April is Autism Awareness Month, and at The Autistic Beekeeper, Stef talks about the reluctance of many people — including close friends and family — to even utter the word “autism.”

“There is no lack of empathy, but rather an unmanageable abundance that defies my best intentions.” Emma Zurcher-Long is Autistic. What she can’t communicate with speech is ably made up for by her piercing writing.

“I have never wondered if my son loves me — not once. However, unlike his sisters, he does not show love in typical ways…. Love comes in all shapes, sizes, and messages. As a parent with an autistic child, I would hope that most of us understand this…” Erin Hunt, one of the writers at Rocky Parenting, writes about how her son shows love.

“In one instance you shrug your shoulders and roll your eyes to dismiss my Asperger’s and anxiety, but in the next instance you act as if I am so disabled by my Asperger’s that accommodating me is a burden. Which is it?” Sherri Schultz at Pensive Aspie talks about the things that family members, friends, and co-workers do to make her feel disabled.

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“This is authentic life, though it is not the poetic authenticity in which one feels uplifted rather than beaten down. But many cities around the world, like Kolkata, are dense with the small indignities of daily life. In these places, the romance of such authenticity is a joke.”

“Restaurants are deeply revealing of our culture’s humanity (and lack thereof).” Sociologist Jan Whitaker has had a fascination with restaurants since childhood. Since 2008, she has blogged about American restaurants over the centuries.

f/50 collective is a group of international photographers with different styles from Europe, North America, and South Asia, publishing a variety of work from portraits to street snapshots to experimental photography.