Tyler Talks
In this free weekly newsletter, international best selling author and speaker on the topic of Autism, Tyler McNamer, shares many personal and effective strategies to make autism more workable.
Real Confidence Doesn’t Come from Performing
Hello AutismWorks Community,
This month, I’ve talked about masking, the cost of pretending, and what it means to be more honest without putting yourself in unsafe situations.
To close out the month, I want to end with something important:
Real confidence does not come from performing.
It does not...
Apr 28, 2026
Being Yourself Without Feeling Unsafe
Hello AutismWorks Community,
So far this month, I’ve talked about what masking is and the cost of pretending.
Now comes an important question:
How do you be yourself without feeling unsafe?
That question matters because for many people with autism, masking did not come out of nowhere. It often ca...
Apr 21, 2026
The Cost of Pretending
Hello AutismWorks Community,
In the last article, I introduced the topic of masking—what it is, why it happens, and how people with autism may hide parts of themselves in order to fit into social situations more smoothly.
Now I want to go one step further.
Because masking does not just take effor...
Apr 14, 2026
What Is Masking, Really?
Hello AutismWorks Community,
This month, I want to explore a topic that matters deeply: masking.
For many people with autism, masking can become a way of moving through the world without drawing too much attention. It can look like trying to seem more social, more relaxed, more typical, or more c...
Apr 08, 2026
Flexibility Is a Strength: Building It One “Change Rep” at a Time
Hello AutismWorks Community,
People talk about flexibility like it’s something you either have or you don’t.
But I don’t see it that way.
I see flexibility as a skill—something you build the same way you build strength in a gym: one small rep at a time, with recovery in between.
For many people w...
Mar 31, 2026
After the Routine Break: How to Reset and Recover
Hello AutismWorks Community,
A routine break can feel bigger than it looks.
To someone on the outside, it might seem like a small change—plans shifted, something got canceled, the day ran late, the schedule wasn’t followed. But on the inside, a broken routine can feel like the whole day got knock...
Mar 24, 2026
Decision Fatigue: Designing Choices to Reduce Stress
Hello AutismWorks Community,
Some days the hardest part isn’t the task itself.
It’s deciding.
Deciding what to wear.Deciding what to eat.Deciding what to start first.Deciding how long to stay.Deciding what to say back.
When the brain has to make too many choices—especially in a world full of sens...
Mar 17, 2026
Backup Plans Without Anxiety: Flexibility That Feels Safe
Hello AutismWorks Community,
When plans change, it can feel like the floor shifts.
For many people with autism, a routine isn’t just a preference—it’s stability. So when something unexpected happens (a canceled event, a different teacher, a new route, a sudden delay), the stress isn’t only disapp...
Mar 10, 2026
The Transition Gap: Moving From One Thing to the Next
Hello AutismWorks Community,
Transitions can be deceptively hard.
Not because the next activity is “too difficult,” but because the switch itself can feel like stepping over a gap—one moment you’re in one world, and the next moment you’re expected to be in another. Different expectations. Differe...
Mar 03, 2026
After the Moment: Recovering From Social Mistakes
Hello AutismWorks Community,
There’s a part of social life people don’t talk about enough: what happens after.
After the conversation.After the event.After you get home and your brain starts replaying everything like a movie you didn’t ask to watch.
Second guessing can be brutal—especially when t...
Feb 24, 2026
Belonging Without Performing
Hello AutismWorks Community,
After talking about art—expression without permission—I want to move into something closely related: belonging without performing.
Because for a lot of autistic people, social spaces can come with an invisible pressure:Act normal. Act friendly. Act interested. Act con...
Feb 17, 2026
Art Doesn’t Need Permission
Hello AutismWorks Community,
Writing can be a way to put the inner world into words.Art can be the same thing—without needing a single sentence.
Sometimes feelings don’t come out clean in conversation. Sometimes they don’t even come out clean on paper. But give me a pen, a page, a camera, a melod...
Feb 10, 2026
Tyler Talks
