Author Archives: C. M. Condo

About C. M. Condo

I am a late-diagnosed, high-functioning autistic living with chronic pain. I started this blog in March of 2014 as a way to try to process what was happening to me. It is my hope that by sharing it with you, we can both gain something, or at least learn something, from my experience.

is like

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what doesn’t kill me (isn’t going to work)

Surprising no one, my first application for disability was denied. In researching next steps for an appeal, I discovered that one of the things the committee considers, although not in so many words, is whether my disability will kill me. … Continue reading

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finally

Finally, a neurotypical experience that mimics autism: ‘Zoom fatigue’ This article discusses how taxing social interaction is over video platforms because of challenges in interpreting unspoken information, which may be obscured or absent due to teleconferencing platform issues. Critically, it … Continue reading

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not like this

Photo by Laurent Perren on Unsplash This is not what I wanted. High-functioning autistics like me who live alone and work from home fight a constant battle against expected levels of socialization. We have to self-limit because of how exhausting … Continue reading

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Interview on LearnFromAutistics.com

Click the above to read Christine’s interview on the Learn From Autistics website about accommodations , autism coping strategies, and self-care.  

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you break it, you buy it

Photo by Sergi Ferrete on Unsplash It is extremely rare that I come across an article that I think explains a point of view with more clarity and poignancy than I ever could. The article indicated below, however, more than … Continue reading

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unrelated

How do we autistics describe to neurotypicals the physically painful responses we have to certain stimuli? How do we effectively convey how we shut down when depleted? How do we talk about how painful it is to feel like aliens in our own cultures, unable to engage with our fellow beings the way they engage with each other? Continue reading

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plant your flag elsewhere

Recently, a friend tried to convince me of the validity of a new treatment for autism that, as many of these purported treatments do, lacks a plausible explanation for how it works. Nonetheless, I respect the friend and thus did … Continue reading

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that look

If you’re autistic, you know exactly the look I’m talking about. It’s the one you get from a neurotypical person when you step outside the prescribed boundaries for casual interaction. You’ll be going along hiding your autism well enough and … Continue reading

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media/support links

Click here to read TGA’s article ‘You Don’t Look Autistic’ in The Washington Post Click here to listen to Part 1 of Christine’s interview for “DDI Autism: Keeping an Eye on Autism” Click here to listen to Part 2 of … Continue reading

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