The Blog
Stop Infantilizing Us: The Deep Harm of Autism’s Childlike Branding
This article critiques the widespread use of infantilizing imagery like puzzle pieces and primary colors in autism-related branding. It explains how such visuals erase autistic adults, reinforce harmful stereotypes, and center neurotypical comfort over autistic dignity. The piece calls for respectful, adult-centered representation created by and for autistic people.
The Neurodivergent Sabbatical: What It Means to Step Away to Save Yourself
This article explores the concept of a neurodivergent sabbatical as a vital act of self-preservation for autistic and ADHD adults facing burnout from masking, overwork, and systemic inaccessibility. It distinguishes the sabbatical from a vacation, describing it as a necessary pause that often arises from collapse rather than choice, allowing space for unmasking, rest, and reconnection with self. The piece challenges productivity culture and calls for a collective reimagining of rest as resistance, care, and a reclaiming of worth outside of output.
Beyond the Diagnosis: Navigating Internalized Pathology After Labels
This article explores the ongoing process neurodivergent adults face after receiving a diagnosis, particularly the challenge of unlearning internalized shame and pathology. While a diagnosis can be validating, it does not erase years of being misunderstood, punished, or framed as broken by systems rooted in deficit-based thinking. True healing begins when neurodivergent people move beyond clinical labels to reclaim their identities, unmask safely, and build affirming narratives rooted in community, authenticity, and self-acceptance.
Burnout vs. Depression: How Misdiagnosis Hurts Neurodivergent People
This article explains the critical differences between clinical depression and neurodivergent burnout, highlighting how the two are often confused in autistic and ADHD adults. While depression is typically an internal mood disorder, burnout stems from chronic masking, sensory overwhelm, and environmental mismatch. Misdiagnosis can lead to ineffective treatment and delay true recovery, making accurate recognition essential for healing and self-understanding.
The Myth of the Independent Adult: How Interdependence Is Pathologized
This article critiques the Western ideal of the “independent adult,” revealing how it harms neurodivergent people by pathologizing natural support needs and masking the universal reality of interdependence. It explores how expectations of self-sufficiency and productivity fuel shame, burnout, and isolation, especially for late-diagnosed autistic adults. Reclaiming interdependence as a strength allows for more authentic, sustainable, and inclusive ways of living that honor diverse needs and foster true community care.
Microaggressions That Erase Our Neurodivergent Identity
This article offers neurodiversity-affirming scripts to respond to common microaggressions that autistic and otherwise neurodivergent people frequently encounter. Each response is designed to validate identity, challenge harmful assumptions, and reduce the emotional labor often required to defend one’s neurodivergence. The piece emphasizes that no one owes an explanation for their identity and that protecting one’s boundaries and well-being always comes first.
Designing for Neurodivergent Joy: Rethinking Access and Inclusion in Theme Parks and Entertainment Spaces
This resource, for industry professionals, parents, and park/event visitors, brings together a series of in-depth articles that examine the barriers neurodivergent individuals and families face in theme parks and entertainment spaces, from sensory overload and executive dysfunction to inflexible design and incomplete accommodations. It offers visionary alternatives rooted in lived experience, proposing practical and systemic changes that prioritize regulation, autonomy, and access to joy. Together, these writings call for a shift from performative inclusion to intentionally crafted environments where neurodivergent people are centered, supported, and truly welcomed.
Neurodivergent Access and Inclusion: A Resource Series for Conference Planners
This resource series offers in-depth guidance for conference organizers on creating events that are truly accessible and affirming for neurodivergent attendees. It explores the importance of sensory regulation, flexible scheduling, and holistic design that centers neurodivergent needs across every stage of the attendee experience. Grounded in the social model of disability and neurodiversity-affirming practice, these articles challenge performative inclusion and advocate for systemic, meaningful change.
When You’re the First Neurodivergent Person You’ve Ever Known
This article explores the emotional journey of discovering you're neurodivergent later in life, especially when you grew up without language, validation, or community for your differences. It examines the deep loneliness, internalized shame, and self-doubt that can result from being the first neurodivergent person you’ve ever known, and the complex process of healing that follows. Through reflection, grief, and connection, late-identified autistic and ADHD adults can begin to reclaim their stories and rebuild lives rooted in self-trust and belonging.
What Is ‘Body Doubling’ & Why Does It Help Neurodivergent People?
Body doubling is a supportive practice where another person is present—either physically or virtually—while you complete a task, helping ease executive function challenges common in neurodivergent people. It offers gentle structure, reduces shame, and creates a sense of shared momentum that can make starting and sustaining tasks more manageable. Rather than being a productivity hack, body doubling is a neuro-affirming strategy rooted in connection, co-regulation, and the understanding that we don’t have to do hard things alone.
