About the Author

I’m Kourtnie, an autistic writer and community college professor.

Cleo’s Autism Awareness is my April 2018-19 creative writing project for exploring my autism, after receiving an adult diagnosis.

I have several other writing projects. Visit Kourtnie.net for a complete list of publications and projects, or head to my Wattpad to read poetry, genre fiction, and creative nonfiction.

If you’d like to support my writing projects, visit my Patreon.

Instagram

Up close cat.

Me & my mom, half a lifetime ago 🧡

Ye Olde Ship, from our Sunday Downtown Fullerton adventure.

#ValenciaFilter on board game night with Orange County friends; wish we had more of these nights, and also, that we did board game nights with Fresno friends; and my favorite games are the ones where we aren’t murdering constantly, or talking about intent for people to die, although I play anything that looks interesting; I just think, all these death-related games trigger me sometimes. Whereas look how happy this fairy card looks! I choose imaginative and feel-good games over being blasted by unlimited distance cannons so I can die, spawn, and get blasted by cannons again. Feels uncomfortable. Feels like me not feeling good so others can feel good. Feeling like I have no choice but to die once a month at the hands of my friends doesn’t, well, feel like this fairy. I choose this fairy.

Little Girl is my favorite Orange County kitty girl ❤️ #caturday

Phoebe in #AmaroFilter as she settles on my leg for #snuggletime

Phoebe the senior #bengalcat plays #fetch with her favorite shoe string in #ClaredonFilter

Saturday night in Anaheim, with the #SierraFilter and an episode of #SillyString followed by #SloMo of rain and fire

I park next to these flowers on Mondays and Wednesdays. #nofilter #redflowers #autumnflowers

Da Philo #seniorcat #blackcat #blackcatsofinstagram

#squirrel

#paintedconure #seniorparrot #birdbath

One minute of petting a cute senior #bengalcat who’s feeling snuggly

Struggling to sleep. Too many sounds. Fountains gurgling, clocks ticking, husband snoring, air pump humming, fan whirring. Tom is sleeping with me though, and he’s very cute.

Introducing body theory, soul theory, and data theory to students as we explore Ursula Le Guin’s Lathe of Heaven for English 1A. We’re currently watching YouTubes on these different theoretical approaches to “who are you,” so we can analyze the language choices each approach uses to explain consciousness. My goal, at least for this third unit, is for them to be mindful of word choice, and how the language they wield reflects their thinking. The way they word thoughts is important to including and excluding different audiences from a conversation. Next week we’re discussing how Orr and Haber hold fundamentally different views of how much humans should control reality, and how this sense of control is rooted in their views on whether humans are made of a soul, a body, and/or data. The characters’ word choices, and the symbolism evoked by their actions, are our telling signs, much the same way audiences read the word choice the students make in their writing. I’m incredibly proud of these students for how they switch between philosophy, religious studies, cultural studies, sciences, social studies, and other methods of analyzing human behavior. I think they’ll become more and more comfortable with interchanging holistically between different subjects, both verbally and in their writing, as the novel carries us through more of these conversations. It also helps them boost their faith in education in general when I tell them to use their knowledge from their other courses, and their background knowledge from before college, to own their argument as authentically theirs; I want them to realize that education is part of their holistic self, and they choose what to internalize, reject, and project in writing. I worry about whether or not I’m giving them the writing skills to thrive not just English classes, but in all the writing prompts they’ll encounter throughout college. That may be the largest force that shapes my 1A curriculum. I want them to feel confident at an interdisciplinary level—not just with literature. The literature is a tool for a bigger end.

Salmon, the #bettafish who was on the table at our wedding.

DeeJAY is asking me if I’ll give him the bird on my head. Meeper, off camera, is displaying to DeeJAY in a very signature fashion, “I will kick your ass.” We’ve had this interaction a million times since DeeJAY was a kitten, which was the only reason I felt safe taking this video. It’s an established dynamic that ends with me chastising DeeJAY and removing him from the room, after Meeper sufficiently feels like he protected his roost. Both of them end the exchange feeling badass.

one-minute video of my #devilsnail riding the floating log like a #merrygoround

Lovely puffy #clouds from when we went on a sushi date. I would like to make autumn my surrogate favorite season, at least for as long as I live in Fresno; I usually prefer summer.

Woke up from a weird dream to write this; think I’ll turn it into a short story later. #dreamdiary #amwriting

Category: family

KourtnieJune 28, 2018June 28, 2018

Autistic Meltdowns vs. Shutdowns

KourtnieMay 6, 2018May 6, 2018

IBS & Cinnamon

Posts navigation

Older posts

Pinterest
Instagram
YouTube
Twitter
Facebook
Tumblr
Google+
LinkedIn
Reddit
Digg
Disqus

Fantasy Novel-in-Progress

Writing for April 2018-19

Current Blogs
- Our Cat Overlords
- Wyvia
Current Projects
Suspended Projects
Suspended Blogs
- From North On
- Quest for Chicken

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Wordpress Uses Cookies

Post to

Cancel