Autism Stories

"But, believe it or not, I auditioned, he cast me as the lead. And with that go-getter personality, I had all of these ideas that he didn't know how to contain, and he said, "Do you want to take these ideas and put them together?" And I'm like sure, so I wrote a script", says Jennifer Goodman. Jennifer Goodman and Ryan Atkins joins this episode to discuss their producti...

"I would say if you're passionate about it, find the thing that makes you happy, and just keep going, don't stop. You will eventually run into obstacles along the way. I've run into a bunch of obstacles myself, especially when I was trying to break into broadcasting coming out of college", says Matt Nelson. Matt joins this episode to discuss his career as a public address ann...

"Mathematical writing was a special class for me. While I was doing research for a paper, I found a study done by some guys at Pixar. They examined a mathematical perspective of animation, which linked the meshes of various characters. This led to my independent study course, where I wrote a computer program to animate rotating cubes in space", says James Beattie. If you could subscribe...

"The main idea I wanted to share in this screenplay was that if we hold onto anger, it will hurt us more than the person or people we are angry at. We need to learn to forgive and let go, to really be free to love", says Emma Cladis. Emma joins this episode to discuss screenplays she has written and being the first non-speaking autistic student at her university. To learn more about Emma...

" I found being in court very natural, and it is important to not be frightened of it. The reason I enjoyed it was because there is a natural order of doing things- you know when it's your turn to speak. It's almost like performing onstage. I think that you're playing a role, and I think that as an autistic person, we do that a lot", says Arwen Makin. Arwen joins this episode...

"You also asked about oral-motor dyspraxia. As an apraxic individual, I have a hard time coordinating my speech with my thoughts. So, my default word is yes, yes, and yes", says Tessa McEvoy. Tessa joins this episode to discuss oral motor dyspraxia, homelessness for autistics, and her love of slot machines. To learn more about Tessa visit https://www.facebook.com/ApraxiaStory .

" I don't really like it when people apologize, because I feel that it is a knee-jerk reaction. Is that apology coming from an acknowledgement of a problem caused that hurt that person's feelings? Or is it a reaction to this socially-conditioned "get out of jail free" card? An apology to me is action, not words", says Dani, The Punk Rock Autistic. Listen to the second p...

"The American education system is very focused on controlling kids more so than it is on learning. It's almost too authoritarian for the kid to really learn, because they're so focused on neurotypical social norms and pleasing the teacher- making eye contact, sitting still, when a lot of kids can't do that", says Ben Fanta. Ben joins this episode to discuss becoming a teacher...

"If someone is looking to develop a better understanding on what it means to be autistic, what that looks like for their kid, or ways that they could advocate for them. My entire focus rather than looking at it as something that needs to be changed within a person, it's what can we change for that person to make life easier for them?", says Dani, the Punk Rock Autistic. Dani joins us to discuss th...

"Internalized ableism...I kind of equate it to Stockholm Syndrome. Where you're relating to your captor's or abuser's perspective, until you adopt their point of view and become an advocate for their ways. That's how I view internalized ableism. Society has indoctrinated us with harmful views of ourselves and others who are like us," says Grace Ogden Parker. Grace Ogden  joins this episode to...

"I wanted to expand it so that people could express themselves in any possible way, whether that's a math formula about how it feels to be engaged with an animal, or a sculpture about being bullied or rejected, or a painting about the great gift of sensory expansiveness that we enjoy. It's been neat to watch that process unfold for people. There's no limit to the way folks can communicate", says D...

"I don't think anyone should assume that they're unlovable or unworthy if they don't have any friends or a job right now. Our worth is much deeper. We're all just temporarily abled, but also temporarily friended, and temporarily employed. Why base our worth on something that will change for all of us throughout life?" , says Amanda Bancroft. Amanda joins this episode to discuss listening to others...

