Autism Stories

"We noticed at that point there were, anecdotally, trends in the community, which both I'd experienced and other people have experienced around not being able to access mental health services, and also, having very negative experiences if they had access to mental health services. We wanted to see, basically, how much that was anecdotal or how much that was a trend,” says Sonny Hallett. Sonny join...

“The most and biggest hurdle is communication, because of my sensory, mind, and body issues which distract my actions. RPM helps me to communicate and provide a means to learn academics. Being an autistic adult itself is a hurdle. In spite of all these challenges, I try to focus and do my best to become a journalist,” says Rohit Dixit. Rohit joins this episode of Autism Stories to discuss communic...

“One of the sexist marketing words in the world people view is neurodiversity, but it's so much more than that. It's more than a marketing word, it's more than just a nice concept to put in your advertising in a bid to get more people in. Because you can see very quickly the people that have taken this approach: oh, let's just scribble out autism and just put neurodiversity there,” says Jude Morro...

“My podcast arose because I wanted to share more stories about real, authentic people working to conserve the ocean, and to share its wonder with a diverse audience. I wanted to share my own journey learning to become a water person. And I wanted to see if hosting a podcast as a minimally-speaking autistic was possible,” says Danny Whitty. Danny joins this episode to discuss his podcast The Ocean...

If you missed Stimmy Vibrations here is a chance to listen to the Autism Stories episode for the event. Christiana Koch joins this episode to discuss working remotely, her journey moving away from STEM, and her essential role in making Stimmy Vibrations a reality. We also feature the comedy of Joe Wells and R3llie on this episode. To learn more about Christiana Koch you can find her on LinkedIn. T...

"What I find a lot with the autistic community, is that it's really hard for us to break through that, what I nicknamed, the puzzle piece ceiling. There are just so many spaces that are designed to not have autistic input, that it can be really distressing and exhausting having to push against them all the time," says Lindy Treece. Lindy joins this episode of Autism Stories to discuss her activism...

"I do have to say that getting aide support is difficult in the current climate. Even though I have 15 hours a week approved by insurance, I am looking at hiring less-experienced aides out of pocket through the internet and word of mouth because we spent nearly a year trying to find an agency to cover my 15 insurance hours," says Ezekiel-Bethany Goff. Ezekiel-Bethany joins this episode to discuss...

"There's probably a company or a person in the world who wants to be active in a field that has to do with your special interest, who wants to globalize their service, and that's the key thing. The fact that we're all so connected  means that having subject matter expertise in something, and having the ability to express that expertise in more than one language is an extremely valuable skill...

"It surprised me how many things I could find once I was able to kind of organize them. I didn't expect to be able to find that many books, especially written by autistic folks themselves. It didn't seem like there would be a lot out there, and there really is a lot," says CJ LaFontaine. CJ joins this episode to discuss creating The Autistic Book Masterlist, an extensive database dedicated to...

"Many times, well-intentioned people, so-called "experts," chart our course, but we are the experts on us. That's why I call myself a lived-experience expert. Non-speakers need to be consulted, and ultimately, be empowered to decide on issues that affect them," says Noah Seback. Noah Seback joins this episode of Autism Stories to talk about dispelling myths about non-speakers, starting his busines...

"When we look at things that specifically are needed for autistic people- clear communication, transparent practices, flexibility- those things for some autistic people are absolutely necessary to be able to work. Those are also things that make everyone else much happier in the workplace. So, if you design for the margin, then really all people are going to benefit," says Ludmila Praslova. Ludmil...

"I'm the kind of person, I come alongside people. You learn more walking together instead of standing there pointing fingers from a distance. I'm a side by side leader. I always tell my crew, "It's never about me, it's about we," says Mary Nixon-Hahn. Mary joins this episode to talk about being an autistic woman in the US military, her experiences of working in customer service, and authoring a bo...

