A promotional banner for NeuroHub by DGH Neurodivergent Consultancy. The background features swirling green, purple, and blue smoke-like patterns. On the left is the DGH Neurodivergent Consultancy logo with a multicoloured butterfly outline and accompanyi

New Community NeuroHub Space with David Gray-Hammond

Autistic Realms

Helen Edgar
Autistic Advocate, Author & Consultant

Neurodiversity-Affirming
Supporting Autistic People To Grow & Thrive

Welcome to Autistic Realms Newsletter!

Exciting news!

David Gray-Hammond (Emergent Divergence) has a new community: NeuroHub!

I’m really delighted to be collaborating with David and to be part of this new community space as an affiliate.

Why NeuroHub?

Because the neurodiversity paradigm is evolving, and so are we.

Because too many conversations are shaped by people who have never lived the realities we write and speak about every day.

Because community is powerful, not in a hierarchical, top-down way, but in the rhizomatic sense: spreading sideways, exchanging nutrients, forming networks of support that don’t rely on one central authority.

Because understanding ourselves is easier when we do it together.

Join Us!

NeuroHub is open now at neurohub.blog

Membership provides:

• Access to exclusive videos, talks, and recordings
• A community space to explore the meaning of neurodiversity
• Collaborative content with trusted partners
• An environment shaped by neurodivergent thinking, for neurodivergent people

If you’re looking for a place to deepen your knowledge, connect with others, and take part in a living, evolving conversation about neurodiversity, NeuroHub is that place.

Hope to see some of you there!


Finally……. here is a Penguin Pebble for you all!

Penguin Pebbling is an Autistic love language. It is a way of showing you care by sharing a meme or a pretty stone to say “I’m thinking of you.” Inspired by penguins who gift pebbles to those they care about.

Looking forward to sharing more blogs, resources, research and upcoming events soon!

If you find this news letter valuable please do share and encourage people to sign up and visit Autistic Realms – pass on a Penguin Pebble!

Best Wishes,

Helen

“Community is magic.
Community is power.
Community is resistance.”
Alice Wong


Latest Posts

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    Autistic burnout in young people is real—and recovery starts with understanding. This post offers neuroaffirming ways to spot the signs, reduce demands, and truly support. 💛 #AutisticBurnout #Neuroaffirming #Monotropism #AutisticSupport


  • Monotropic Interests and Looping Thoughts

    Monotropic Interests and Looping Thoughts

    The theory of monotropism was developed by Murray, Lawson and Lesser in their article, Attention, monotropism and the diagnostic criteria for autism (2005). ​ Monotropism is increasingly considered to be the underlying principle behind autism and is becoming more widely recognised, especially within autistic and neurodivergent communities. Fergus Murray, in their article Me and Monotropism:…


  • Map of Monotropic Experiences

    Map of Monotropic Experiences

    Monotropism seeks to explain Autism in terms of attention distribution and interests.  OSF Preprints | Development and Validation of a Novel Self-Report Measure of Monotropism in Autistic and Non-Autistic People: The Monotropism Questionnaire This map highlights 20 common aspects of my personal monotropic experiences. How many do you experience? Where are you on the map…


  • Autistic Burnout – Supporting Young People At Home & School

    Autistic Burnout – Supporting Young People At Home & School

    Being autistic is not an illness or a disorder in itself, but being autistic can have an impact on a person’s mental and physical health. This is due to the often unmet needs of living in a world that is generally designed for the well-being of people who are not autistic. In addition, three-quarters of…


  • The Double Empathy Problem is DEEP

    The Double Empathy Problem is DEEP

    “The growing cracks in the thin veneer of our “civilised” economic and social operating model are impossible to ignore”, Jorn Bettin (2021). The double empathy problem (Milton, 2012) creates a gap of disconnect experienced between people due to misunderstood shared lived experiences. It is “a breakdown in reciprocity and mutual understanding that can happen between people…


  • Top 5 Neurodivergent-Informed Strategies

    Top 5 Neurodivergent-Informed Strategies

    Top 5 Neurodivergent-Informed Strategies By Helen Edgar, Autistic Realms, June 2024. 1. Be Kind Take time to listen and be with people in meaningful ways to help bridge the Double Empathy Problem (Milton, 2012). Be embodied and listen not only to people’s words but also to their bodies and sensory systems. Be responsive to people’s…


  • Autistic Community: Connections and Becoming

    Autistic Community: Connections and Becoming

    Everyone seeks connection in some way or another. Connections may look different for autistic people. In line with the motto from Anna Freud’s National Autism Trainer Programme (Acceptance, Belonging and Connection), creating a sense of acceptance and belonging is likely to be more meaningful for autistic people than putting pressure on them to try and…


  • Monotropism, Autism & OCD

    Monotropism, Autism & OCD

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  • Monotropism Questionnaire & Inner Autistic/ADHD Experiences

    Monotropism Questionnaire & Inner Autistic/ADHD Experiences

     Post first published 28th July 2023 Over the past few weeks, there has been a sudden surge of interest in the Monotropism Questionnaire (MQ), pre-print released in June 2023 in the research paper ‘Development and Validation of a Novel Self-Report Measure of Monotropism in Autistic and Non-Autistic People: The Monotropism Questionnaire.‘ by Garau, V., Murray,…


  • Penguin Pebbling: An Autistic Love Language

    Penguin Pebbling: An Autistic Love Language

    Penguin Pebbling is a neurodivergent way of showing you care, like sharing a meme or twig or pretty stone to say “I’m thinking of you,” inspired by penguins who gift pebbles to those they care about.


  • What Would A Neuroqueer Pedagogy Be?

    What Would A Neuroqueer Pedagogy Be?

    “What would a neuroqueer pedagogy be?” By Ombre Tarragnat (English translation with permission from Genre en Cours article Feb 2026)


  • Intensive Interaction as Neuro-Affirming Relational Practice

    Intensive Interaction as Neuro-Affirming Relational Practice

    Intensive Interaction isn’t about “fixing” or prompting communication. It’s about meeting someone where they are—through connection, attunement, and shared flow. A neuro-affirming, relational framing to support those with profound and multiple learning disabilities.


  • Weird Pride in a Hostile World

    Weird Pride in a Hostile World

    Weird Pride is a practice of becoming. A refusal to shrink. A quiet, feral devotion to staying alive as ourselves in a world that keeps trying to make us something else.


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