"I would love to live in a world where it doesn't have to be so brave to share your truth. I don't think we would call a neurotypical woman brave for writing an article about her personal life. Women and men are doing that every hour of every day as we speak right now. There are probably  billions of those types of articles or listicles that are being circulated right now. We don't think of t...

"In the high vibrational state, which is where we all want to be (of course some days are better than others), we are emanating this sense of love and peace and compassion. You're kind of growing a higher personal power, but you're also being able to just be yourself, your true authentic self, and allowing others to see you for the confident person you are," says Ariel Cullison. Ariel joins this e...

"First of all, everybody is a person and everybody counts. And it comes down to the idea that we should never give up on any human; we should never leave anyone completely on their own with no hope. Everybody needs somebody in their corner, especially when everybody has left their corner. As a defense lawyer, I am very cognizant that I may be the only person left standing with this individual," sa...

"There's so many talented artists and writers, but they don't get showcased because they are somebody that's disabled, autistic, or ADHD. We saw that barrier and we want to create an avenue for the people that can't get published, whether they can't get published because of the politics of publishing, or because they don't have the energy, mental health, or the ability to go through the steps. We...

"It's mental health care, but it unfortunately doesn't mean that the people who facilitate it understand autism. I know that may be a broad statement here, but in my personal experience, even in grad school I think I was the only person with documented ASD, and I always felt that I had to keep my professors on their toes. Any place I worked, the feeling that they're not really expecting someone li...

"I wanted it to feel even though it takes place in the modern day, it's kind of an unearthed story. Because it's a story of people that have always been there, yet, never been truly acknowledged up until more recent times. Hopefully, we'll be acknowledged. The day that disabled people have opportunities and have opportunities on screen, and I don't have to make it myself, that'll be a happy d...

"Regulation comes in different forms depending on what is dysregulating a person. It could be trying strategies of proprioceptive input, having fidgets or body engagers available, or feeding the brain with high-cognitive materials. My wonderful CRPs vary in their approaches, but all work hard to help me regulate," says Jack Haynes. Jack joins this episode to discuss the importance of regulati...

"Everyone is allowed to have their opinions, but those aren't my responsibility. The only thing I'm committed to is conveying myself the way I intended, and making sure those like me know that too. It also helps a lot that my team believes in me so I don't have to worry about miscommunication because I know they have my back," says Justice Killebrew. Justice joins this episode  discuss his ke...

"You go back as far as 2010 or so, and the idea of having an autistic person on the research team to inform the design of the study was a completely foreign concept. This wasn't happening at all, there were maybe one or two research groups in the world doing this.  Now, it's not uncommon. At least people do it at the level of consultation or having a community advisory board," says Zack Willi...

"It's a hallowed space for me. I see the impact when people are treated with respect and they have consent over their stories, and they have consent over what they want to focus on and what they can focus on that day. It really works more and more momentum to feeling this curiosity to look below these masks," says Tasha Hansen. Tasha joins this episode to discuss being a social worker, strategies...

"With their journey with me, we slowly take down those walls in comfortable steps, little by little, and at the same time we build something that I like to describe as an armor made out of light. That is this powerful thing that carries you through life and makes you feel safe within yourself, makes you feel secure, makes you feel like you can trust yourself. You're capable and it's great to be yo...

"If I was employed by somebody else, and I needed to sleep like right now, that's not gonna happen. I'm probably gonna get fired. I really stress the importance of self-employment because that money that I'm making is going to me. It's not going through multiple channels where I am probably paid the lowest possible amount for labor that really sucks the life out of me," says Margaux Wosk. Margaux...

To check out Doug's birth chart as you watch this episode go to https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vQiZqe-U_0YdRM_kGV6S_pNrAayDw0rRaUSdLE88cOqQFkrw3hrUOYSUYfiVrZBH7KtmugL4FwHq0Ax/pub "It's always this weird mix with astrology of like I might see and tell a person, 'You're not doing what makes you happy,' and they're like, 'I know.' I'm never gonna tell anybody to quit your job now, no, yo...