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Neurodiversity: An Idea Whose Time Has Come and A Call for Unity
When I hear the word “neurodiversity,” I immediately become concerned that it will be dismissed as simply another form of “political correctness,” and not seen as encompassing a wide variety of serious issues that affect virtually everyone in the Asperger Syndrome / autism spectrum...
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Stuck Between Two Worlds: Having a Brain that is Half Autistic and Half Neurotypical
We often talk of Neurodiversity in terms of a binary between Autistic and Neurotypical when in reality it is much more complicated. We all know Autism exists on a spectrum but commonly assume if someone is on the spectrum, they are one side of a binary line, regardless of where they fall on the...
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Social Activities and Communities for Individuals with Autism: Meeting a Basic Human Need
Social activities, as engagement with a community to which one belongs, are an essential part of life for most people. Unfortunately, for autistics, there are often barriers that prevent them from participating in such. Before I address these issues, however, I need to emphasize that the commonly...
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Older Adults on the Spectrum Face a Variety and Number of Major Challenges
In spite of being fortunate enough to have avoided many of the challenges presented by aging on the autism spectrum, I nevertheless feel that I am in a position to write about these as an older adult on the spectrum who recently became a senior citizen. I was already a middle-aged adult (age 44) at...
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There are No IEPs in College: Succeeding with Accommodations
For many students, college is a series of firsts. With independence comes responsibility for many things they previously had assistance with. These firsts are challenging for many, however students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) face additional, unique challenges — significant impairments in...
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There’s More to Communication than Language, Grammar, and Vocabulary
Autism, in the general sense, is often defined as a disorder involving deficits of communication. This is certainly true for nonverbal autistics, as well as for those who cannot be “reached” even though they are capable of expressing speech. What about those autistics who are fully verbal and...
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Transition to Adulthood: Many Difficult Yet Essential Challenges for Autistics
As a group, autistics are well-known for having difficulty with many kinds of changes in their lives. The transition to adulthood constitutes one of the most difficult and, at the same time, one of the most important that most people ever make. This transition usually presents challenges for...
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Adults with Autism Face a Unique Set of Dangers and Hazards
The dangers and hazards of the world that are faced by autistic children and adolescents are very well known, and much has been said and written about them. Adults with autism, however, all too often face a variety of threats not frequently encountered by neurotypicals. I will be discussing these...
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Supporting Students on the Autism Spectrum: Many Things Need to Change
It has been a long time since I was a student. In fact, it would be many years before most people would even have heard the word autism, and decades before I was finally diagnosed on the spectrum. As such, I never received any supports or accommodations. Fortunately, I managed to succeed...
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Autism Saved My Life
For 36 of my 40 years, I was disabled. I was cut off from the world but for the tiny bubble that was my bedroom. Barely able to care for myself, angry, scared and lonely, I felt hopeless and broken. Suicidal thoughts were a daily reminder of my inadequacies and failures. I was certain there had...
