Your story is my story...

"Everywhere you go should be Autistic friendly because you are Autistic and you are there and you deserve comfort"

In 2022 I recognized that I was Autistic. Even though all the signs had been there since I could remember, it still hit me like a ton of bricks. Looking back I should have known loooooooonnnnngggg ago.

Both of my kids had been diagnosed, we had recognized my husband's ADHD, I had been working with child/teen/adult Autistics and parents of Autistics for my entire career as a therapist who found Autistics intriguing and worthy of care and consideration. Once I realized I am part of the #ActuallyAutistics gang I went into questions mode. How do I adapt my life to Autism? What have my strengths and struggles been and how do I cope now in the most affirming way possible?

"I spent my life in the grin-and-bear-it-then-cry-when-you-get-in-the-car club and I was exhausted, burnt out, and ready to hand in my membership."

I am Autistic and need accommodations for a world that is not built for me so that I can have the greatest chance a success in any environment. Thus Adapting to Autism was born.  We believe that the whole world should be adapting to to Autism because there are Autistics everywhere in the world! It would be nice if that was the reality but here in 2024, worldwide appropriate Autism acceptance/appreciation/awareness doesn't exist yet.

While we wait on everyone else to catch up, we can make our own little pockets of comfort that go with us daily called Tool Kits. Tool kits contain whatever you need to have your sensory needs met for Autistic children and adults alike. No one should be "toughing it out" or bearing with the things in their environment that cause distress. It's time out for torturing ourselves in the name of fitting in. TIME OUT! Create your own tool kits on our site and make your world more Autistic one space at a time!

Adapting to Autism has 3 main pillars that we feel are important to this process of redefining the way you adapt to your Autism.

1. Knowledge of self- you need to know what you need in order to give yourself what you need. Evaluating your sensory and comfort needs is crucial to the beginning of adapting your life to Autism and we have digital download tools you can use for this purpose. All tools are created for Autistics by an Autistic therapist. The course "Blueprint to Behavior" is available for purchase which is a guide for parents of Autistics to learn, understand, and care for their children in a strengths based way.

2 Tool Kits- The right tools can make or break and outing or an activity for an Autistic. Create your own bundles with tool kit bags or holders and tools separated on the website by "senses" to make the perfect on the go survival kit. We sourced some of the coolest fidgets, temperature control items, and olfactory simulators out there. We tried and tested them all to find the best accommodation tools for our specific needs. There are also hand picked popular bundles with discounted items or you can add 3 or more items to your cart and receive a 25% off discount on every order you put in with us with code TOOLTIMES3.

3 Autism pride- Understanding how your Autism helps you is imperative to you learning self love post diagnosis. Yes, there are struggles that come with being Autistic in a majority Neurotypical society. And yes, Autism is not a walk in the park for many reasons. But over here we celebrate our full selves and that means having pride that you are in fact Autistic and not afraid to acknowledge that! Our wearable merch is great for showing pride with stylish designs created by an all autistic team. We tested and selected the comfiest of comfiest clothes and accessories then added nice graphics and embroidery for a lovely way to show yourself some support and love.

Welcome to our site and I know you will find something here that will help you adapt to your Autism in a healthier affirming way. Use the contact form to suggest new tools you want us to carry or merch you want us to make or you can drop a message just to say "Hi!". I'd love to hear from you.

Happy adapting you beautiful Autistic person!!!

-Meghan Ashley, MSCP, LPC-S, Proud Autistic