Ashlea McKay
Quirk Monster #10: My need for processing time as an autistic person
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...
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Ashlea McKay
- Feb 29, 2020
- 3 min
Quirk Monster #9: The ghosts of pre diagnosis life part 1
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...
16 views
Ashlea McKay
- Feb 24, 2020
- 4 min
Quirk Monster #8: Autistic does not equal less capable
“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...
6 views
Ashlea McKay
- Feb 22, 2020
- 3 min
Quirk Monster #7: Why I don’t like functioning labels for autism
I was having a blood test when the nurse spied my medicalert bracelet. They flipped it over, read the inscription and laughed. They...
17 views
Ashlea McKay
- Feb 12, 2020
- 3 min
Quirk Monster #6: Nothing implied here
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...
12 views
Ashlea McKay
- Feb 7, 2020
- 3 min
Quirk Monster #5: Autistic meltdowns
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...
15 views
Ashlea McKay
- Feb 1, 2020
- 3 min
Quirk Monster #4: Autism and dinner table conversation
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...
10 views
Ashlea McKay
- Jan 28, 2020
- 3 min
Quirk Monster #3: Masking and autism
Masking and the stigma that drives it is a big problem. Masking occurs when I use my intellect to ‘pass’ as someone who is not autistic...
11 views
Ashlea McKay
- Jan 27, 2020
- 3 min
Quirk Monster #2: Identity first language and my autism
If you’ve read any of my previous articles or attended one of my talks, you might have noticed that I refer to myself as an ‘autistic...
9 views
Ashlea McKay
- Jan 24, 2020
- 3 min
Quirk Monster #1: Autistic energy levels and recharge time
Every Friday around noon, I close my work laptop and if I’m not already at home, I pack up and go. I put my phone in flight mode, I don’t...
24 views
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