Humans are weird and brains are complex. Neurodiversity is a term that encompasses the neurotypical and the neurodivergent.
Is anyone truly neurotypical? Maybe not but Western society has created standards that set expectations for everyone to conform, cultivating its definition.
Neurodiversity is beautiful, it’s simply the diversity in how humanity thinks. It’s what makes us human and sets us apart from the rest of the animal kingdom.
I need to tell you something and I need you to stay with me even if your first instinct is to get defensive. Because I’m not coming at you. I’m not coming at anyone. I’m coming from the middle of something that I think is breaking the autism community apartRead More »Dear Autism Parents: The Autistic Adults You’re Arguing With Online Are Your Child’s Future. Maybe Listen to Them.
Let me describe someone to you. They’re smart — often very smart. Socially perceptive in ways that surprise people. Creative. Funny. When things are good, they’re genuinely magnetic. And then a demand enters the picture. Not a big demand. Sometimes the smallest thing — put your shoes on, it’s timeRead More »PDA Is Not a Behavior Problem. Stop Treating It Like One.
I need you to try something with me for a second. Imagine you’re in a restaurant. Decent place. Not too loud. You’re having a conversation with someone you like, and the food is good. Normal evening. Now imagine that at the same volume you’re speaking to your friend, you canRead More »What the Sensory World Actually Feels Like (And Why “Just Ignore It” Is Not a Thing)
We have always praised children who make adults comfortable. The ones who sat still. Who didn’t make a fuss. Who said “please” and “thank you” without being reminded. They never caused a scene and were, in the language adults used for children they prefer, good. Good. What a thing toRead More »The “Good Kid” Was Never Fine: Rethinking What We Were Actually Praising When We Praised Compliance
This presentation featured Tessa Watkins and Liz Peace, LPC, at the 13th annual Disability & Mental Health Summit. This talk was given in person on May 7, 2026, in Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Something shifted in the way people talk about money. It’s not new to be broke. Poverty is old. Debt is old. The desperation of watching the gap between what things cost and what you earn continues to widen—that’s not new either. But something about the texture of financial stress inRead More »Being Broke in 2026 Feels Different. It’s Because It Is.
People keep asking me when the political climate is going to settle down. As if my existence is a weather pattern. As if what they’re describing as a political debate is not, for me and people like me, just… Tuesday. As if being at the intersection of multiple identities thatRead More »When Your Identity Is “Controversial”: Living at the Intersection of Being Queer, Neurodivergent, and Done With Explaining Yourself
Learn more about autistic meltdowns and how to navigate them when they happen to you or someone you know.
Learn more about the physical changes of fight-or-flight. Before we were at the top of the food-chain, we relied on our sympathetic nervous system for survival. Now we don’t need it so much as a survival instinct, but we still have it and it is the basis for panic attacks,Read More »The physical bodily changes in Fight-or-Flight
Social Communication Disorder is a common diagnosis that may be given to autistic people alongside, or instead of, an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis.
“Diagnosed as an Autistic Adult” was a presentation featuring Tessa Watkins and Dr. Jessica Maher at Rep. Dan Miller’s 11th annual Disability & Mental Health Summit. This talk was given in person on April 19, 2024, in Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
This resources page is for autistic adults seeking services in Pennsylvania, USA, some specific to Allegheny county.