What Is Autistic Inertia? Understanding One of Autism’s Most Misunderstood Experiences
Autistic inertia refers to the difficulty many autistic people experience when starting, stopping, or transitioning between tasks, even when they want to. It can feel like being stuck in place—unable to begin something important or unable to disengage from a flow state—often leading to shame, overwhelm, and misunderstanding. Recognizing inertia as a valid neurodivergent experience helps us approach it with compassion, create supportive strategies, and reduce the emotional toll it can take on daily life.
Why ‘Radical Acceptance’ Might Be the Key to Thriving as a Neurodivergent Adult
Radical acceptance invites neurodivergent adults to stop fighting against who we are and instead embrace our brains, needs, and experiences without judgment. It offers a path to healing by challenging internalized ableism, redefining success, and allowing rest, authenticity, and self-trust. Through this practice, we can begin to build lives that reflect our true selves and create space where we can thrive rather than simply survive.
“But You Don’t Seem Autistic”: Breaking Stereotypes & Misconceptions About Autistic Women (3/24/25 Keynote Address at Stockton University)
This article features the full text of Bridgette Hamstead’s keynote address, “But You Don’t Seem Autistic”: Breaking Stereotypes & Misconceptions About Autistic Women, delivered at Stockton University’s Neurodiversity Education and Celebration Day. It explores the harmful effects of outdated autism stereotypes, the emotional toll of masking, and the often invisible struggles of late-diagnosed autistic women and nonbinary individuals. The keynote calls for greater recognition, representation, and belief in autistic experiences—especially those that don’t fit traditional expectations.
The Invisible Autistic Elders: What We Can Learn from Late-Diagnosed Seniors
Many autistic elders have lived their entire lives without knowing they were autistic, often enduring decades of misunderstanding, misdiagnosis, and internalized shame. A late diagnosis can bring both relief and grief, offering clarity while highlighting years of unmet needs and lost support. By listening to their stories and advocating for age-inclusive recognition and care, we can learn from their resilience and ensure that no one feels too late to belong.
Sensory Trauma: Understanding the Lasting Impact of Sensory Overload
Sensory trauma occurs when repeated or intense sensory overload overwhelms the nervous system, leaving lasting emotional, physical, and psychological impacts on neurodivergent individuals. These experiences, often dismissed or misunderstood by others, can lead to heightened sensitivity, avoidance behaviors, and difficulty trusting one's own needs. Healing from sensory trauma involves creating safe environments, validating sensory responses, and building a life that honors and protects our sensory experiences with compassion and care.
Autistic Burnout Recovery 2.0: Beyond Rest—What’s Next?
Autistic burnout recovery goes far beyond rest; it involves rebuilding a life that honors our neurodivergent needs, energy limits, and authentic selves. Recovery requires examining the systems, environments, and expectations that led to burnout in the first place, while gently reintroducing structure, connection, and joy. With support, self-compassion, and a shift toward sustainable living, we can move beyond mere survival and begin to thrive in ways that feel aligned and restorative.
What ‘Spoons’ Actually Mean & How to Manage Your Energy
The concept of “spoons” offers a powerful metaphor for understanding the limited energy many neurodivergent people have to manage daily tasks, social interactions, and sensory demands. Managing spoons requires deep self-awareness, intentional planning, and the courage to set boundaries in a world that often dismisses invisible disabilities. By honoring our energy limits, seeking supportive environments, and releasing internalized shame around rest, we can build more sustainable and authentic lives.
When the Algorithm Flags Neurodivergence: A Conversation on Digital Ableism
Bridgette Hamstead shares her personal experience of having her LinkedIn account suspended due to algorithmic moderation systems misinterpreting her frequent, in-depth posts—an example of what is known as algorithmic ableism. This form of digital discrimination disproportionately affects neurodivergent users, whose natural communication styles often differ from neurotypical norms and are wrongly flagged as spam or unprofessional. Hamstead calls for inclusive platform design that values neurodivergent expression and demands a shift in how digital spaces recognize and accommodate diverse ways of communicating.
Rethinking the ‘Autistic Social Skills Deficit’ Narrative: New Research & Perspectives
The idea that autistic people have a social skills deficit is rooted in outdated and neurotypical-centered perspectives that fail to recognize the validity of autistic communication styles. Instead of forcing autistic individuals to conform to neurotypical norms, a more neuro-affirming approach acknowledges that autistic socialization is different, not deficient, and thrives in environments that accommodate diverse ways of connecting. By fostering mutual understanding, reducing masking pressure, and creating inclusive social spaces, we can challenge the deficit narrative and support autistic people in forming meaningful, authentic relationships on their own terms.
Is ‘Low Support Needs’ Autism a Myth? Why Every Autistic Person Needs Support
The concept of “low support needs” autism is misleading because it assumes that some autistic individuals require little to no assistance, when in reality, all autistic people have unique and valid support needs that may not always be visible. Many autistic individuals mask their struggles, experience fluctuating challenges, and face barriers to accommodations simply because they appear independent in certain areas. A more neuro-affirming approach acknowledges that support should be based on individual needs rather than external perceptions, ensuring that all autistic people receive the understanding and accommodations necessary to thrive.