Supported Self-Acceptance: The Difference Between Failure and Extraordinary
The world made me feel like an autistic failure for so long, but all it took was some kindness and understanding for me to realize that I am quite extraordinary.
Therapists: Stop Traumatizing Autistic Children With Speech Demands
Autistic children only get one childhood, and they deserve properly qualified and properly experienced professional teams. Teams that consider autistic ways of communication, ethics, human rights, and potential harms very carefully indeed.
Authentic Autistic Hilarity: Hannah Gadsby in Something Special
Hannah Gadsby’s rightful success gives me hope that we’ll be seeing more (openly) autistic people out there in the world, and with that, hopefully, there will be more understanding from the allistic people around us.
Explaining the Pitfalls of “Profound Autism” With Dr. Kristen Bottema-Beutel
The term ‘profound autism’ is not particularly useful, as “many autistic people who do not have the characteristics the authors focus on have significant support needs, and support needs can be radically different across different domains, social contexts, and time.”
On Writing Neurodivergent Characters
I had poured so much of myself into my protagonist. When my agent called my character childish, naive, and vulnerable, I couldn’t help but feel she was calling me childish, naive, and vulnerable.
Autistic, Black, and Thriving: A Conversation With Gyasi Burks-Abbott
We spoke with writer, public speaker, and autism self-advocate Gyasi Burks-Abbott about growing up Black and autistic in a much less autism-aware era, and how he was able to thrive thanks to the guidance of his intuitive and supportive mother.
Against Autism Pseudoscience: An Interview with Anne Borden King
We spoke with autistic advocate and autism pseudoscience watchdog Anne Borden King about the continued proliferation of questionable and outright fraudulent “treatments” for autism.
Autism Rates Are Now 1 in 36. Here’s Why That Is a Good Thing.
The new 1 in 36 autism rate means the CDC is getting better at finding and diagnosing existing autistic children, not that there is actually a higher rate of autism.
Self-Advocacy Lessons From An Autistic Breast Cancer Survivor
Learning to advocate for myself, after learning late in life I was autistic, has given me the strength, self-awareness, and tools to stand up for myself after I was suddenly deposited back on the breast cancer treadmill.
We Need to Talk About Aspie Supremacists
Over-valuing certain abilities means looking down on people who don’t share them. Aspie supremacy is the ideology that follows from taking this to an extreme: ‘aspies’ have extraordinary powers which not only make their existence worthwhile, but make them better than other people.