Autistic Lived Experience: Unable to Be There for a Friend in Need

• By: Sam Farmer Neurodiversity Community Self-Advocate, Writer, Author, and Public Speaker
• January 10th, 2024
• actually autistic, advocacy, college, emotional struggles, empathy, mental health, neurodiversity, personal growth, self-discovery, social challenges, therapy, Winter 2024 Issue
• 1584    3

In hindsight, I view my sophomore year of college as being the most challenging year of my life. Up until then, I was living in the sweet bliss of unawareness. I had no concept of how compromised my self-esteem was or what self-esteem even meant, and I had a flawed sense of how my words and actions...

I’ll Always Be a Sea Creature

• By: Cathryn Salladin Former US National Swim Team Member
• January 10th, 2024
• actually autistic, autistic experience, hope, mental health, neurodivergence, personal story, self-discovery, trauma, Winter 2024 Issue
• 1073    0

Note: This article has been reprinted with permission. You may view the original article, published on November 28th, 2023, at www.neurodiversitypress.com/2023/11/28/ill-always-be-a-sea-creature. At swim practice, I would pretend I was a sea creature. And when I got a little older, I’d still...