No Richard Thrice, Children Wearing Ear Defenders Is Not ‘Insane’
UK politician Richard Thrice, the deputy leader of the Reform UK party, stated at a press conference in November 2025 that the sight of children wearing ear defenders in classrooms was ‘insane’ and said it ‘has got to stop’. Which is quite frankly a disgusting comment to make…
Why the Autistic Barbie Matters
Today Mattel launched their autistic Barbie - a doll with pink noise-cancelling headphones, a fidget spinner, sensory sensitive clothing, an AAC tablet, an eye gaze slightly to the side, and fully bendable wrists and elbows to allow repetitive movements like stimming and hand-flapping.
Truths Helping Me Through Eating Disorder Recovery
Over the past several months, I have received a lot of messages on social media asking me to speak about eating disorders, particularly in relation to autism, but I haven’t really felt able to speak about it. Becoming unwell last year took me by surprise, and I think it’s hard to balance…
My Top 10 Reads of 2025
Happy New Year! It is the start of January, which means it is time to reflect on the top 10 books I read last year. Overall, I read 124 books (including 33 audiobooks) and some were absolute masterpieces!
It’s Okay If All You Did This Year Was Survive
As we approach the new year and everyone starts to share their reflections on 2025 and their goals for 2026, I wanted to share some thoughts.
To those who have had a difficult year…
Lessons I’ve Learned This Year
2025 has been one of the hardest years of my life, and I never saw that coming.
But it has taught me a lot.
So here are thirteen of the most important things…
An Autistic Guide to Christmas
We are rapidly approaching Christmas, a time of year which fills some with joy and others with dread. I imagine, for most of us, it can depend on the sort of year we have had and how we are feeling generally. There have been Christmases where I’ve been so excited and happy. There have also…
Rebuilding Your Life After a Mental Health Crisis: What No-one Tells You
No-one gives you a guidebook on how to rebuild your life after a mental health crisis. You’re just expected to get on with it. To pick up the pieces and carry on. Even though your identity has been shaken to its core and everything feels like it has come crashing down around you…
ADHD Awareness Month
It’s ADHD Awareness Month - a month aiming to increase understanding of ADHD, dispel misconceptions and educate people about what ADHD really is. Many people still think of ADHD as young boys running around a classroom…
Autistic People Have Always Existed and Will Always Exist: A Response to Trump’s Announcement
Yesterday, Trump announced that “we’re going to have one of the biggest announcements, really medically, I think, in the history of our country…I think we found an answer to autism.” An answer like…
World Suicide Prevention Day
September 10th is World Suicide Prevention Day. This is an important day for so many reasons. It is impossible to sum up what suicide prevention is and means in just a few words. It is not just talking.
Suicide prevention is everything from…
“We Didn’t Have Autism or ADHD in My Day”: The Increase in Autism and ADHD Diagnoses
Last week, a superb article was published in The Guardian by Gina Rippon titled ‘Why the antagonism over the rise in autism diagnoses? It’s actually good news’. I am honoured that Girl Unmasked was mentioned…
How to Manage a Mental Health Relapse
Experiencing a mental health relapse is hard. Recovery is long, difficult and not a straight line. It can bring up all sorts of emotions - guilt, shame, fear, anxiety, sadness. And questions, like what to do when you notice you…
An Autistic Girl’s Guide to Summer Holidays
It’s the middle of July, which means lots of people are heading off on summer holidays. For autistic people, holidays can be difficult for various reasons, for example due to…
changes in routine
How To Respond To Intrusive Thoughts: A 7-Step Guide
Intrusive thoughts are unwanted thoughts that pop into our minds and make us feel distressed, upset or uncomfortable. The nature of these vary, but they can be violent, distressing, or a recurring fear that you might say or do something…
My Mid-Year Book Wrap-Up
Somehow, we are half-way through 2025 already, so it’s time for a mid-year book wrap-up! Books, as usual, have been a real comfort to me over the last six months, particularly whilst being unwell and my favourites have been a real…
Reminders for Mental Health Recovery
Mental health recovery is hard. No matter what you are struggling with, recovery is messy, it’s challenging and the pain can feel never-ending. I wanted to share some reminders with you today. I hope that something here…
Words of Hope
I have had a difficult couple of months due to being unwell. But, as usual, I’ve found comfort in words - be those from books (check out my Goodreads for my book reviews!), poetry or quotes…
Shortlisted for ITV’s Book bCreator of the Year
Hello, it’s been a while.
Thank you for the messages checking in on me. I do apologise for not responding. Unfortunately due to being unwell, I’ve had to pull out of several things including…
How Social Media Can Influence Identity - from a Neurodivergent Lens
I recently spoke to the young people at Ambitious about Autism’s youth network on social media and identity from a neurodivergent lens. I learned a lot whilst prepping for it that I thought was worth sharing.
Many of us are aware that we spend a lot of time online…