Thinking Out Loud — Chapter 1: Investigating Autistic Labels

This is the audio version of my YouTube video released under the same title.

Have you ever been called boring, unreadable, or shy? Maybe those labels were meant to describe you. Maybe they were assumptions other people made about you. Either way, what happens when we stop automatically accepting those labels—and actually investigate them?

In Chapter 1 of Thinking Out Loud, we take a closer look at three traits that are often treated as labels for social problems:

Boring — What if someone who seems boring from the outside has a rich internal world that simply isn't visible to everyone?

Unreadable — What if being difficult to read doesn't mean being closed off? What if we're all diaries, with different locks and different levels of access?

Shy — What if quietness and solitude aren't problems to solve? What if someone's social behavior is intentional, protective, or simply comfortable for them?

This isn't about arguing that these labels are always wrong. It's about questioning the assumptions attached to them—and asking whether they actually tell us anything useful about the person underneath.

Because sometimes the most important question isn't “How do I become easier for other people to understand?”

It's “Do I actually want to change?”

Come think out loud about this with me. ❤️

Video format available! Check out my YouTube Channel:

https://www.youtube.com/@NDCoachCatherine

#SoftSpokenASMR #AutisticASMR #SoftSpoken #SensoryFriendly #Neurodivergent