Disabilities x Minimalism x Location Independent
Last Friday, I had my PhD graduation. It was a very long 6-year road that took me around life’s quirky bends such as Dyslexia, Asperger’s, Bipolar, Anorexia, self harm and my thyroids dying. It was also a much longer journey that saw me from being at the bottom of school classes and being bullied horrendously,… [Read More]
When planning the big 2-months ‘graduation holiday’ this summer with my mother, our original plan was to fly around the world. Three weeks and a lot of research later, we decided to change the whole thing and opt for a tour of Europe by train. This may seem like an odd choice – why on… [Read More]
We’ve had some pretty exciting news in the past couple of weeks. First, James got an amazing dream job here in Edinburgh. It’s a major step up for him on the career ladder and is going to give him bags of experiences. It’ll also set him up right for saving for our future travelling. It’s… [Read More]
Today I was reading a book, which said it was good to take some time and write down what you are grateful for each day. So I did. I’m grateful that we have a wonderful greengrocers just down the road where we can buy heaps of fresh fruits & vegitables along with a conucopia of… [Read More]
Have you ever asked someone with Asperger’s the question ‘how are you feeling?’ because you are concerned that they are upset about something? Was the answer ‘I’m okay’? Did this irritate the heck out of you because you knew they weren’t okay? You knew that they were hiding the fact that they’re not okay from… [Read More]
Making a good impression of yourself on meeting someone for the first time is very difficult when you have Asperger’s. Today’s post is going to give you some questions you can arm yourself with for the next conversation, and let you know what questions to avoid. Previously, when someone started a conversation with me, I… [Read More]
Change in routine is really difficult for a person with Asperger’s to deal with. It can be very upsetting to be told in the morning that someone is coming to see them that afternoon and they have to drop everything to accommodate the visitor. The person could react very negatively to such change. It’s also… [Read More]
We are extreme minimalists. Like everything else people with Asperger’s choose to do, we took it to the extreme. Below is a photo of our worldly possessions – two medium suitcase full of stuff, a rucksack, two guitars and a rice cooker. This is all that we own. Why did we become this extreme? We’ve… [Read More]
Applying for a job, whether it’s paid or not, is hard. It’s doubly so when you have Asperger’s, which means things like contacting strangers is highly stressful. Since I now have much more flexible working hours, I wanted to do some volunteer jobs. So over the last two weeks I have been applying for them…. [Read More]
Moving to a new city is both exciting and scary. This is particularly true if you suffer from Asperger’s. When you are highly averse to change, you (and those around you) need to actively manage the changing process so that you have the best chance possible in loving your new city rather than hating it…. [Read More]
We're Akiyo and James. We believe you can do anything you want even if you have a learning disability or a mental illness, such as Dyslexia, Asperger's and Bipolar. Why those three? Because AK has all three and James has two of them. We don't let that stop us from having a life that makes us happy, and it shouldn't stop you either! Find out more about us here.