Author Archives: Michelle Labine

Who Am I Outside the Mask? By Michelle Labine, PhD   September 2025 My mask was never about being the “easygoing partner.” I wasn’t that. My mask was achievement. I was the one who got things done the lists, the planning, the remembering, the fixing. If something needed to be taken care of, I was […]

When We Reduce Autism to an “Epidemic” Caused by Tylenol, We Erase Accountability By Michelle Labine, PhD September 2025   The term “autism” was first used by Swiss psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler in 1911, but he used it in the context of schizophrenia, to describe a form of withdrawal into one’s inner world. The first descriptions […]

Trump’s “Cure” for Autism Is Nothing New: It’s Recycled Eugenics By Michelle Labine, PhD  September 2025 President Donald Trump has declared that he has “found an answer” to autism. He has linked autism to women taking Tylenol during pregnancy and promoted leucovorin as a possible treatment. He is presenting this as groundbreaking news, as if […]

The Neurodivergent Cycle: Slow Start, Hyperfocus, and the Crash By Michelle Labine, PhD September 2025 Many neurodivergent people whether living with ADHD, autism, or both describe a familiar pattern in their work, creativity, and daily routines. The path from task to completion is not linear, rather it’s a cycle. The Slow Start: difficulty initiating tasks, […]

When Background Noise Feels Like Chaos: AuDHD and the War on Sound By Michelle Labine, PhD September 2025 I love music. Give me a good playlist and I’ll dance in the kitchen like no one’s watching (except maybe my dog, who tilts his head like, “Really? That’s your move?”). I enjoy TV too…when I’m actually […]

When “No” Feels Impossible: Demand Avoidance in AuDHD Women By Michelle Labine, PhD  September 2025 For many late-diagnosed AuDHD women “demand avoidance” is a nervous-system response that often gets misunderstood as laziness, defiance, or flakiness. In truth, it’s a strategy shaped by years of masking, perfectionism, and living in a world that rarely matched our […]

When the Switch Flips: The AuDHD Cycle of Procrastination, Perfectionism, and the Crash By Michelle Labine PhD   September 2025 For so many late-diagnosed women like me, the world never gave us the right map. We learned early that to survive, we had to perform, smile when we were overwhelmed, work twice as hard to […]

The Quirky Pause: Why My New Coffee Press Sat for Months Michelle Labine, PhD September 2025 I have a little ritual with new things. Well… “ritual” might be too generous a word. Let’s call it what it is: I buy something, and then I let it sit. For weeks. Sometimes months. Sometimes long enough that […]

Alcohol Use and AuDHD: Untangling the Complexities By Michelle Labine, PhD September 2025 For many Autistic, ADHD, and AuDHD folks, alcohol isn’t just a drink. It can feel like a social lubricant that softens sensory overload or provides a temporary escape from the weight of masking. But it can also become a slippery slope where […]

Sorry, I Have a Follow-Up Question… and Another By Michelle Labine, PhD   September 2025 “So anyway,” I said to a friend recently, “that’s why I’ll never buy another scented candle.” Without missing a beat, I immediately followed it with, “Do you think pigeons have regional accents?” Smooth, right? This is what living inside my […]