Here at Cleo’s Autism Awareness, I plan to write 150K words over 120 posts—as well as through 20-30 posts on other blogs and social media, such as The Mighty and Twitter—which will amount to 15% of my 2018 New Year’s Resolution to write 1 million words.

Update 5-16-18: I think I might be in autistic burnout, and I’m like a betta fish trying to gasp for air with my second lung chamber; this was my old schedule, but I’m trying to revise it before June to balance my writing projects more…

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I Have Big Plans 🖤 That Often Change

No more of this “you’re not autistic” business from anti-vaxxers… In August,—after our wedding and honeymoon—I’m getting down and dirty with my research. Then I’m blogging about it. And then, I’m organizing half the contents on this blog into a more polished e-book (see the Table of Contents at the bottom).

…But before that, I’m releasing a YouTube video of myself reading “Do Not Mourn for Us” with a visual sketchbook accompaniment…

tl;dr ver., I’m ready to rip carpet off the floor.

August 💙 Vaccinations Awareness (Updates Daily)

1. 8/1: The Craze for an Explanation (Vaccinations, Pt. 1);
2. 8/2: The Debunking (Vaccinations, Pt. 2);
3. 8/3: The Craze for the Cure (Vaccinations, Pt. 3);
4. 8/4: Self-Advocacy (Neurodiversity, Pt. 1);
5. 8/5: Innovation (Neurodiversity, Pt. 2);
6. 8/6: Giftedness (Neurodiversity, Pt. 3);
7. 8/7: Misdiagnosis (Diagnosis, Pt. 1);
8. 8/8: Co-morbids (Diagnosis, Pt. 2);
9. 8/9: Relief (Diagnosis, Pt. 3);
10. 8/10: Social Anxiety (Co-morbids, Pt. 1);
11. 8/11: Depression (Co-morbids, Pt. 2);
12. 8/12: Hot and Cold, Right and “Wrong” (Co-morbids, Pt. 3);
13. 8/13: Silence (Invisibility, Pt. 1);
14. 8/14: Safety (Invisibility, Pt. 2);
15. 8/15: Bullying (Invisibility, Pt. 3);
16. 8/16: Normalization (Maltreatment, Pt. 1);
17. 8/17: “You Aren’t Autistic” (Maltreatment, Pt. 2);
18. 8/18: Anger (Maltreatment, Pt. 3);
19. 8/19: Cognitive Therapy (Treatment, Pt. 1);
20. 8/20: Special Education (Treatment, Pt. 2);
21. 8/21: Books (Treatment, Pt. 3);
22. 8/22: Anti-depressants (Medicine, Pt. 1);
23. 8/23: Old Wives’ Tales (Medicine, Pt. 2);
24. 8/24: 2018 Trials (Medicine, Pt. 3);
25. 8/25: Autistic Parents (My Ethical Journey, Pt. 1);
26. 8/26: Preferences (LFW, Pt. 1);
27. 8/27: Mealtime, Pt. 3;
28. 8/28: OTCs, Pt. 1;
29. 8/29: Genetics, Pt. 1;
30. 8/30: Meditation (Further Research is Needed, Pt. 1);

September 💜 Suicide Prevention (Sun/Tues)

1. 9/2: Do Not Mourn for Us, Pt. 1;
2. 9/4: Do Not Mourn for Us, Pt. 2;
3. 9/9: Do Not Mourn for Us, Pt. 3;
4. 9/10: World Suicide Prevention Day;
5. 9/11: In Memory;
6. 9/16: Stims, Pt. 2;
7. 9/18: Under Public School’s Radar, Pt. 1;
8. 9/23: 100th Post! (Synesthesia, Pt. 1);
9. 9/25: Emotions, Pt. 1;
10. 9/30: Emotions, Pt. 2;

October 🧡 The Masquerade (Sun/Tues)

1. 10/2: Emotions, Pt. 3;
2. 10/7: Under Public School’s Radar, Pt. 2;
3. 10/9: Women with Autism, Pt. 1;
4. 10/14: OTCs, Pt. 2;
5. 10/16: LFW, Pt. 2;
6. 10/21: Tree Bark (Patterns, Pt. 1);
7. 10/23: Oil Slick (Patterns, Pt. 2);
8. 10/28: 10 Best Gifts from Childhood (Synesthesia, Pt. 2);
9. 10/30: Sequins are the Original Atoms from the Big Bang (Stims, Pt. 3);

November 💛 Career Development (Sun/Tues)

1. 11/4: Women with Autism, Pt. 2;
2. 11/6: Textured Paper (Patterns, Pt. 3);
3. 11/11: Numbers (Pattern Recognition, Pt. 1);
4. 11/13: Data (Pattern Recognition, Pt. 2);
5. 11/18: Human Smell;
6. 11/20: Humidifier Recipes, Pt. 3;
7. 11/25: The Day I Went to Best Buy on Black Friday;
8. 11/27: 10 Best Books from Childhood;

December 💝 Human Rights (Sun/Tues)

1. 12/2: Subminimum Wage (LFW, Pt. 3);
2. 12/4: Synesthesia, Pt. 3;
3. 12/9: Clouds (Pattern Recognition, Pt. 3);
4. 12/11: Bath Bombs (Bathtime, Pt. 3);
5. 12/16: Women with Autism, Pt. 3;
6. 12/18: Under Public School’s Radar, Pt. 3;
7. 12/23: Making Rows (Weird, Pt. 3);
8. 12/25: Further Research is Needed, Pt. 3;
9. 12/30: OTCs, Pt. 3.

