I have some reader requests lined up. While answering those requests may take some time, they are most welcome. Just like everything else done under Kaiao’s brand, this blog exists to serve real needs of real people. So let’s get to it, starting from the oldest request! Definition of autigender is simple: it means that […]
Son lei ábi čábbodat Gáddeguoras gilddii Vahágis gáiddai fávlái iige gáddái boahtán šat. áhpi, go áhpi, áhpi. Olmmoš gal lea áhpi. Das ii geahči lea. Áhpi/ Sofia Jannok Today, 10.9., is suicide prevention day. Suicidality among autistic people is many times higher than in general population. According to research, factors increasing the risk further are […]
“Autism does not justify bad behavior” -folk wisdom- “After learning, what makes them special, some people indulge in autism. Now I am allowed to be just as autistic as I am, and others must understand.” (A so-called autism expert in Helsingin Sanomat 3.5.2023, translation mine) Takes such as these have been flying around lately among […]
This essay is my response to an offensive article published a few weeks ago in Helsingin Sanomat, Finland’s largest newspaper. The original article was such a mixture of outdated and misleading information, prejudice, nentism and discrimination, that the term hate speech is quite fitting. In addition to publishing this essay, Kaiao contacted Finnish non-discrimination ombudsman’s […]
”What’s wrong with seeing #Autism as a disability?” This is a good and common question! Many people, autists included, do identify as disabled and part of disabled community. They are not wrong, either -for one thing, autism traits and environments in which autistic people live vary a lot and it is only natural for lived […]
When autistic people are not accused of being emotionless and “robotic” due to mistaking our quiet or unusual body language as lack of emotional capacity, we are often blamed as being “too much” in some way. Too intense. Too absorbed in our special interests. Too thorough in our exploration. Too passionate for the causes we […]
To be human is to struggle with troubling emotions. To be autistic is to sometimes struggle with strange emotions that are difficult to understand or put into words. Many people still seem to believe that autists do not experience emotions, or at least deep emotions. I believe this prejudice also explains in part dehumanization of […]
Eye contact -or its absence- is sometimes perplexingly big deal in neurotypical world. Apparently, it is perfectly right and decent to discriminate against people who do not take eye contact and threaten people who struggle with it with harsh social sanctions. Why is that even necessary, if eye contact is so incredibly natural and positive? […]
Takiwatanga*, the reality of autistic people, is a gentle world. In fact, it is so gentle that even time has a softness to it. Arrow of time exists here just like it does in neurotypical reality, as it originates from entropy. However, as far as current physics allows variations in experience of time, there appear […]
Time before holidays and holidays themselves can be stressful time even for neurotypical people. Autistic people feel this stress many times over. Autistic mother Riina Vallin compiled a list of good tips for autist friendly holidays. Each person and family are unique, but if something seems to cause trouble, the root cause is likely to […]