"Growing up, not knowing that I was on the spectrum, it was very, very easy just to people please your way through everything, and not understand, or even recognize your own voice, your own internal dialogue. I think for me, it's about learning how to recognize that internal dialogue that's me, instead of like what I've projected to be me," says Gabrielle Hailstone. Gabrielle  joins this...

"In fact, being able to have some respect for another person, and to feel understood by them, is really important from a clinical perspective, therapeutically. I often tell clients that if you don't like one counselor, find another one. It should be like looking for breakfast cereal. That if you don't like one just find another one that suites you better," says Scott Allen. Scott joins this e...

"Now I understand that my main issue all the time has been ignorance both with myself and my surroundings. And my real medicine, which is truly helping me to flourish as a human being, is to educate my environment about these cognitive differences and to accept and embrace them as a natural part of human diversity and celebrate them," says Elisabeth Wiklander. Elisabeth joins this episode of Autis...

"That's one of the big things that special education programs can do. Design your curriculum with the assumption that some of the people you're talking about might actually be in the classroom with you. If you think that your curriculum might be uncomfortable for a disabled person to sit through, that's a sign that there's an issue with your curriculum, not that the disabled student does...

"I decided that I really wanted to write a film that explains autism, but shows it in a normal light, like it's something that's no big deal. Because, yes, even though the selling point of my film is that she is autistic, it's still a normal relationship. And I don't feel like a lot of media surrounding autism presents autism in that way," says Rebecca Faith Quinn. Rebecca joins this episode of Au...

""Although it's a biological function, it's not something straight forward. It's not that you just hover the baby somewhere near the breast and it works. There's a complex range of positioning, attachment, the baby's suck needs to be right. Often, babies are born with an extra little piece of skin under their tongue. That means that their tongue can't move enough to actually help release milk...

"It wasn’t until I was 10 years old that I was introduced to supported typing and Alternative Augmented Communication, or AAC. By having the tactile input I needed, I was able to point to letters on a letterboard, to say exactly what I wanted to say, how I wanted to say it. For the first time, I was able to fully express myself. I soon learned to type on a keyboard with voice output, so it would s...

"When looking for a communication partner, I need to see if I connect with them, and I can tell if I will connect with them almost instantly, because I need to trust them with so many important aspects of my life. They become more than just a CRP; they become my family. They need to be patient, but also push me to do the most I can do," says Ben Breaux. Ben joins this episode of Autism S...

"We should ask rather than making assumptions. For example, I've had managers say to me, "I've got an autistic member on staff. Does this mean I shouldn't Teams call them?" And my answer to that is, "Please go away and ask that member of staff because we're all individuals," says Charlie Hart. Charlie joins this episode of Autism Stories to discuss her experience working in human resources, b...

"My work is very sensory. I experience and respond to the world very directly through my senses, and as I'm speaking to you or when I write, it is actually a translation. My words are not directly from my immediate experience. I feel that my work and my work with Simon expresses the rich and abundant ecology that is outside neurotypical expression. We want to validate our autistic sensory communic...

"I wasn't a natural athlete at 4 years old. I'm still not a natural athlete to this day. It's all about understanding and being able to speak in the language that your students understand, and that's a language that is inherent. Being autistic is my natural language, so it definitely is an advantage comparing to people who are not on the spectrum. There's more of a learning curve, whereas it just...

""I know how to write a research paper basically. I don't know how to creatively sit and just write feelings, that's not my thing. Its difficult, he'll give me a topic. I find it helpful if he gives me something  first. He'll say tell me about your worst vacation then I'm able to flow out ideas from there. Now I've started doing that at home myself where I'll pick out my own ideas from home a...

"We stay committed and consistent in these jobs or in these situations, whether it's a living situation or a relationship. We stay in them in that dedicated, committed-consistent way, and sometimes we need to just let things go. It is not so easy for us to let things go, or to recognize that we're enjoying the habit of it," says Becca Lory Hector. Becca makes her return to Autism Stories to discus...