Autism Stories

" I can be influenced very easily, i'm constantly questions myself. Despite all that, no matter how different from the norm, my gut will just tell me what to follow. When I stick to my gut I find that I make the right decision. I feel like I've always had an intuitive right or wrong, a moral compass. No matter what the influence is I won't compromise that," says Tracey Cohen. Tracey joins us to ta...

"It hammers something home in representation that is really not true, that we only date autistic people. I don't love to talk about my dating life . When I tell people I'm autistic they ask do you only date autistic people? Of course the answer is no, good people are good people", says Haley Moss. Haley returns to Autism Stories to discuss what she liked and what the  documentary on Netflix "...

"I found a fun world, the glitz and glam,  I kind of escaped the difficulties I was going through because I hadn't been diagnosed yet. There were a lot of challenges I didn't know how to cope with, I latched on and never looked back.", says Michael Andolsek. Michael joins this episode of Autism Stories to talk about how his special interest of fashion has helped him and could help  other...

" How to talk to kids like me who were quiet, abnormally quiet,  we are over compliant. You wouldn't get the average hard working managing the household black  parent who has this good kid to focus on them as an issue. Especially with the distrust of mental health and it's history. You now, it's like why are you going after my good kid?", says Catina Burkett. Catina  joins us on thi...

"We as a community are more suited to be entrepreneurs. We have the assumptions all wrong with neurodiversity and hiring, we have all these employment initiatives and assuming they want jobs in tech, what if they don't?", says Andrew Komarow. Andrew joins us on this episode of Autism Stories to discuss why self employment may be a great idea for some autistics as well as discussing financial plann...

"Through all those years of misdiagnosis and not really having the words to describe what is going on, bodybuilding emerged as the first thing that helped", says Crystal Rapoza. Crystal joins us on this episode of Autism Stories to discuss how bodybuilding helped her and how to could other autistic people. To be updated on the latest Autism Stories episode subscribe on your favorite podcast listen...

"I showed that a black man who has autism, who has a different perspective can be a voice to inspire", says Phillip McGruder about his college experience as a black autistic man at the University of Kansas. Phillip joins this episode of Autism Stories to discuss intersectionality as it relates to the college experience for autistic people.  To be updated on the latest Autism Stories episode s...

"There are so many professionals that listen simply to reply, but listening to understand requires an open mind, cultural understanding and presumed competence," says Lisa Morgan. Lisa joins this talks with us on this episode of Autism Stories to talk about identifying suicide risk factors in autistic people and  crisis supports that can truly benefit them.  To purchase Lisa Morgan's upc...

"None of my identities exist in a vacuum,. I'm always going to be non-binary, autistic, have vater it's all going to co-exist," says Miriam Sachs. Miriam joins this episode of Autism Stories to talk about intersectionality and the importance of discussing and embracing all aspects of our identities especially ones that are marginalized.   Autism Stories connects you with amazing people w...

“When you put time into something and people are seeing you being vulnerable it creates this intimacy and even though we have never met before its really amazing how people start to trust each other,” says Super Spectrum Girl of the importance of her illustrations on social media for the autistic community. Super Spectrum Girl joins us for this episode of Autism Stories to discuss the impact of so...

“I always feel more safe with rules as this is the way to do it,” says professional dancer  Becki Parker in talking  of the many ways dance plays into her strengths as an autistic person . Becki joins us to talk about her dance career and how  dance can be helpful to so many other autistic people.  Autism Stories connects you with amazing people who are helping  Autistic a...

"“It’s really about thinking outside of the box and starting to think more about who is using your site and if they are going to get the best experience out of it”, says Kelly Bron Johnson when thinking about website accessibility.  Kelly returns to Autism Stories to talk with us about how to determine how accessible your website is and what changes you can make to make it much more usable fo...

“When you go into a museum there are things like objects that make learning very concrete. If you can see it,feel it,and touch it you can start to understand it. So I think thats part of ways that Autistic people might learn better in museums,” says Sam Theriault. Sam joins us to talk about how museums can be beneficial  and what we need to do to make them more accessible to Autistic people.&...

