-
Self-Advocacy in Healthcare: Empowering Autistic Adults to Take Control of Their Well-Being
Navigating the American healthcare system is a challenging task for neurotypical (NT) and neurodiverse (ND) communities alike; however, there are substantially greater barriers to effective care and risk factors identified within the ND community. Research has shown that there are higher mortality...
-
Facilitating Health Care Visits: How Can We Prepare for a Therapeutic Visit?
Health care visits can be challenging for individuals with autism and the delivering providers. It is critical that we prepare both the individual and the provider to increase the integrity of the visit and ensure a successful outcome. When I took on my role as Senior Director of Healthcare...
-
Autistic Health: Embracing a Holistic Approach
Human beings may seem similar because we all go through common developmental stages. However, in reality, human beings are remarkably diverse. Shaped by genetics and life experiences, we develop a wide range of personalities, temperaments, skills, capabilities, preferences, perspectives, and ways...
-
What Is Health Equity and Why It Matters to Those with Disabilities
According to the 2022 summary of the Maternal and Child Health Bureau's National Survey of Children's Health, more than 14 million children had special healthcare needs. These children, in particular, are more likely to experience chronic physical, developmental, behavioral or...
-
The Dental Disparity Dilemma
While the movement toward autism acceptance is certainly something to smile about, there remain many injustices for this population that must be addressed. Among them, disparities in dental care. Data gathered from a survey by the New York State Office for People with Developmental Disabilities...
-
Navigating Medical Decision-Making and Insurance for Autistic Children in Divorced Families
Managing the care and needs of a child on the autism spectrum can be a full-time job. In addition to addressing the day-to-day care, educational, and behavioral needs of an autistic child, managing the therapeutic and medical visits can be quite involved, including such challenges as scheduling and...
-
We Are All on the Same Side: Unite the Spectrum
We are writing to explain why we do not need more labels to describe autism. We, the authors, became acquainted with each other in 1996 through a common mentor, Stanley Klein, the editor of Exceptional Parent Magazine, when we each published our first books: Beyond the Wall: Personal Experiences...
-
Inclusivity and Equality in Treatment: Transforming Health Care, One Step at a Time
Access to health care is a fundamental human right. Creating an equitable health care system requires that all aspects of an individual’s health – physical, mental, and emotional well-being – be addressed holistically. Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual and...
-
What I’d Like to See Change in the Disability World Over the Next 50 Years – Part 1: Let’s Change How We Define “Disability”
Note: Autism Spectrum News has allowed me to herein adapt an old piece of mine into a three-part series. I jumped at the chance as the piece needed an update. Frequent readers of mine know the following statement: “Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature….Life is...
-
From Stigma to Acceptance: Insights from a Concerned Autistic Self-Advocate
My imagination often transports me into the thick of relatively grandiose situations. These episodes provide needed opportunities for release. In my mind, I sometimes have it out with my opponent during a presidential debate and winning, giving my acceptance speech after having won some...