Table of Contents

The following is a pending table of contents for an e-book, a 2019 project after completing this year’s blog. Note some posts aren’t incorporated into the 2018 agenda; so these are prime topics to explore for The Mighty, Twitter discussions, or static pages.

Intro—Why an Autism Awareness Blog slash e-Book?

Ch. I—Through Hospital Corridors

Another Adulthood Diagnosis of Autism in a Woman

1. Diagnosis: Part I; Part II; & Part III
2. Under Public School’s Radar: Part I; Part II; & Part III
3. Women with Autism: Part I; Part II; & Part III

Co-morbid Blossoms from Autistic Roots

1. Invisibility: Part I; Part II; & Part III
2. Co-morbids: Part I; Part II; & Part III
3. Maltreatment: Part I; Part II; & Part III

Meet Medicine, My Assistant

1. Treatment: Part I; Part II; & Part III
2. Medications: Part I; Part II; & Part III
3. OTCs: Part I; Part II; & Part III

Ch. II—Defining Autism

Because Science

1. Vaccinations: Part I; Part II; & Part III;
2. Genetics: Part I; not on blog: Part II; & Part III;
3. Further Research is Needed: Part I; Part II; & Part III;

Vocabulary (not on blog)

1. The prefix “au”: Part I; Part II; & Part III;
2. “Autism”: Part I; Part II; & Part III;
3. Asperger’s Syndrome: Part I; Part II; & Part III;

Personal Anecdotes (not on blog)

1. “But it’s high-function autism, right?”
2. “You don’t seem autistic to me…”
3. “You have Asperger’s Syndrome—not autism.”

Ch. III—A Therapeutic Home

Rituals

1. Cinnamon: Part I; Part II; & Part III
2. Stims: Part I; Part II; & Part III
3. Journaling: Part I; Part II; & Part III

Aromatherapy

1. Bath Time: Part I; Part II; & Part III
2. Humidifier: Part I; Part II; & Part III
3. Jewelry: Part I; Part II; & Part III

Pet Therapy

1. Aquariums: Part I; not on blog: Part II; & Part III
2. Cats: Part I; not on blog: Part II; & Part III
3. Birds: not on blog: Part I; Part II; & Part III

Ch. IV—Disability or Differability?

Special Interests

1. Technology: Part I; Part II; not on blog: Part III
2. Video Games: Part I; Part II; Part III
3. Nature: Part I; not on blog: Part II; Part III

Creativity

1. Numbers: Part I; Part II; & Part III
2. Social Skills: Part I; not on blog: Part II; & Part III
3. Writing My Voice: Part I; Part II; & Part III

Sensory Sensitivity

1. Pattern Recognition: Part I; Part II; & Part III
2. My Good Olfactory: Part I; Part II; & Part III
3. Synesthesia: Part I; Part II; & Part III

Ch. V—Finding a Place on Our Little Blue Dot

Collective Unconscious

1. Near-Death Experience: Part I; Part II; & Part III
2. My Spiritual Journey: Part I; not on blog: Part II; & Part III
3. My Ethical Journey: Part I; not on blog: Part II; & Part III

Writing Our Voice

1. The Story of How I Hid in a Closet: Part I; Part II; & Part III
2. Online Love: Part I; Part II; & Part III
3. VR: Part I; Part II; & Part III

Autism Communities

1. For Autistic People: ASAN; Wrong Planet; & Actually Autistic
2. For Autistic Families: The Mighty; Child-Autism-Parent-Cafe; & the Autism Society
3. Criticisms: Autism Speaks; Anti-Vaxxers; & Special Education

Ch. VI—Building the Best Autistic Life

Equality

1. Maltreatment: Part I; Part II; & Part III
2. Neurodiversity: Part I; Part II; & Part III
3. LFW: Part I; Part II; & Part III

Acceptance

1. Do Not Mourn for Us: Part I; Part II; & Part III
2. Because Science: Part I; Part II; & Part III
3. Weird: Part I; Part II; & Part III

Happiness

1. Emotions: Part I; Part II; & Part III
2. Patterns: Part I; Part II; & Part III
3. Mealtime: Part I; Part II; & Part III

Ch. VII—Further Reading

• suggested books for learning more about autism
• suggested books for learning more about special interests
• suggested blogs for looking through the autistic lens