, but a different way of experiencing the world that does not need eradicating. 🧠

13/01/2025

A woman called 999 last Saturday at just before midnight…she said very little but a man’s voice could be heard in the background 🤔

She asked for police, but the line dropped out before she was put through to us.
We tried to call her back but these attempts failed and worried for her safety, we visited her home in Wisbech - where a woman with an injury to her eye opened the door 😞

We arrested one man on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm (ABH) and has been released on conditional bail while investigations continue.

Did you know that pressing 55 after calling 999 alerts police operators that you need help but are in a situation where you can't talk? 👀 📱

Pressing 55 lets the 999 operator know your call is genuine, and they will try to track your location.

If you can't speak, listen carefully to the questions and instructions from our demand hub call agents so they can assess your call and arrange help.

Find out more info on our website: https://orlo.uk/Silent-999-calls_7C4wD

08/01/2025

07/11/2024

Love Cat’s work ❤️

27/10/2024

I am almost entirely unable to self advocate for my needs.

I can often do it for others.
I can occasionally do it if I know what I'm asking for won't really affect anyone else.

I can't do it if my needs are going to somehow affect someone else.

And I definitely, definitely can't do it when my needs are going to negatively affect or upset someone else. Anyone else. In any way.

It's the hardest thing in the world.
It's something I need to learn now as an adult. And it feels impossible.

It would have been much easier to learn as a kid.

Make sure your kids have the opportunities.
Yes?

Em

20/10/2024

For many who’ve followed my advocacy for some time, the fact that I’m intersex is not new information.

You may also be aware that I’m an educator in training.

The vast majority of the people who I interact with on a daily basis are not aware that I’m intersex, and I would argue that it’s nobody’s business but my own who I disclose this information to.

My being intersex doesn’t impact my ability to work or teach. Fortunately, I don’t have to put too much thought into which staff bathrooms I use, because they’re single-occupancy. Teachers are already using gender-neutral washrooms. People’s assumptions about who I am don’t bother me. The assumption that I don’t exist does. The fact that I’m increasingly discouraged from being open about my identity and family structure does. The SK party is currently turning the existence of people like me into a political issue. They would rather people like me don’t exist, and their actions reflect this belief.

A student’s personal identity, physiological characteristics, and the combination of genes and chromosomes that makes them who they are is none of my business as an educator.

This information is relevant to a student, their family, and whoever they choose to include to support their child. When they include the school in that circle of support, it’s the school’s duty to work with families to ensure their child feels safe and supported.

When I was a child I remember feeling confused that my body wasn’t developing like I was told it should be. I remember sneaking away to change in washroom stalls, and not having the words to describe what was happening. I was scared and ashamed, and I found my way. This was not easy, and I’d like to use my experiences to make it easier for others whose lives don’t unfold like they were expected to. Recently, people in influential positions where I live are going to great lengths to make it more difficult for people who don’t fit neatly into boxes.

We can’t ignore this.

A student’s sense of safety and belonging within a school is my business. It is my job to ensure that students feel safe and ready to learn, and that they feel valued and heard. Not some students, but all students.

We are not going away.

04/10/2024

from Spectrum Sloth ❤️❤️❤️

You may have noticed that I always use the terms autism and autistic instead of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC).

I subscribe to the neurodiversity paradigm which views neurodiversity as natural. There is nothing wrong with being neurodivergent, and autistic is not a dirty word. I don't consider autism to be a disorder or condition, so I choose not to use that language. I tend to refer to autism as a neurotype or neurodivergence.

I also find that saying autistic is clearer because more people know what this means than understand the acronyms ASD or ASC.

ASD and ASC are pathologising terms used by the medical model. The model views autism as a series of deficits, while the neurodiversity paradigm recognises natural differences in brains and nervous systems.

If you're looking for a professional or organisation to support you or a family member, the language they use can be a good indication of whether they align more with the medical model or neurodiversity paradigm. Medicalised language is sometimes required in official reports, but there are assessors, therapists and psychologists who still manage to use affirming language throughout.

Kieran Rose, the Autistic Advocate, and others have talked about the difference between autism the medical concept, and being autistic. They are very different things.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) defines autism by a narrow set of characteristics and distress behaviours displayed by young white boys. The fact that it's in a manual of disorders (and that one exists in the first place) shows you how autism and difference as a whole are perceived.

Homosexuality used to be in the DSM too, but has since been removed. Enslaved people who ran away were considered to have done so because they had a condition, termed drapetomania. The language of disorders and conditions is one of control and othering, and is used to enforce neuronormativity. (See the comments for links to more information, including why disorder and condition are medically interchangeable terms with the same meaning.)

Autistic experiences are far broader than the narrow categorisation found in the DSM, which doesn't even feature key attributes such as monotropism, and fails to account for the varying experiences of people of different intersectional identities.

So why might people prefer to use ASD/ASC? These are just a few of the reasons I've heard, and I'm sure there are others:

📌 They've been told these are the terms to use, so they've adopted this language.

📌 It's what they've heard others say and they haven't heard of alternatives.

📌 It's what it said on their diagnostic paperwork.

📌 They think being autistic is a bad thing and view ASD/ASC as softer terms.

📌 They believe in the medical model and choose to use its language.

📌 They consider autism to be a disorder or condition and so they use terms that reflect this.

📌 It's what they've always used and they haven't considered - or have actively rejected - alternatives.

📌 As a teenage act of rebellion against wider autistic community preferences.

📌 Change feels too difficult.

Everyone gets to choose whatever language they want to use. It's always helpful to be aware of the connotations of those choices and what people may infer from them.

I still use ADHD because there isn't an obvious alternative like autistic. Some in the ADHD community have started using VAST which stands for variable attention stimulus trait, but this isn't widely adopted or understood yet.

05/01/2024

I think my past self would be proud of me, and that’s a neat feeling. 🌈