Sarah Akin
@sarahakin.bsky.social
Autistic, sensitive, strange, and solitary.
INFJ, sp/sx 5w4
https://substack.com/@sarahakin/posts
The Arts, Cognitive and Social Science, Experiential Realism, Sci-Fi, Slipstream, Arthouse, Psychological Horror, Archetype, Metaphorical Mapping, Simulacra
INFJ, sp/sx 5w4
https://substack.com/@sarahakin/posts
The Arts, Cognitive and Social Science, Experiential Realism, Sci-Fi, Slipstream, Arthouse, Psychological Horror, Archetype, Metaphorical Mapping, Simulacra
Pinned
Sarah Akin
@sarahakin.bsky.social
· Nov 7
At the end of time,
In endless gray and empty rhymes,
There is a winged rush
And in the pools of ink,
A hush.
In endless gray and empty rhymes,
There is a winged rush
And in the pools of ink,
A hush.
Thread of my poetry.
Reposted by Sarah Akin
There is an increasing (and necessary) shift away from compliance-driven narratives and toward nervous system safety, relational care and identity. Frameworks that centre lived experience rather than behaviour control are long overdue!
@neurohubcommunity.org and I are excited to announce that Re-Storying Autism has officially been published!
Available on Kindle, PDF, Paperback, and On-Demand Video.
Find out more here: neurohub.page/re-storyinga...
#ReStoryingAutism #Autistic #Neurodiversity #ActuallyAutistic #AutismAcceptance
Available on Kindle, PDF, Paperback, and On-Demand Video.
Find out more here: neurohub.page/re-storyinga...
#ReStoryingAutism #Autistic #Neurodiversity #ActuallyAutistic #AutismAcceptance
February 16, 2026 at 10:36 AM
There is an increasing (and necessary) shift away from compliance-driven narratives and toward nervous system safety, relational care and identity. Frameworks that centre lived experience rather than behaviour control are long overdue!
Just looked at this image and thought, "Wow, humans see a lot!"
(It's late.)
(It's late.)
February 16, 2026 at 2:33 AM
Just looked at this image and thought, "Wow, humans see a lot!"
(It's late.)
(It's late.)
Reposted by Sarah Akin
Background music in stores can make it very difficult for me to focus on what I'm doing.
I can't focus on what I need to get when I'm at the grocery store.
It's hard to think about anything except for the music that's playing in the background.
#AutChat A1
I can't focus on what I need to get when I'm at the grocery store.
It's hard to think about anything except for the music that's playing in the background.
#AutChat A1
Q1: Name some barriers to everyday accessibility that you’ve run into. What problems do these barriers cause you? #AutChat
February 15, 2026 at 9:49 PM
Background music in stores can make it very difficult for me to focus on what I'm doing.
I can't focus on what I need to get when I'm at the grocery store.
It's hard to think about anything except for the music that's playing in the background.
#AutChat A1
I can't focus on what I need to get when I'm at the grocery store.
It's hard to think about anything except for the music that's playing in the background.
#AutChat A1
Reposted by Sarah Akin
Living in Sweden we do not register to vote, we automatically receive voting cards in our mailboxes ( and I wouldn't be surprised if it were the same in other countries). That was mentioned in school as an explanation for why we have a higher voter turnout than the United States.
February 15, 2026 at 2:59 PM
Living in Sweden we do not register to vote, we automatically receive voting cards in our mailboxes ( and I wouldn't be surprised if it were the same in other countries). That was mentioned in school as an explanation for why we have a higher voter turnout than the United States.
This scared me so much as a child. Apparently it has a name.
www.youtube.com/shorts/hrzom...
www.youtube.com/shorts/hrzom...
Do you see THIS when you close your eyes?!
YouTube video by Doctor Myro
www.youtube.com
February 15, 2026 at 3:34 PM
This scared me so much as a child. Apparently it has a name.
www.youtube.com/shorts/hrzom...
www.youtube.com/shorts/hrzom...
I think one of the reasons the world is currently on fire is that human beings are dependent on real-time feedback and the internet doesn't provide it.
If you can imagine people laughing at your rude joke or reconsidering their core values, most of us (myself included) will go ahead and do that.
If you can imagine people laughing at your rude joke or reconsidering their core values, most of us (myself included) will go ahead and do that.
