So, the engine of academia revolves slowly during the summer months. Last Friday, I got an email seeking clarification of some details of my recruitment process. I responded to this immediately with further information. Now just waiting to hear.

Yesterday, I went to Edinburgh Book Festival to see Daniel Tammet speak. He is a genuine savant with extraordinary synesthetic and linguistic abilities. Not only is his internal processing extraordinary, but he is also extremely articulate. His interview and Q&A were immediate and insightful and I left with an enormous hope for Neurodiversity and the changing landscape of the public perception of autism.

Several times he said that people had said to him: “But you don’t look autistic!” – this he took as both an insult and a compliment. What this says to me, is that the public perception of what is autism is gradually changing to where diversity in general and Neurodiversity in particular are perceived without being rejected and excluded. Understanding and acceptance may take longer, but this is then the function of advocacy and Neurodivergent education.

Now 1 week to go before Autscape and the social media feeds are buzzing with posts about the presenters and presentations. Exciting! I’ve got my trains booked and the usual angst about travel arrangements and meeting connections. Just exciting to be attending a gathering and community where autism is unsurprising. Where autistic people are enabled to talk about our own understandings and specialisms about what our experience is, and what it means to us.