I have been blogging regularly at Unwritten Grace writing since March 2013. I use my blog as a platform to explore autism related issues, to reach out to other autistic people and to raise understanding among neurotypicals. I also write about other topics of interest, including LGBT+ issues, entertaining life anecdotes, my experiences at church, food and cats.
Blog Categories
Here are some of my blog post categories. There are plenty more.
Musings, reflections and the odd rant
Recent blog posts
What feels like Christmas to me – 21st December 2025
“Being at my parents’ house and hearing them put on a traditional carols playlist for the first time.
My family all taking great pleasure in reading (and laughing at) the Nativity story I wrote and illustrated at school when I was six. Now, you may laugh at how King Herod didn’t have any arms. Or how everyone celebrated his death by having a party with cookies. But answer me this: have you met any other six year old who could spell “Bethlehem” correctly? I’ll wait.
My parents singing crude versions of popular Christmas songs and giggling like it’s the first time they’ve ever done such a thing…“
Political statements about autism and what I have to say – 29th November 2025
“This year has seen a lot of heated opinions and bold comments in the media about a lot of marginalised people, including autistic people. Now, I know I can’t get too caught up on every insensitive comment I ever hear or read. And to an extent, I don’t. Believe me, if I did, I’d spend my whole life slumped on my bed, scrolling through my phone and despairing at humanity (instead, it’s more like 25% of my life)…“
Are you listening? – 22nd October 2025
“If so, look at me so I know you’ve heard me!
Spoiler alert: I’m joking.
Whenever I see a social media post about listening skills, it usually stresses the importance of displaying all the “right” listening behaviours. Frequent eye contact. Still hands and feet. Upright posture. And to most people, this makes perfect sense. Because doing all this automatically makes someone a good listener. Right?…“
Recipe of Me – 28th September 2025
“A slightly quirky writing exercise I did at a recent creative writing workshop.
You will need:
500g of English
500g of Taiwanese
1kg of autism
1 packet of cat obsession
Any other completely random interests you can find in the back of the cupboard. Measure these with your heart
1 cup of queerness
1 litre of anxiety and self-doubt
Step 1 – combine the English and the Taiwanese, stirring together until fully ambiguous…“
Group experiences over the years – 30th August 2025
“I’m three years old, at Kindergarten in Taiwan. My classmates and I are in the sports hall playing with tricycles. I sit quietly on mine in the corner. Examining each part. Playing with the wheels. The other children are working their trikes as instructed and zooming around the room excitedly. I pay them no attention…“
Memories of Ruth – 1966-2025 – 5th July 2025
“Earlier this week, I attended the funeral of my friend and former choir buddy Ruth. She had been ill for a few months, and although things were looking hopeful at first, she went downhill very suddenly and died on Thursday 12th June. So, with permission from her eldest daughter, my friend Anna Ruth, I’m sharing my memories of her here…“
Physical contact – a touchy subject: part 2 – 28th June 2025
“Does anyone else startle so hard when tapped on the shoulder from behind that they risk accidentally breaking the other person’s nose?
Almost nine years ago, I wrote about autism and touch sensitivity. I was gently poking fun at how ticklish and easily startled I am, and how certain family members used to tease me mercilessly about this. At the same time, I also touched upon (no pun intended) contexts in which I do and don’t like touch. This is something I have been reflecting on recently, and so I thought I’d explore it again in more detail…“
Holiday in Italy – travel by land, sea and air – 25th May 2025
“Earlier this month, I had my first solo holiday, at the Milton Boutique Hotel in Lido di Jesolo, Italy. For a while now, I have been trying to be a bit bolder in life. Live a bit more. See more of the world. So, for the next step in that direction, I thought, why not book my first solo package holiday?…“
Work/life update and a much needed break – 6th April 2025
“It’s currently World Autism Acceptance Month, and while other autistic advocates are writing about their experiences and sharing their opinions online, I don’t have the time or energy for doing so right now. Not a cause for concern – life is just busy…“
Saying goodbye to Suri – 23rd March 2025
“This month unexpectedly got off to a very sad start. After 10 happy years with us, my office cat and roommate Suri suddenly became very subdued and her breathing very laboured. My parents and I took her to the vets and it turned out she had a lump in her chest that would have been incurable. We stayed with her until the end, stroking her, brushing her and talking to her, and she was put to sleep at 12:55pm on Saturday 1st March…“
Laughing at myself – 22nd February 2025
“The ability to laugh at oneself is said to be a sign of emotional maturity. It puts people around you at ease and helps you develop and maintain a thick skin. But there is also a fine line between letting people have a gentle laugh at your expense and being treated disrespectfully…“
Staying social or staying sane? The perils of social media – 25th January 2025
“Content warning: transphobia, racism, homophobia.
One of my goals for this year is to be more proactive in marketing my work. I’m an author, blogger, public speaker and artist. These things are all important to me and are part of what give my life meaning. And I’m aware that regularly promoting my work is a habit that I’m not very good at keeping up in the long term. So, it would make sense to start planning for regular social media posts to boost my online visibility. Right?…“
Artistic Autistic Grace 