Thoughts on autism research, habit science, and building tools that work with your brain.
Habit app notifications that say "Don’t break your streak!" trigger demand avoidance and shame. Here’s how we designed reminders that respect your nervous system — including the option to suppress them entirely on hard days.
We compared the top habit and routine apps for autistic adults — Tiimo, Focus Bear, Finch, Habitica, and more. Here’s what works, what doesn’t, and what we’re building differently.
Rejection sensitive dysphoria (RSD) affects up to 99% of people with ADHD and is common in autistic adults. Here’s why it silently destroys habit building and what actually helps.
Up to 65% of autistic adults experience alexithymia — difficulty identifying and describing emotions. Here’s why that silently sabotages habit building and what actually helps.
Autistic emotional regulation differences mean intense emotions arrive faster, hit harder, and take longer to recover from. Here’s how to build habits that survive emotional overwhelm.
Autistic perfectionism turns every missed habit into proof of failure. Here’s why all-or-nothing thinking sabotages routines and how to build habits that survive imperfect days.
Autistic special interests are among the most powerful motivational forces in human cognition. Here’s how to harness that intensity to build habits that actually stick.
Autistic inertia makes it nearly impossible to start tasks you want to do and stop tasks you need to leave. Here’s why willpower-based habit advice fails and how to build routines that work with inertia instead of against it.
Monotropism — the tendency toward deep, single-channel attention — shapes how autistic adults can realistically build habits. Here’s why scattered multi-habit systems fail and what works instead.
Autistic adults often have working memory differences that make multi-step routines collapse. Here’s why you lose track mid-habit and how to build systems that remember for you.
Time blindness makes habits nearly impossible when you cannot feel time passing. Here’s how autistic adults can build routines that work without an internal clock.
Many autistic adults have difficulty sensing hunger, fatigue, and emotions accurately. This interoceptive difference silently undermines habit building — here’s what to do about it.
Autistic masking drains the same cognitive resources you need for habits. Here’s why your routines collapse after social demands — and how to build habits that account for masking costs.
Many autistic adults also have ADHD. This combination creates unique challenges for habit building — craving routine but needing novelty. Here’s how to work with both.
For autistic adults, sensory overload can derail even the simplest habits. Here’s how sensory processing differences shape routine building — and what to do about it.
For autistic adults who experience demand avoidance, even self-imposed habits can feel like threats. Here’s how to build routines that work with your nervous system instead of against it.
For autistic adults, the hardest part of a habit isn’t doing it — it’s switching to it. Here’s what research says about transition difficulties and how to design habits around them.
Autistic burnout can destroy even well-established habits. Here’s how to recognize burnout, protect your routines, and rebuild without shame.
Traditional habit advice assumes stable energy every day. For autistic adults, energy varies dramatically. Here's how to build habits around your actual capacity.
Habit streaks trigger demand avoidance, increase shame after missed days, and ignore energy variation. Here's what actually works.
Why traditional habit advice fails autistic adults, and what research-backed strategies work instead.
Most habit apps are designed for neurotypical brains. We're building one that isn't.