Our daughters, now known as “Leigh” and “Anne” on The Autistic Me, are Neurodiverse. They share some traits, share traits with me, and also have their individual needs. Their adoption was finalized in May 2019, or as they say, “We adopted you, Daddy!” The girls are everything to me. We…
Tag: autism
My wife and I have two neurodiverse young daughters. The girls are in the first and third grades, ages at which doctors verify or revise diagnoses. As parents, we reference my experiences with the health and education systems to evaluate the services provided to the girls. Reading Rosie Weldon’s autobiography…
Recently, a Facebook follower asked what interests me. What are my passions? Some are surprised to learn that my interests and passions don’t include autism. I love music and art, but I’m great at neither music nor art. I am good with technology and love all things computer-related. So, naturally,…
“Her Asperger’s is a superpower.” “His chronic illness brings clarity.” And so it goes…. The Shiny Aspie. The Dying Prophet. The Super Crips, here to save humanity. The last two weeks have featured a series of stories on these disabled advocates, who are not all disabilities advocates. And then we…
Many of the autistic writers with children I’ve read were diagnosed later in life. For some, it was the diagnosis of a child that led to their diagnosis. These autistic adults had “Aha!” moments as they tried to help their children obtain appropriate supports and services. People commenting on the…
Podcast 0020; Season 02, Episode 06; October 16, 2018 Joe Farrell discusses the Joey Travolta Film Camp, Arts for Autism, and Evolve coaching. Joe moved to Pittsburgh in 2008 to pursue his Master’s of Science in Education and Community Agency Counseling degree from Duquesne University and began working with children and young…
Podcast 0018; Season 02, Episode 04; September 25, 2018 Professor Dayna Goldstein discusses diversity within the neurodiversity community. She reminds us that neurodiversity isn’t limited to autism and includes women, minorities, the LGBTQA+ individuals, and the entire spectrum of human experiences. Working together, we can have a greater influence on public policy and…
Podcast 0017; Season 02, Episode 03; September 18, 2018 Autistic visual artist and advocate Bobby Roma discusses the ways in which autistics are devalued by society because our thinking processes seem strange to others. We’re called “immature” and told we lack “depth,” yet sometimes our concrete clarity is exactly what’s needed to…
Podcast 0015; Season 02, Episode 01; September 4, 2018 We open Season Two chatting with Grayson Rumsey, a 20-year-old autistic self-advocate, creative writer, performing artist, and member of the LGBTQ+ community. Grayson has dealt with more in 20 years than I have in nearly 50. We should admire Grayson and the…
Halfway through NeuroTribes and it primarily serves to reinforce history I knew after reading so much over the last 12 years about autism, yet the books adds important details. Overall, the names largely missing from history (often women) are given a nod by Silberman in his history of the autism community, something…