Gareth Coates
Writer. Dad. Autistic. Seriously jaded former volunteer in non-League and schools' football. Views expressed are my own.
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- Five years ago today, our third child, Josie Jean Coates, was born sleeping. A few days later, I wrote something in an effort to process events and which I hoped might help other families in a similar boat. To mark Josie's heavenly birthday, here's that piece: www.garethcoates.com/2020/11/25/j...
- To mark #WorldMentalHealthDay I would like to share something I wrote back in 2023. It’s about being an #autistic parent to a child who’s not just autistic; they have other needs too. It’s called ‘What If?’ and is a snapshot of a really early, difficult morning. www.garethcoates.com/2024/03/25/w...
- This man told people to drink bleach to treat COVID-19. Autism isn’t “artificially induced” and it can’t be blamed on taking paracetamol during pregnancy. Or vaccines. This dangerous nonsense is going to kill people.
- The new left wing party hasn't even got a name yet, and it has already disintegrated. Hopeless.
- No, sorry, as a working class autistic I can honestly say I have never done any of the things Gregg Wallace has been accused of. Neurodivergence is not an excuse for inappropriate behaviour and it never was. Nor is class. If he’d behaved with a shred of decency, Wallace would still have a job.
- Holy hell. If #DWP get this through, it will have massive ramifications. There are parts of the country where getting an NHS diagnosis for most/all kinds of neurodivergence is virtually impossible! I’m lucky in that I do have an NHS diagnosis but until provision is universal, many won’t
- Cutting disability benefits will kill people. Fact. Plus the current claims process is cruel and unfit for purpose, as I discussed in my #Curae entry: www.garethcoates.com/2025/05/01/t... I’m hoping my MP, @anneliesemidgleymp.bsky.social will do the right thing and oppose the cuts
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- If @elsawilliams.bsky.social can write so bravely about her experiences with PIP, then maybe I can share something I wrote in February but couldn't publish at the time. It's a story of knockbacks, tribunals and about DWP #TakingThePIP www.garethcoates.com/2025/05/01/t...
- Congratulations to Charlotte, Rebekah and Judy, of course. But also to everyone else who was shortlisted for this year’s #Curae. Clearly, you are all awesome because you are simultaneously fantastic writers and unpaid carers. Thanks to the judges and everyone who helped make the prize happen.
- I won’t be winning the #curae, but I am very excited to find out who is. Putting my entry together gave me some much needed mojo at a time when I really needed it. I’m so grateful to have been able to take part.
- I enjoyed Kate’s early work but wasn’t familiar with her recent material. This is brilliant. Thanks to @untidymusic.com for reposting this into my timeline.
- #JustListened I'm not terribly familiar with Kate's discography outside of a few bigger hits here and there but FUCK, she just scored big on the respect scale with me! Absolutely, 100% recommended! katenashmusic.bandcamp.com/album/germ
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- Who’s going to tell Darren “Pocket Money” Jones that his Government’s proposed reforms to disability benefits are the opposite of “love and compassion”?
- Back in February, I entered a personal essay into the non-fiction category of the #Curae Prize. It hasn't made the shortlist, so I'm free to publish it myself. As an Unpaid Carer who is #ActuallyAutistic, I've been through the mill, as the essay discusses: www.garethcoates.com/2025/05/01/t...
- Massive congratulations to everyone listed below. I can’t wait to read your work in the anthology. Now to think about whether I should put my entry out there via my website.
- Good luck to everyone who has joined me in entering the 2025 #Curae Prize. If nothing else, this vital project sees unpaid carers and allows us to show that we have other qualities.
- "any addict can relapse and, for me, non-League football is essentially a legal narcotic". Most #ActuallyAutistic folk have Special Interests. I stepped away from my original SI a year ago but this week, I’m going back to a special place. More here: www.garethcoates.com/2025/04/22/j...
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- Dan is spot on about Drama Queen. Sara gifted me a Kindle copy when I was newly diagnosed and I have recommended it widely (and not just in autistic spaces).
- BBC iPlayer is currently showing the appeal hearing for Tommy Ten Names and his barrister has already tried to use ADHD as a reason his sentence is wrong. For the millionth time: NEURODIVERGENCE DOESN’T MAKE YOU A FASCIST. If you’re a dreadful person, it doesn’t matter how your brain is wired.
- There isn’t an “autism epidemic”. There is an improvement in understanding of the condition and in diagnostic techniques. This means more people are receiving diagnosis. Autism isn’t a disease that needs curing. It’s a complex neurotype which needs support.
- It is slightly mad to think that I graduated from the @openuniversity.bsky.social with an MA in Creative Writing on Saturday. I put my qualification to use with a few reflections on the day and the #OUFamily on my website. www.garethcoates.com/2025/04/01/g...
- It’s #Graduation day. Crossing the stage at the Barbican later with most of my @openuniversity.bsky.social tutor group! Overjoyed to meet them all IRL and celebrate our all gaining MAs in Creative Writing.
- Please tell me you’re going to push back against this, @anneliesemidgleymp.bsky.social? This is exactly what I feared when I emailed you recently…
- It stands to reason that, if these dreadful cuts go through, they will disproportionately affect boroughs like Knowsley. Many families who are on the brink will be pushed beyond it. The changes to PIP are likely to target claimants with invisible disabilities and are inherently cruel.
- With such a huge majority, Labour could have taxed the ultra-rich to balance the books and reversed Brexit to stimulate growth. Instead, they do this. These cuts are cruel, a betrayal of what Labour used to stand for and a choice the Government didn’t need to make.
- The word “inadvertently” doing lots of heavy lifting here. According to DWP’s just published Impact Assessment, 800,000 disabled people would be £4,500 per year worse off. Does that seem inadvertent to you?
- Those figures are only concerned with changes to PIP eligibility. The wider impact is even worse. Link to the Assessment: assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67e3fa... This is terrifying.