"I learned that being part of that movie is not the end all and I want to be in a variety of acting roles going forward. I also want to see more autistic actors of various ethnic backgrounds star in movies so that they can show what they can do when given a chance," says Emanuel Frowner. Emanuel was in the film "Keep The Change" a film that starred many disabled actors and he joins us to discuss t...

“Thats the piece that Autistics like about routine. It keeps us grounded in reality and we don’t get floated off with all our worries, concerns, and depression and don’t get stuck in a loop,” says Becca Lory Hector. Becca returns to Autism Stories to discuss the importance of creating a mindful morning routine as well as her upcoming course Self Defined Living: A Path to a quality Autistic Life.&n...

"Autistic people feel like people don't represent them and like seeing someone who is  genuinely working hard and doing well at something actually proud to say they are Autistic," says Joshua Collins. Joshua joins us to talk about his campaign to become the first Autistic member of Congress. Autism Stories connects you with amazing people who are helping  Autistic adults and teens become...

"Autism can be much better described in this model and maybe Autism is all about interests," says Dinah Murray.  Dinah joins us to talk about monotropism a theory she created with MIke Lesser and Wenn Lawson that was published in 2005 that states a monotropic mind is one that focuses its attention on a small number of interests at any time, tending to miss things outside of this attention tun...

"Having a coach going into the community with me, who could help me identify my strengths and weaknesses, and communicating with people would help me flourish," says Kristopher Jones. Kristopher joins us to talk about how his recent  article about how having a social coach in the community would be an ideal scenario as it could help him and many other Autistic people develop community.  ...

"I would hope to encourage people to make space for a variety of stories and use it as a map for a place for where they want to go in life" says Lamar Hardwick about his upcoming keynote at the Milestones National Autism Conference regarding  diversity in neurodiversity. Haley Moss is our  guest interviewer on this episode to talk with Lamar about his keynote, fatherhood, marriage, and m...

"Its long term goal is out there advocating for musicians who have been bypassed by the industry because of neurodivergence", says Robin Jax regarding his record label Tiergarten Records. Robin joins Autism Stories to discuss how Tiergarten Records is helping give talented Autistic and Neurodiverse musicians opportunities for their music to be heard and sold to the masses.  Robin concludes th...

"Vulnerability is in fact my greatest strength. I think that leads me to connect with my humanity which is where I am able to be most of service," says Autistic poet Josh Corwin. Join us as Josh discusses how vulnerability and poetry can be such beneficial tools for Autistic people in their lives. Autism Stories connects you with amazing people who are helping  Autistic adults and teens becom...

"Disability is the only minority group you can join at any point of your life", says Haley Moss. Haley points this out and makes so many other important points  as we discuss  the documentary about the disability rights movement, Crip Camp, and the significance of this film. Autism Stories connects you with amazing people who are helping  Autistic adults and teens become more succes...

"What drew me to him was how vocal he was, how enthusiastic he was, and how good of a teammate he was," says coach Kent State mens basketball coach Rob Senderoff about recruiting and now coaching the first openly Autistic Division I college basketball player in Kalin Bennett . Listen to this episode as coach Sendoroff discusses how he is helping Kalin to be more successful as a basketball palyer a...

“They are consciously making an effort to show me you matter, i believe, your identity is valid, I see you, and I love you”, says Alex of others efforts to use the name they chose to better reflect their gender identity. Listen to this episode of Autism Stories as we discuss the important dual identities of being Autistic and non-binary with Alex Earhart. Autism Stories connects you with amazing p...

"Comedy is a way to make me feel more comfortable with myself", says Matthew Kaiser. Listen to Matthew on this episode of Autism Stories talk about how being a comedian has been beneficial to him, but can be beneficial to so many other Autistic people. Autism Stories connects you with amazing people who are helping  Autistic adults and teens become more successful. To be updated on the l...