Mary Doherty 🏳️‍🌈

Anaesthetist, Mum, Autistic, ADHD & Tics. Founder @DoctorsAutistic Clinical Associate Professor @UCDMedicine #NeurodiversityInMedicine

[Mary Doherty 🏳️‍🌈 @AutisticDoctor]

Updating CV for potential new role & realising the first time I ever said “I am autistic” to a group of medical professionals was April 2019.

How many hundreds, if not thousands, since then?

#NeurodiversityInMedicine
3 yrs from taboo to hot topic

#AutismAcceptanceMonth

[Simon Baron-Cohen @sbaroncohen]

https://t.co/oixvIcbwhE

[Mary Doherty 🏳️‍🌈 @AutisticDoctor]

Such a disappointing experience on @AerLingus flight. 2 different staff members claimed to understand my experience as an autistic person, despite acknowledging they were not themselves autistic. If you are not, then you have no clue. Urgent need for #autism training was evident.

[Mary Doherty 🏳️‍🌈 @AutisticDoctor]

I'm not on here much anymore, especially recently as I've been a bit unwell, but I want to share this interview by @andrewbillen published in @thetimes yesterday, where we discussed rates of #autism diagnosis and recent debates.
Only the recognition is new. We were always here.

[The Times and Sunday Times @thetimes]

I’m a top doctor and I’m autistic. I know why diagnoses are up https://t.co/4hQOGddskz

[Simon Baron-Cohen @sbaroncohen]

And we look forward to working closely with the autism community in all research projects, in line with our existing commitment to do so https://t.co/CofdmGJdsF

[Michael Albert, MD @MichaelAlbertMD]

Zero.
I read it three times to be sure.
For five straight years, not one young woman in England has died of cervical cancer. 🧵

[Mary Doherty 🏳️‍🌈 @AutisticDoctor]

My son has end of school exams this week. He is dyspraxic & has a scribe. Nobody questions whether his answers are written by him. Nobody assumes his scribe is the author.
And just because a scribe could technically influence his marks, no one is calling for scribes to be banned!

[Michelle Dawson @autismcrisis]

No, non-speaking autistics who communicate via typing are not "a fraud" https://t.co/ULFXblgba1 the real problem, which this letter ignores, is hyping & selling & imposing "assisted" typing methods on autistics, without any regard for whether autistics are being helped or harmed

[Mary Doherty 🏳️‍🌈 @AutisticDoctor]

My autism work is a mix of lived experience, clinical training and academic research. Sometimes it gets really personal. Pleased to contribute to the conversation about communication by nonspeaking autistic people, with a letter accepted in Autism Research
https://t.co/dI2rCyCdgU

[Mary Doherty 🏳️‍🌈 @AutisticDoctor]

What do autistic psychiatrists say about mental healthcare for #autistic people? Autistic-autistic therapeutic rapport, prevention of mental illness, iatrogenic harm, systemic pathways to misdiagnosis, resource constraints, epistemic injustice & more👇
https://t.co/nu3INLwPW4

[Grant H Brenner MD DFAPA @GrantHBrennerMD]

A moving and important read in Psychiatric News.

Dr. Milissa L. Kaufman, a leading expert in trauma programs, shares her personal journey of diagnosis and full recovery from Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) during her residency.

Dr. Kaufman’s story is a vital correction to sensationalized misrepresentations. She describes DID not as a dramatic spectacle, but as a subtle, internal posttraumatic developmental disruption characterized by memory gaps, depersonalization, and derealization.

By bringing her lived experience to light, she provides invaluable psychobiological context and models the kind of authenticity our field needs to dismantle stigma.

High-level clinical expertise and personal courage @PsychiatricNews

Full piece here: https://t.co/8ee1RZNaTr

#MentalHealth #Trauma #Psychiatry #DID #DissociativeIdentityDisorder

[Damian Milton @milton_damian]

My INSAR keynote recording is now available: https://t.co/wc0xUhnS93

[Mary Doherty 🏳️‍🌈 @AutisticDoctor]

Exciting update: @Autistic_SPACE adapted for adult mental health settings, new preprint available, submitted for peer review. Co-authored with @CatherineDakin Dan Davies @DrJasonLang @anna_rebowska @DrEstherSabel @mengchuanlai @Autistic_Doc among others
https://t.co/904dTREvWK

[James White @whitejfrancis]

Please share widely with anyone who might be interested!
#neurodiversity #autism #ADHD #neurodivergent

[Mary Doherty 🏳️‍🌈 @AutisticDoctor]

"Poor cousins at the wedding". That's how I described being #autistic at #INSAR26 last week, and it seems to resonate, reflecting the overwhelming response to my preprint on "Autistic Shame"
https://t.co/YbYuiK7BuV

[Mary Doherty 🏳️‍🌈 @AutisticDoctor]

Huge thanks to Crew Member Gillian on @AerLingus EI 832 Cork to Prague today who went way over & above expected customer support standards. This is why I fly @AerLingus where possible

[Erin Ekins (she/her) @QueerlyAutistic]

Your children don't need 'protection' from labels. If your child is autistic or ADHD, they will be labelled anyway. The difference is those labels will come without the chance to access support, or to understand why some things are so much harder for them than everyone else.

[Mary Doherty 🏳️‍🌈 @AutisticDoctor]

@AutisticCallum_ Yes, and then buy exactly the same thing again - or mourn when it’s no longer available

[Mary Doherty 🏳️‍🌈 @AutisticDoctor]

@drkeithsiau I inhabit a world where it’s axiomatic, so the reminder that it’s controversial is salutary. The overlap with neurodivergence is huge

[Keith Siau @drkeithsiau]

Controversial opinion here, but Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome certainly exists and is probably grossly underdiagnosed.

[Mary Doherty 🏳️‍🌈 @AutisticDoctor]

I’ve published a preprint on Autistic Shame. It’s not an easy read.
Shame is the hidden link between the stigma autistic people face & the mental health crisis in our community. This is my attempt to name it, trace it, & point toward how we can address it
https://t.co/mZ7W4QPwpK

[Howard Luks MD @hjluks]

Viruses and Joint and Tendon Pain
You had a cold two weeks ago. Nothing serious. But now your knee hurts more than it has in months. Your achilles is flaring. Your easy run felt like a half-marathon. You didn't do anything wrong. Here's what's actually happening...