ashlea mckay

Yesterday, Thursday 18 June 2020, was Autistic Pride Day. I am autistic and I am very proud of it. ‘Autistic’ is still a word that makes...

Conversation is so f***ing hard. It is hands down one of the most challenging parts of my day. Half the time I’m drowning in anxiety...

It’s that time of the year again. The annual or biannual performance review cycle is enough to make anyone feel nervous but potentially...

Trigger Warning: Ableism, self harm, suicide I’ve been called a lot of names over the years. ‘Weird’, ‘cold’, ‘bad person’, ‘not normal’,...

I was already struggling big time when the COVID-19 global pandemic hit. I mentioned in a previous Quirk Monster post that I’d been...

Today marks the 4th anniversary of my autism diagnosis. I slept in until noon because I couldn’t bring myself to get out of bed this...

In Quirk Monster #16 I shared some examples where autistic differences and traits are sometimes mistaken for performance issues. Here are...

I’ve learned that regularly being misunderstood is just a fact of autistic life. My thoughts, words, actions, choices and more are often...

In the very first Quirk Monster post I talked about my energy levels and my need for recharge time as an autistic person. I talked about...

April is typically a time of highs and lows for me. There’s usually a lot of public holidays and I’m looking forward to a restful 6 day...

A remote work from home guide gave me pause this week. It was well-intentioned and was pulled together by a more-than-decent group of...

Like many other people, the current state of the world has got me feeling anxious, sad, uncertain and frustrated by bad behaviour. Also...

In January 2017 in the midst of a ‘new year, new me’ bender, I decided to take up swing dancing. I’ve been wearing 1940’s and 1950’s...

Last week someone asked me for some time to sit down to learn more about an area of my expertise. I paused to process that information...

I was diagnosed as autistic later in life. While that was an amazingly positive step forward for me and finally gave me a sense of...

“How can you be autistic? You seem capable to me” is one of the most common things people say when they meet me for the first time and...

I was having a blood test when the nurse spied my medicalert bracelet. They flipped it over, read the inscription and laughed. They...

The day I got married, while I was getting ready in my hotel room, I caught a glimpse of a white ribboned car hood out the front of the...

A meltdown isn’t a word to describe a bad day, it’s not a tantrum and it isn’t something a child does — unless of course that child is...

A few nights ago I went out to dinner. It was a farewell for two much-loved colleagues that ended up being a celebration of four...