What if one of the most misunderstood aspects of autism is not how autistic people think, but how their attention is distributed? For decades, autism research has frequently examined differences in social cognition, executive functioning, sensory processing and behavioural flexibility. Autistic individuals are often described as having restricted interests, difficulty switching between activities or an
Imagine sitting at your desk, fully aware that you need to begin an important task. You understand what needs to be done. You know how to do it. You recognise the consequences of delaying it. You may even genuinely want to get started. Yet, despite all this awareness, you remain unable to initiate the action.
For decades, autism has frequently been understood through the language of social and communication deficits. Autistic individuals have often been described as struggling to interpret social cues, understand other people’s perspectives, recognise emotions or navigate the unwritten rules of human interaction. But what if this understanding has been incomplete? What if the difficulties experienced between
Imagine experiencing an overwhelming emotional response but being unable to explain what you are feeling. Your heart races, your stomach tightens, and you become increasingly uncomfortable. You know something is wrong, but when someone asks, “How are you feeling?”, you struggle to find an answer. You might say, “I don’t know.” To someone observing, this
Rejection sensitivity is often used to describe an unusually intense emotional response to perceived criticism, rejection, disappointment or failure. In discussions about ADHD, the term Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD) is sometimes used to describe experiences in which relatively ordinary interpersonal events can trigger profound emotional distress. It is important to be precise about the terminology.
