Autism Stories

"I always take a lot of breaks, have a lot of snacks, have a lot of fidget toys… in order to prevent that from happening and having a meltdown… I always tell my agency and my managers that my needs have to be met", says Glamorous Glitzy. Glamorous Glitzy joins this episode to discuss   joins us to discuss the intersection of beauty, glamour, and her autism. To learn more about Glamorous...

"This project I’ve been working on recently was actually specifically intended to help leverage AI to bridge communication between neuro types... That’s the idea that AI could potentially help with communication, but I realized that it was actually alienating", says Sam Hiatt. Sam joins this episode to discuss how AI impacts communication and his experience of going to Burning Man each y...

"I would like you all to understand that I am a non-speaker and I spent many years in silence. Many people believed I had very low cognition. I was unable to prove my intelligence up until I was introduced to S2C at the age of 19. This opportunity to be on a podcast is truly a dream", says Charlie Volotta. Charlie joins this episode to discuss having his voice heard through spelling to c...

"Games really do not have to be that way, or at least they do not have to be inaccessible in ways that feel unnecessary. Accessibility is not about taking something away from gaming. It is about giving more people a way into games", says Michael from CtrlAble. Michael joins us to discuss  the community he built for disabled gamers who believe gaming should be accessible for everyone. Tha...

"When I started doing comedy, it happened after my autism diagnosis. So that was like a brief grieving period of, oh, you mean to tell me that I was never normal? Like I wasted all this time of my life just struggling to do that. So the diagnosis gave me a way out", says Min Lin. Min joins this episode to discuss being a stand up comic. To learn more about Min visit https://www.instagram...

"There have been many stories that captured the essence of my experiences, but I haven't found a singular form of representation where it's like all parts of me in one character because I'm so many things", says Tre Wilson. Tre joins this episode to discuss his work as film director, director of photography, and video colorist. To learn more about Tre visit https://martrese14...

"Sometimes when we accidentally find sensory self-care, it can actually lead to shame. Stimming would be a perfect example of accidental sensory self-care. But then if we've got negative feedback around that, we might actually feel shame around our sensory self-care", says Dr. Megan Neff. Megan returns to Autism Stories to discuss her card deck of 100 step by step exercises of Self C...

"And we need to dig and uncover the realities, or we're never going to heal. It's not going to happen. And for me, it's not about a reparation. It's more about a restoration of truths. I want the real truth just to be a matter of record", says Jerome Narramore. Jerome joins this episode to discuss his work as  investigative genetic genealogist, the history of Black and Br...

"Water is a precious resource for all communities and war-affected communities even more so. I think when we talk about disasters, war being one of them, what's a lot more important than the disaster itself is the background to the disaster", says Isaac Gendler. Isaac joins this episode to discuss his work regardinsgclimate change and the impact that war affected areas have on water...

"Peace doesn't arrive like a sunrise. It limps in mud caked hollow eyed curled at the edge of my ribs like a sleeping dog I'm afraid to wake. Peace means owning that I'm autistic and also brilliant and also tired of shrinking so others don't feel small beside me. For the first time in a long time, it doesn't feel out of reach", says Chris Carazas. Chris joins this epi...

"Even some of my classmates and coworkers, they've attended colleges for the entertainment industry and learned more here at Exceptional Minds than going through college", says Rafael Rodriguez. Rafael joins this episode to discuss being a graduate of Exceptional Minds Academy where he learned visual effects techniques and his work on various Marvel projects. To learn more about Rafa...

“And we need to uplift people who truly understand us and not just attempt to speak for us, but really speak over us, people who really are part of our world, who understand us. And I would be the second openly autistic person in New York City history", says Josh Arnon. Josh joins this episode to discuss  running for political office in New York City as a democratic socialist candidate.  To l...

"I have one piece of advice, and it's not just for therapists and counselors. It's for family members and autistic people themselves. Just because something is automatic and easy for your brain doesn't mean it's automatic and easy for other people's brains", says Helen San. Helen joins this episode to discuss her work as a licensed counselor and how she supports her c...