February 15, 2026 at 2:48 PM
I think one of the reasons the world is currently on fire is that human beings are dependent on real-time feedback and the internet doesn't provide it.
If you can imagine people laughing at your rude joke or reconsidering their core values, most of us (myself included) will go ahead and do that.
If you can imagine people laughing at your rude joke or reconsidering their core values, most of us (myself included) will go ahead and do that.
Me, neurodivergent: *perpetually dysregulated and trying with all my stupid heart not to upset anyone else*
You, neurotypical: Fuck society, fuck the government, fuck your nervous system, wow, I feel better. Think I'll have some cheese.
You, neurotypical: Fuck society, fuck the government, fuck your nervous system, wow, I feel better. Think I'll have some cheese.
February 14, 2026 at 5:13 PM
Me, neurodivergent: *perpetually dysregulated and trying with all my stupid heart not to upset anyone else*
You, neurotypical: Fuck society, fuck the government, fuck your nervous system, wow, I feel better. Think I'll have some cheese.
You, neurotypical: Fuck society, fuck the government, fuck your nervous system, wow, I feel better. Think I'll have some cheese.
Roses are red
Violets are purple,
Sugar deceives
And so do people.
Violets are purple,
Sugar deceives
And so do people.
February 14, 2026 at 4:10 PM
Roses are red
Violets are purple,
Sugar deceives
And so do people.
Violets are purple,
Sugar deceives
And so do people.
Reposted by Sarah Akin
in a hard world, I'm yearning to be soft 🩷
February 14, 2026 at 5:23 AM
in a hard world, I'm yearning to be soft 🩷
Reposted by Sarah Akin
"Love takes off the masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within." -James Baldwin
February 14, 2026 at 3:47 PM
"Love takes off the masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within." -James Baldwin
Reposted by Sarah Akin
you have a voice, you can use it to help bring dignity back for the members of the more marginalized autistics. Let’s change the plotlines and the narratives around nonspeaking autistics so more and more are allowed to be visible in society and avail of opportunities in all kinds of areas.”]
3/3
3/3
February 14, 2026 at 2:13 PM
you have a voice, you can use it to help bring dignity back for the members of the more marginalized autistics. Let’s change the plotlines and the narratives around nonspeaking autistics so more and more are allowed to be visible in society and avail of opportunities in all kinds of areas.”]
3/3
3/3
Reposted by Sarah Akin
The talk to your friends app and the witness the horrors app being the same app is not great for the mental health is it
February 13, 2026 at 9:37 PM
The talk to your friends app and the witness the horrors app being the same app is not great for the mental health is it
Today I was so sad (about stuff) and then I heard purring, and then Mabel curled up in my lap.
George is her person, but she knows when she's needed.
George is her person, but she knows when she's needed.
February 14, 2026 at 1:11 AM
Today I was so sad (about stuff) and then I heard purring, and then Mabel curled up in my lap.
George is her person, but she knows when she's needed.
George is her person, but she knows when she's needed.
I want so much to be a calm, kind, gracious person.
Every day, I fail.
Do you ever feel like your insides are burning?
Every day, I fail.
Do you ever feel like your insides are burning?
February 13, 2026 at 10:36 PM
I want so much to be a calm, kind, gracious person.
Every day, I fail.
Do you ever feel like your insides are burning?
Every day, I fail.
Do you ever feel like your insides are burning?
Reposted by Sarah Akin
Black history is disability rights history.
Black disabled leaders like Brad Lomax helped shape the civil rights movement and the 504 Sit-In.
Brad Lomax's legacy of that is in @pbs.org American Masters Special: https://tinyurl.com/2kpwnbmk
Black disabled leaders like Brad Lomax helped shape the civil rights movement and the 504 Sit-In.
Brad Lomax's legacy of that is in @pbs.org American Masters Special: https://tinyurl.com/2kpwnbmk
February 13, 2026 at 5:30 PM
Black history is disability rights history.
Black disabled leaders like Brad Lomax helped shape the civil rights movement and the 504 Sit-In.
Brad Lomax's legacy of that is in @pbs.org American Masters Special: https://tinyurl.com/2kpwnbmk
Black disabled leaders like Brad Lomax helped shape the civil rights movement and the 504 Sit-In.
