Chris Bonnello (Autistic Not Weird)

Hello! If you're reading this, chances are you know me as Chris from the&nbsp;<a href="http://autisticnotweird.com" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">website</a> (and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/autisticnotweird" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Facebook community</a>) Autistic Not Weird: former primary school teacher turned autism speaker/blogger/author. What I do: Having left teaching and started Autistic Not Weird in April 2015, I have since&nbsp;<a href="http://autisticnotweird.com/speaking" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">delivered speaking engagements</a> nationwide and internationally. My website, Autistic Not Weird, has received millions of page hits and over 170,000 Facebook followers (at time of writing), while&nbsp;<a href="https://chrisbonnello.com/underdogs/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">the "Underdogs" series</a>, endorsed by Steve Silberman and Michael Grant (and positively reviewed by The Guardian!), recently had its grand finale released. Before Patreon, this was all achieved during my spare time- in spite of me being occupied by three jobs, a masters degree, captaincy of my local Boys' Brigade, and various offline commitments to people I love. Now, thanks to my Patreon supporters, I have been able to quit a job and devote whole working days per week to writing for Autistic Not Weird!What I plan to do: My autism advocacy has now become a viable full-time career, which is an absolute honour and also absolutely impossible without Patreon support. The more secure my income is, the more safely I can commit to spending my days doing the following:<ul><li>Working on Autistic Not Weird as both an educational site and a supportive community;</li><li>Providing advice and consultancy to those who request help from me;</li><li>Producing more helpful content for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/AutisticNotWeird" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Autistic Not Weird's YouTube channel</a>;</li><li>Publishing more books to promote understanding of autism;</li><li>Providing more seminars and training sessions, nationally and internationally.</li></ul>It's also worth mentioning that I have monthly "supervision" sessions with a therapist for my work with Autistic Not Weird, as it often involves very sensitive work with vulnerable people. These sessions are funded entirely by my Patreon followers, who I am eternally grateful to for enabling me to access the support I need.How Patreon works: Patreon is typically used as a way for an artist/musician's fanbase to gain support from their supporters. This allows them to worry less about where their next meal is coming from, and focus more on actually doing the job they love. Pledges are made using the right-hand column, in exchange for a variety of rewards and perks!And finally... To those who have read to the end, thank you very much- and thank you too for the support who have provided to the Autistic Not Weird community: whether you are a frequent poster or have simply read an article or two. Please consider supporting this Patreon venture: with enough support, I will be able to spend the rest of my days writing, speaking and publishing to support the worldwide autism community.Thanks again,Chris Bonnello<a href="http://autisticnotweird.com" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">http://autisticnotweird.com</a><a href="https://www.facebook.com/autisticnotweird" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">https://www.facebook.com/autisticnotweird</a><a href="https://www.youtube.com/AutisticNotWeird" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/AutisticNotWeird</a><a href="https://chrisbonnello.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">https://chrisbonnello.com/</a>One quick PS: A number of people have asked me if there's a one-off donation option. Patreon itself doesn't do one-offs, but I can certainly receive donations via PayPal <a href="https://ko-fi.com/autisticnotweird" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">or Kofi</a>. If you send me a message (via here or Facebook) I'd happily give you the details!

Free

All Patreon supporters get access to the private ANW Facebook group. It is, in total honestly, the friendliest place I have ever seen on the internet. (And you occasionally get to vote on which article I write next!)Oh, and access to my fiction work uploaded here too, if fiction's your thing.

Access to private support group

If you think my work is worth a cup of coffee once a month, this is the pledge for you!· Access to private support group and fiction work, as before.

The "cup of coffee" pledge

This is where the rewards get interesting!· Access to all the bonus content hosted here (including article extensions);· 50% discounts on tickets to independent speaking events;· Access to private support group.

Bonus content and ticket discounts

· Advanced reading of new articles before they go public;· 50% discount on any future book I publish;· 50% discounts on tickets to independent speaking events;· Access to all bonus content;· Access to private support group.

Advanced reading, book discounts

The previous two rewards combined!· Advanced reading of new articles before they go public;· 50% discount on any future book I publish;· 50% discounts on tickets to independent speaking events;· Access to all bonus content;· Access to private support group.

Those last two combined

Literally all of the rewards in the previous tiers, except I’ll send you a free copy of any future book I publish.

All of the above, plus free books!

All of the above rewards, plus a Skype chat with me once per month on a subject of your choice.