Hey Lovelies ♥ Guess what?! I'm still ill :( but I am getting abit better! Anyway today is a special day for me as it is National Austim Awareness Day. As a person living with Austism today means alot to me, a year ago I didn't actually know that there was a national day for austism as it didn't effect me..well it did but I didn't know it! But now I know this day means alot to me and I think that more people need to realise that today is National Austim Awareness Day as it does affect alot of people and so don't know who it. My mum was on the internet a few months ago and found the website called http://wildsister.com/. Wild Sister is a magazine and is about finding happiness and believing in ourselves. Jen who is the creator of the Wild Sister magazine recently came out of the 'austism closet' so I emailed her and asked if I could interview her for my blog, she said Yes so to honor National Austism Awareness Day here is the interview with Jen from Wild Sister.
1. For my readers can you explain what you do and what you offer?
I’m the founder and CEO of Wild Sister. It’s an e-magazine, blog and social network designed to inspire women to be kind to themselves, create their lives and make a positive impact on the world. I'm also working with other Autistic women to create an online social network for women on the Autism spectrum, called the Autistic Women's Collective.
2. How did your aspergers diagnosis help you?
It helped me in more ways than I can count! For starters, I finally understand myself. I can look back on certain challenging experiences from my past and instead of feeling shame or judgement towards myself, I now feel compassion and understanding.
I don’t pressure myself to fit in anymore or beat myself up for being different like I used to. My family and friends also understand me better. Mostly, this diagnosis has helped me be much more accepting and loving towards myself, which has made my entire life easier and happier.
3. Do you have times when you go through obsessions or interests?
Absolutely! I’ve always had strong obsessions. I went through a lot of different interests as a teen until my early 20s. These days, my business is my main obsession, but my other special interests include fiction writing, movies, and now the Autism Spectrum, especially female Autism. I had some odd obsessions as a kid and teen, like cats and 1980s pop culture {which was odd because at the time I was a teen in the early 2000s, not the 80’s!}.
4. If you have any, do you have any coping methods?
I think my biggest coping method is writing. It helps me get all my thoughts and feelings out, which I struggle to do verbally. When I feel anxious, deep breathing exercises and mindfulness helps, and having a positive mindset works wonders.
5. Have you ever had a pet for therapy or just enjoyment?
Well, I always thought I had pets for enjoyment, because I’ve always loved animals. But looking back, I remember I used to talk to my pets and tell them everything, I just felt so much more comfortable talking to them than humans. So yes, my pets have always been therapeutic for me, although I’ve never had an official pet therapy animal.
6. Do you self-teach yourself a lot of things or just have a kinda of talent you just seem to know about?
All my talents are self-taught. I taught myself how to draw from a very young age, and over the years I’ve also taught myself how to create digital products, self-publishing, web and graphic design, and most recently fiction writing.
7. Do you self-stim when you are happy or excited?
Yep! I’m constantly stimming in one form or another. When I’m happy or excited I clap, bounce, tap my feet, even squeal a little. And I’m constantly playing with my hair.
8. Do you find emotions hard?
Now that I’m older, I find emotions easier to handle than I used to. As a kid I would cry over the smallest things and feel my emotions so strongly I just didn’t know what to do. It’s easier now to understand my emotions, pin point why I’m feeling that way, and do what I need to to work through it.
9. What is your opinion on aspergers and austim and aspergirls?
I think there needs to be more of an open conversation about Autism, especially about how it affects girls differently. There needs to be more awareness of how Autism presents itself in girls so that they can be diagnosed earlier and find support and understanding. And most importantly for me, girls and women on the spectrum need positive role models to look up to and learn from.
10. What advice would you give other aspies?
In the words of Temple Grandin, people on the Autism spectrum are “different, not less.” You are just as worthy of happiness, love and kindness as anyone else on this planet. Always remember that.
Hope you enjoyed reading the interview and if you should definately visit Jen's website which is: http://wildsister.com/. And subscribe to her email newsletter which is free and gives you amazing happniess boosters.
As she mentioned in the first question, she is working with other AS women to create a community for us. Here's a link to the Facebook page if you're interested: https://www.facebook.com/AWCollective
Bye Lovelies and Happy Austim Awareness Day ♥
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