Autism Stories

"There are autistic people who have identified wanting to hold down a typical job as their goal, and we want to honor that. There can be great benefits that come from working including community with your colleagues, feeling important, doing something for society. But if we stop there, we never get to question why we work the way that we do? That's the critical disability theory lens&quot...

"I think we need to give the space and time and support to people that they need as they are learning to point at letters. A lot goes into a single successful point for a person with motor or movement difficulties", says Matt Hayes. Matt joins this episode to discuss  facilitated communication, a documentary about his life, and island life. If you could subscribe on your favorite listeni...

"I'm an autistic, Asian-American, Jewish adoptee. This is something that makes me unique, it makes me feel special that I'm part of a few different, select communities. But it can also be really overwhelming and exhausting, because I feel, especially in this day and age, I'm constantly fighting for my right to coexist peacefully as a human being. I feel like when one identity isn&...

"I would like to see a complete rewriting of the narrative around autism. Because girls are still getting told their lives are going to be over. That they're not going to be able to have babies or work with children, which there's no evidence for any of that nonsense at all! About half the women in SWAN had families or are raising families. I've got two adult daughters I'm inc...

"I see the value in hearing from people of every single generation. I think every single generation is worth hearing. Everyone has different wisdom to bring to the table and different experiences. I wanted a book that kind of tackled the idea of ageism that we are all wise beyond our years and young at heart, and seeing what it would look like to come together and experience wisdom together&q...

"Additional feedback I gave them based on my experiences in the program led to a resource bank for autistic people in and leaving the program to help them integrate into independent living and often a higher income bracket with more benefits and financial flexibility. Going from fast food to making $8.50 an hour to corporate benefits and salaries was an enormous shock and immense learning cur...

"I love cooking and I love baking, it's another creative outlet. Perhaps to the anger of one or two cooks that are now offended, I've never met a recipe I haven't changed in one way or another, out of necessity sometimes", says Heidi Assman. Heidi joins this episode  to discuss baking, other creative outlets, and how to be autistic and live a fabulous life in your fifties. To...

"First, I don't believe there are good or bad poems. I think I am just connected to the big mind. Short poems are quite easier to write with my poor motor skills. I also kind of like the wit possible through brevity", says Sid Ghosh. Sid joins this episode to discuss his poetry, why RPM has been so helpful to him, and being the only AAC present at United Nations World Down Syndrome D...

"Each time we went somewhere, we made sure we had our letter boards, or AAC and began to have real conversations with the community that freely set the communication expectation. One typer can seem unique, but three together is a force that ignites change", says the Mod Squad. The Mod Squad of Otta Lana, Bella Santoyo, and William Del Rosario join this episode to discuss the power of thr...

"Autistic teachers and autistic mentors for autistic kids is so important. It's really important and I don't think we have enough of it. So, if someone's interested in teaching, I do recommend it because you can make a big difference in the lives of these students and these families", says Katie Vidler. Katie oins this episode to discuss her tutoring business, best practices...

"Everyone at school always tries to guess what I am thinking, and they are usually wrong. So, they never really know me, only the stories they tell themselves about me. Of course, there are well-intentioned people, but to not feel known by the people who are responsible for my future stinks", says Sofi Ghassaei. Sofi joins this episode to discuss how teachers can better support nonspeaki...

"I would love to help and encourage anybody who is autistic to get into fitness and sports and anything like this. I'd give them the confidence to know that they can compete and the benefits that they can get from it. It's a passion of mine", says Mandy Williams. Mandy joins this episode to discuss competing in the Hyrox competition and mentorship to  autistics that want to get i...

"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...