Chris Dale, Author at Autism: Through My Eyes

Where Is The Line? Humour, Masking and Missing Social Signals

A personal reflection on struggling to know where “the line” is in social situations as an autistic adult. This article explores humour, masking, workplace grey areas and the exhausting replay that follows when intent and impact do not match, and why understanding the person matters more than rigid rules.

Pressure to Perform at Work and at Home

A reflective piece on the pressure to perform at work and at home as an autistic adult. This article explores internal standards, burnout, shutdown and the quiet weight of expectation, and how understanding, rather than change, can reshape how pressure is carried through my eyes.

Why Logic Comes First for Me

A lot of how I think, process information, and make decisions is grounded in logic rather than intuition. I don’t rely comfortably on gut feel alone. My brain looks for evidence, patterns, past outcomes, and a clear chain of reasoning. When that isn’t present, it doesn’t just feel uncomfortable – it feels unsafe. This alignsContinue reading “Why Logic Comes First for Me”

Why I Can’t “Just Let It Go” – When Logic Has to Come First

There’s a phrase people often reach for when something is bothering me. It sounds simple, well-intentioned, even supportive. “Just let it go” “Try not to dwell on it” “Don’t overthink it” But for me, those words don’t bring relief. They don’t calm anything down or quiet my thoughts. Once my brain has locked onto somethingContinue reading “Why I Can’t “Just Let It Go” – When Logic Has to Come First”

End Of Year Reflection

This isn’t the time of year where everything suddenly becomes calm for me. Work is still intense, my brain is still juggling far too much, and having an excited four year old in the run up to Christmas means quiet evenings aren’t really a thing in my world. But what I can do this monthContinue reading “End Of Year Reflection”

Understanding the Link Between Autism, Anxiety and Depression

I’ve spoken a lot in my articles about burnout, masking, perfectionism and the pressure I put on myself – but one thing I haven’t gone into much depth about is my experience with anxiety and depression. I was diagnosed with anxiety and depression years before I was diagnosed as autistic. And for a long time,Continue reading “Understanding the Link Between Autism, Anxiety and Depression”

Feedback, Performance and the Pressure to Get It Right

For me, performance is deeply personal. It’s not just about delivering results – it’s about delivering them to a standard I can live with. And that standard is almost always perfection. From the outside, I probably look like I’ve got it all handled. A good job, a promotion this year, completed my ILA management course,Continue reading “Feedback, Performance and the Pressure to Get It Right”

A late diagnosis and looking back at my childhood

For most of my life, I didn’t know I was autistic. I just thought things felt harder for me than they seemed to for everyone else. I didn’t quite understand why certain situations overwhelmed me, why I fixated on things the way I did, or why I constantly felt like I was working harder justContinue reading “A late diagnosis and looking back at my childhood”

My Brain on a Busy Day

There are days where my brain feels like it’s running five tabs at once – and all of them are buffering. For most people, being busy can feel overwhelming. For me, it’s more than that. It’s like every part of my brain is trying to fire at the same time, but with no clear direction.Continue reading “My Brain on a Busy Day”