Heather Cook🖖Autistic Coach

I'm an #ActuallyAutistic and #AuDHD life coach, helping later identified autistics to break free from a lifetime of “shoulds” and NT-norms to make a better life.

#EDS, #Disabled, #StarTrek, she/her, happy

Find me at http://www.autismchrysalis.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@autismchrysalis
Tip jar (no expectations, but tips are appreciated): https://autismchrysalis.ck.page/products/heathers-tip-jar

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Last Notes

2024-09-06 15:37:00

You don’t need to unmask because other autistics are doing it, talking about it, recommending it, or because anyone else has any other opinions about it.
The whole point of unmasking is to listen to yourself. So listen to yourself. Figure out what you need at this point. Because you get to choose.
#AutisticMasking #ActuallyAutistic #Autistic #AuDHD #unmasking

2024-08-25 19:27:03

Aiming for A "Good Day" Is Too Much Pressure
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXFpRswS0wY
#ActuallyAutistic #Autistic #AuDHD
https://media.universeodon.com/media_attachments/files/113/024/304/531/229/112/original/aef56d0dec8b4a8d.jpeg

2024-08-20 14:37:01

Instead of comparing your sensory system to other people’s senses, I find it far more useful to figure out what is going on within yourself.
#ActuallyAutistic #Sensory #Interoception

2024-08-16 14:44:00

It’s not that difficult to investigate your sensory systems. And yet, it’s something that most of us don’t do, because our society doesn’t teach us how to do this as a matter of course.
In fact, they often teach us how to ignore our sensory experiences.
#Sensory #Interoception #ActuallyAutistic

2024-08-14 15:10:01

What do you want to create today?
#AskingAutistics #ActuallyAutistic #AuDHD #Neurodiversity

2024-08-10 13:07:01

Masking is like “I have to hide how I move in the world, how I talk in the world. I have to hide the things that I do, who I am, in more extreme ways in order to protect myself.”
#AutisticMasking #ActuallyAutistic #Autistic #Neurodiversity #AuDHD

2024-08-01 19:20:04

On Trying To Be Normal And Understood
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kAvTCxilbs&t=7s
#ActuallyAutistic #Autistic #AuDHD
https://media.universeodon.com/media_attachments/files/112/888/381/553/490/907/original/ec24c984a5e82201.jpeg

2024-07-16 18:01:47

Sensory overwhelm takes a lot of energy #sensoryissues #autisticburnout #executivedysfunction
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJR5dnRp7Eg
#ActuallyAutistic #AuDHD #Neurospicy #Neurodivergent #ND

2024-07-14 18:12:04

When Someone Interrupts Your Alone Time
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lDuQIgt9dw
#ActuallyAutistic #Autistic #AuDHD #AutisticMasking #Anxiety
https://media.universeodon.com/media_attachments/files/112/786/192/627/223/323/original/c4b98ad4a41a2cf5.jpeg

2024-07-05 13:03:00

When I got my autism diagnosis at 35 and started trying to figure this stuff out, I gradually figured out that what I wanted treatment for wasn't autism itself: it was the effects that being unrecognized and unaccepted had brought throughout my life.
#Autism #ActuallyAutistic #AutismAcceptance #Acceptance

2024-07-04 13:40:01

When you can't locate a specific reason for negative thoughts to develop (like there wasn't a specific trauma), sometimes it can feel like you don't have a good reason for it, and therefore we're not allowed to feel those things.
But they always come from somewhere.
#Autistic #AuDHD #Anxiety

2024-06-27 14:16:00

If you're having a real rough time processing information because of brain fog, my advice is to take it slow. Let yourself off the hook for not processing much at one time. You can come back, redo it, review it, forget and read or listen to it again.
#AutisticBurnout #BurnoutRecovery #Burnout #ActuallyAutistic #AuDHD

2024-06-13 01:09:31

Topic: death and grieving
Anyone have recommendations for an audiobook, podcast, etc. for an Autistic teenager on the subject of death and grieving? There was recently a death in a family, not someone close, but it still brings up questions around mortality.
#AskingAutistics

2024-06-10 13:09:01

I know why normal is so appealing.
Normal feels safe, normal feels like “I'm not going to be the one left out”, “I'm not going to be the outsider, the one who's laughed at”, but even if you are a part of the group, even if you pretend to be normal for long enough and well enough that people don't leave you out:
You're still not going to feel that acceptance if you're pretending to be someone that you're not, because they don't really know you.
#ActuallyAutistic #Autistic #AutisticMasking

2024-06-05 20:47:19

Any Autistic web designers looking for some freelance work? I know an Autistic who is looking for help. Let me know and I can put you in touch.
#Autisticshelpingautistics #actuallyautistic

2024-05-30 13:32:00

Knowing what you want or need, what help to ask for, how to make sensory overwhelm better, and many other things, are all easier to figure out when you have real time feedback from your body about what it's experiencing.
#ActuallyAutistic #BurnoutRecovery #Sensory #Interoception

2024-05-19 13:13:01

A functional autistic life doesn’t come from imitating a neurotypical life.
#ActuallyAutistic #Autistic #AuDHD #AutisticMasking #unmasking

2024-05-18 14:51:01

Anxiety, unlearning neurotypical “shoulds,” and creating a genuinely autism-positive life are not simple questions. These are complicated issues, with nuance, that require discernment and skill in navigating them.
#ActuallyAutistic #Autistic #AuDHD #Neurodivergent #ND #Anxiety

2024-05-14 11:06:01

Today's my workshop on what to expect in the later ID autism journey. Join me? Sign up last minute here:
https://www.autismchrysalis.com/events/
#ActuallyAutistic #Autistic #AuDHD #Neurospicy #Autism #AutismAcceptance #Acceptance #Advocacy #autismacceptancemonth #autismawarenessmonth

2024-05-14 00:49:19

Workshop tomorrow: the 5 stages of the later identified autism journey.
What to expect after you figure out as an adult that you're autistic. The struggles, the wins, knowing you're not the only one, and what to work on to get better.
https://www.autismchrysalis.com/events/
#ActuallyAutistic
https://media.universeodon.com/media_attachments/files/112/436/691/421/079/439/original/6c31c2c2657f7888.jpeg

2024-05-11 16:16:11

Top 20 Signs You Might Be Masking Your Autism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V432ZWNpM0E
#ActuallyAutistic #AuDHD #Neurospicy #Neurodivergent #ND

2024-05-10 02:09:00

Do you think you might be #Autistic, but still doubting? Wondering what that would mean for your life? I'm offering a free workshop on the 5 stages of accepting it and creating your better life.
https://www.autismchrysalis.com/events/
#ActuallyAutistic #Autistic #AuDHD #Neurospicy

2023-10-06 13:40:01

Which do you like better, weighted blankets or light blankets?
#AskingAutistics #ActuallyAutistic #AuDHD #Neurodiversity

2023-09-17 17:36:04

Here's me being open and sharing what's going on inside an anxiety attack, and how I've learned to mitigate them, in real time.
https://youtu.be/iRA0O6rADbc
This was not a fun video to make, but not my worst anxiety (or else I wouldn't be talking).
#ActuallyAutistic #AuDHD #Anxiety
https://media.universeodon.com/media_attachments/files/111/081/695/614/974/028/original/2cac5caa2e9ecfca.jpeg

2023-08-22 13:18:00

It’s not failure to be unable to fit into a damaging system.
#ActuallyAutistic #AuDHD #Neurospicy