Good Morning SOS’ers! It has been a while since we’ve met up. This morning I am strolling with you through the Cheekwood Gardens and Estate in Nashville, TN, one of the best places to visit in the United States, I think! I have written about this lovely garden before, and it’s history, but today we... Read More| ThatTravelLadyInHerShoes
Merry Christmas! It’s been a while since I posted, but I finally made it to Bethlehem for Christmas! It has taken me over a year, due to WordPress, but I won’t go into that today! I feel I have been on a pilgrimage to get here and maybe I have! Let’s celebrate the birth of... Read More| ThatTravelLadyInHerShoes
Not long ago, I had a book stall at an event unrelated to autism - a rare occasion for me as an autistic author and speaker. And I think it’s fair to say there are| Autistic Not Weird
When I was a teacher in a school for autistic students, it was well-noted that my biggest strength was my ability to build strong teacher-student relationships. My students engaged well in my classes, opened up| Autistic Not Weird
For this year's World Autism Acceptance Day, I made these fifty pictures and shared them to Autistic Not Weird's Facebook page [all links open in new tabs]. For those who don't already follow it, or want| Autistic Not Weird
Ever since adolescence, I’ve wanted to spend my life building people. Whether in terms of confidence, intellect, life skills, or all the other ways a person can be built up, I’ve wanted to be the| Autistic Not Weird
One commonality I’ve found among autistic people is that many of us love creating our own universes. The real world often functions without autistic people in mind. To many of us, it seems that the non-autistic population seems to be entirely in control – often, even in control of our world and our futures. So it can help enormously for us to escape into a universe where we choose the rules, we can influence events, and nobody gets to cast […] The post Twenty tips for aspiring writers, ...| Autistic Not Weird
We see them far too often. Videos of an autistic child (or adult) in extreme distress, shared across the internet in the glorious name of “autism awareness”, perhaps even with a divisive or gatekeeping comment such as “this is what real autism looks like”. The motivation, of course, is to display the problems that all too often kept behind closed doors. And whereas the issues do need discussing and addressing, perhaps there’s a better way to do so than uploading […] The post Ten v...| Autistic Not Weird
There’s something falsely positive about the word “perfectionist”, isn’t there? The first time I remember hearing the word, I was being taught how to answer job interview questions. I was told that when the interviewer asks me what my biggest weakness is, I should say “oh, I’m a perfectionist, I can’t leave things alone until I know they’re right”. Because apparently, it’s like answering a question about weaknesses by continuing to show off my strengths. (I never did this,...| Autistic Not Weird
It doesn’t seem quite right, does it? That a month designated for raising public knowledge of autism would be so widely disliked by the autistic people it claims to support. But just to clarify: the| Autistic Not Weird
This is going to be one of my shorter articles – largely, I imagine, to be posted in reply to those who “correct” my language when I refer to myself or others as autistic, as| Autistic Not Weird
The two questions above are among the most commonly asked by parents of newly-diagnosed autistic children. And wouldn’t it be great if there were a one-sentence answer to it? Sadly, it doesn’t work like that. But here’s my advice, as an autistic man who used to be an autistic child, who gets asked this question a lot. Full disclosure: this is a rewrite of an article that I wrote five years ago (way back at the start of Autistic Not […] The post When should I tell my child they’re au...| Autistic Not Weird
So it’s World Autism Awareness Month again! Those who follow Autistic Not Weird’s Facebook page [links open in new tabs] will know that I often use the occasion to upload a ton of picture posts- not just to spread awareness but to encourage autism acceptance too. This year, instead of uploading facts about autism like I have in the past, I started an album called “Fifty ways to help autistic people“. And, as promised, here they are in one big […] The post 50 ways to help autistic pe...| Autistic Not Weird
I wasn’t very old at all when I first noticed I was different. I didn’t have a word for it until I was 24, but my differences have rarely been a secret – to me or anyone else. And sometimes, sadly, other people make those differences an issue. They shouldn’t be any problem at all, but not everyone appreciates difference. This is another article I’ve put off writing because it’s such a difficult subject, but it’s clearly in high […] The post A brief guide to coping with bein...| Autistic Not Weird
I don’t like Christmastime. And I should be allowed to say that without being criticised for it. Don’t get me wrong, I love what Christmas stands for. But December is that month when Expectation Claus sneaks into your house, instructs you to follow all these traditions (whether you’re comfortable with them or not), and you’re not allowed to tell him you’re sad because everyone is supposed to be happy and joyous at Christmas. It’s the rules. Like everything else in […] The post A...| Autistic Not Weird
The internet is full of advice articles for parents. So just for once, this one’s for children themselves! I can’t believe I’m saying this, but this is my fiftieth article for Autistic Not Weird. So I thought I’d do something special for it. I used to be a schoolteacher (and now I work with autistic students outside of schools), and this is the advice I would give to children growing up on the autism spectrum. Something important before we begin: […] The post Fifty pieces of advice ...| Autistic Not Weird
A list of 8 must-visit places in Greenland including Sisimiut, Kullorsuaq, Siorapaluk, the Thule Region, Disko Bay, Eqi Glacier, Akulleq, and Savissivik with photos which will persuade you to visit to this remote island| Bruised Passports
5 best cruises offered by French luxury brand Ponant including unforgettable trips to Antarctica & Svalbard islands:home to penguins & polar bears| Bruised Passports
Continuing on in Israel……sorry for the delay. I was not too happy with Wordpress’s “Happiness Engineers,” the entire month of December I had trouble logging into my bl…| ThatTravelLadyInHerShoes
These are more photos taken at the Caesarea National Park in Caesarea, Israel……. The park encompasses an area around the ancient city of Caesarea Maritima, constructed during the reign …| ThatTravelLadyInHerShoes
Today, we are in the Caesarea National Park, right along the water’s edge in Caesarea, Israel. The park is huge and it is HOT, so we welcomed the sea breezes. It is quite the place, but the s…| ThatTravelLadyInHerShoes
Of all the places we visited in Israel, to me, Mount Carmel, was the most beautiful! So much has gone on here, I hardly know where to start! Mount Carmel, (which means mountain of gardens) is menti…| ThatTravelLadyInHerShoes
Today, we are in Nazareth, a city in Galilee… Looking at this illustration of Nazareth, by David Roberts, we can see, Nazareth, was a small town and it is said that in Jesus time there were…| ThatTravelLadyInHerShoes
I’m starting out, today, with a map of Israel, so you can see where we have been and where we are going. Now, we are driving along the Sea of Galilee. When I focused in on the map, I was surp…| ThatTravelLadyInHerShoes
Getting off the ship, we are at the port in Haifa and a small group of us are now touring Israel for a week together. Our guide is an Israeli Arab Christian. I did not know there were Israelis, wh…| ThatTravelLadyInHerShoes
We had spent over a month on the cruise ship and visited a lot of ports and cities……..but I feel like I should jump ahead to our last stop, since so much is going on in that region now,…| ThatTravelLadyInHerShoes
Here is the last week of pumpkins and more! Enjoy!| ThatTravelLadyInHerShoes
We’re walking down Ippoton Street on the island of Rhodes, Greece. These last few posts have been all about the time of the Crusaders and the Order of Saint John in Rhodes. For more insight o…| ThatTravelLadyInHerShoes
Weddings are not like they used to be………I got married in a church, with our priest, friends and family and then had a lovely reception at a fine hotel. That was many, many, many y…| ThatTravelLadyInHerShoes
Friends, I am taking a short time out from castles, knights and excavations, because two weeks ago we attended my grandson’s wedding. Oh my! The first grandchild married, what a day! Well, al…| ThatTravelLadyInHerShoes
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