"When I give a talk, one of the things I like to do at the start of the talks is what Stephen Hayes, the creator of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy does, which is just say, what do you need for me right now to feel safe?", says Dr. Sean Inderbitzen. Dr. Inderbitzen joins us to discuss his work as a therapist integrating polyvagal theory  and his love of running.  To learn more about Dr...

"People are coming to you because they don’t have another option. You are the gatekeeper of their health care. See how you can work together collaboratively to achieve the outcome that they want or that they desire", says Marilise Blignaut. Marilise joins this episode to discuss her advice as a registered nurse for other healthcare providers. We also discuss creating educational content...

"But some of the things that I've asked myself that I didn't put in this book were more about my personal purpose, and the reason why I didn't put it in the book is because I wanted the book to be a guide for other people to figure out they're supposed to live or how they're supposed to heal or what their purpose is supposed to be. Rather, I want them to come to their own...

"It's not only about autism. I just want to speak about children and their behaviors and the way that they learn and just acceptance and all of that. I always want to bring a lesson with every single book that I write," says Nicole Krashin. Nicole joins this episode to discuss her book based on the relationship between herself and her daughter. To learn more about Nicole visit https:...

"But accessibility, web accessibility, teach you to understand that nothing is wrong with you. There are different people with different needs. You should calm down. Everything can be done in a better way. The problem is not in you. You are beautiful in the way you are", says Diana Khalipina. Diana joins us to discuss website accessibility. To learn more about Diana visit https://www.lin...

"[Corporate America was] like this rat race, like, I can't do it. It is really beating the shit out of me and I don't feel like I've got anything left in me to give", says Stephanie Bealer. Stephanie joins this episode to discuss transitioning to a career outside of corporate America. To learn more about Stephanie visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephaniebealer/ . Thank you...

“Looking back on it now, I realize I was hungry for authentically autistic characters in the media, and when I didn't find them, I took it upon myself to create them. Sometimes, by following our art's desire and taking care of ourselves by fulfilling our own needs, we create the very change we were looking for”, says Alfonso Camacho. Alfonso joins this episode to discuss authentically auti...

"These things keep happening because none of these engineers ever talk to the people. And so I feel like as an autistic person myself and as someone who’s like deeply concerned with the disabled population and I’m friends with them and I work with them, I would love to approach this, like these problems in a data-driven way", says Ben Dixon. Ben joins this episode to discuss his work  in...

"My special interest is neuroscience... I get paid to info dump now... I get a paycheck for doing my favorite thing that most time in the common day, people hate when I info dump. So now I get paid to info dump. What could be better than that?”, says Grace Blatt. Grace joins this epsiode to discuss being an adjunct professor in psychology. To learn more about Grace visit https://www.linkedin....

"People don't understand that they feel that speech is supreme. It's called speech supremacy", says TJ. TJ returns to discuss their creation of the  Black and Brown Communication Justice Project. To learn more about TJ and the Black and Brown Communication Justice Project visit https://www.facebook.com/Nigh. Functioning.autism Thank you to TR Sun for their song “All Good” on toda...

"The idea of sitting still when our bodies feel like they need to move [can be difficult]. So there are meditation practices you can do where you integrate movement, fidgeting, art, sensory play, and sound", says Tanya Roberts. Tanya joins this episode to discuss how meditation can work for us as autistic people.  To learn more about Tanya please visit https://www.mindfullydifferent.ca/...

On this episode Doug will be discussing his new creative project that is an extension of the Autism Stories podcast. Listen to learn how you can be involved with this project. Visit https://www.etsy.com/shop/angiepea?coupon=AUTISMSTORIES and use the promo code AUTISM STORIES to get some cool neuroaffirming t-shirts. Fill out this form if you would like to be considered in sharing your stim on the...