Brad Lomax's legacy of that is in @pbs.org American Masters Special: https://tinyurl.com/2kpwnbmk
Reposted by Sarah Akin
Read books like the novel Happiness Falls, about finding AAC, with its audiobook narration by real-life AAC user Thomas Pruyn. Watch movies like Wretches and Jabberers, The Reason I Jump, or This Is Not About Me, which document the lives of autistic non-speakers on their own terms. #AAC 20/
February 10, 2026 at 4:45 AM
Read books like the novel Happiness Falls, about finding AAC, with its audiobook narration by real-life AAC user Thomas Pruyn. Watch movies like Wretches and Jabberers, The Reason I Jump, or This Is Not About Me, which document the lives of autistic non-speakers on their own terms. #AAC 20/
There's always some guy on social media who claims we're kindred spirits and then argues and condescends to me until I block him.
Don't you want people to like you?
Don't you want people to like you?
February 13, 2026 at 3:58 PM
There's always some guy on social media who claims we're kindred spirits and then argues and condescends to me until I block him.
Don't you want people to like you?
Don't you want people to like you?
For those of you who think ChatGPT never calls me out on my nonsense:
February 13, 2026 at 3:42 PM
For those of you who think ChatGPT never calls me out on my nonsense:
Reposted by Sarah Akin
... as if all the birds left at the same moment ...
[or just a worn out wall by the sea front]
[or just a worn out wall by the sea front]
February 11, 2026 at 6:43 PM
... as if all the birds left at the same moment ...
[or just a worn out wall by the sea front]
[or just a worn out wall by the sea front]
Righteous indignation doesn't make you right.
It also doesn't make you wrong.
It just means you feel powerless.
When we feel powerless, we seek power, mistaking it for peace.
It also doesn't make you wrong.
It just means you feel powerless.
When we feel powerless, we seek power, mistaking it for peace.
February 11, 2026 at 5:52 PM
Righteous indignation doesn't make you right.
It also doesn't make you wrong.
It just means you feel powerless.
When we feel powerless, we seek power, mistaking it for peace.
It also doesn't make you wrong.
It just means you feel powerless.
When we feel powerless, we seek power, mistaking it for peace.
Reposted by Sarah Akin
"Neko to Kotori" ("Cat and Bird") was created by the Japanese printmaker Tōshi Yoshida (1911–1995).🤍
February 11, 2026 at 1:54 PM
"Neko to Kotori" ("Cat and Bird") was created by the Japanese printmaker Tōshi Yoshida (1911–1995).🤍
Reposted by Sarah Akin
If you are sincerely interested in understanding the needs and experiences of being autistic & non-speaking, avoid The Telepathy Tapes. Instead, follow organizations like @communicationfirst.bsky.social First that advocate for people who “cannot rely on speech alone to be heard and understood.” 19/
February 10, 2026 at 4:43 AM
If you are sincerely interested in understanding the needs and experiences of being autistic & non-speaking, avoid The Telepathy Tapes. Instead, follow organizations like @communicationfirst.bsky.social First that advocate for people who “cannot rely on speech alone to be heard and understood.” 19/
Reposted by Sarah Akin
The Marsh Flower, a Sad Human Head (La Fleur du marécage, une tête humaine et triste) from Homage to Goya (Hommage à Goya) http://www.moma.org/collection/works/92923
February 10, 2026 at 6:12 PM
The Marsh Flower, a Sad Human Head (La Fleur du marécage, une tête humaine et triste) from Homage to Goya (Hommage à Goya) http://www.moma.org/collection/works/92923
Reposted by Sarah Akin
chavisory.wordpress.com/2026/01/31/h...
Having seen an uptick in "I love my child but I hate his autism" rhetoric lately...
Having seen an uptick in "I love my child but I hate his autism" rhetoric lately...
Hatred
Some time ago now, a handful of other friends and bloggers and I founded We Are Like Your Child, a group blog in which we wrote realistically and non-tragically about our challenges as autistic and…
chavisory.wordpress.com
February 10, 2026 at 4:56 PM
chavisory.wordpress.com/2026/01/31/h...
Having seen an uptick in "I love my child but I hate his autism" rhetoric lately...
Having seen an uptick in "I love my child but I hate his autism" rhetoric lately...