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Autistic Personal Philosophy: Why Breaking Up the Autism Spectrum Would Be a Bad Idea
Though the autism spectrum is as widely diversified as any group of people could possibly be, I view us as a single community. Any one segment of the population, however it may be defined, embodies both commonalities and differences, and ours is no exception. Every way in which diversity...
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Resilience, Resistance, and Making a Difference While Cultivating Autistic Joy and Living in Community
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, you are not alone. Children are terrified of going to school. Families are being separated forcibly and deported. Peaceful protestors, including Renée Good and Alex Pretti, have been killed in the streets of Minneapolis. Warehouses are being converted into jails....
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Beyond ADA Compliance: Advancing Recreation Accessibility Standards for Autistic Adults
Recreation is often seen as a luxury rather than a necessity. For autistic adults, it is essential for quality of life, mental health, and social inclusion. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ensures physical access but does not address the unique needs of autistic adults. To truly provide...
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The Voice Inside – How the Arts Express the Unspoken and Unleash Pathways to Success
There have been generations of people with a message God gave them that the world never heard. Children who seemed voiceless on the surface but had powerful voices inside. Caregivers, parents, and teachers who didn’t yet have all the tools needed to help the voiceless find their voices. The...
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Do’s and Don’ts of Connecting Through Classical Music: An Autistic Perspective
Neurodivergent special interests can be more or less "obscure." The author used to be fascinated by mathematics and was a math student through graduate school. Even at that time, I began spending an unsustainable amount of time in music libraries and record stores. Decades later, after writing...
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Building an Autism-Supportive City: Training Municipal Staff and First Responders
I have learned so much when working and interacting with people who have autism and neurodivergence. They offer such a unique perspective and taking the time to better understand the world through their lens, is an opportunity to better ourselves. A truly inclusive environment, in my opinion, is...
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Bringing Fitness to an Already Safe Place: Integrating Exercise into Behavioral Health Care
Research has clearly supported the connection between mental health and fitness for all people. In fact, its positive impact on mental health is so significant that it can be viewed as a useful adjunct for mental health and substance abuse disorder treatment interventions (Ashdown-Franks et al.,...
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Working While Masking: An Autistic Professional in the Neurotypical Office
Opening Act: The Choreography of Office Life Today’s office culture is a choreography of managed impressions. It rewards employees who can handle small talk with practiced ease, tolerate fluorescent lighting without flinching, and treat every ritual — from over‑the‑top celebrations to...
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Why Lived Neurodivergence is Reshaping My College Teaching — and Why Educators Should Take Notice
At the beginning of my eighteenth year in teaching, I found myself reflecting deeply on what contributes to effective educational practice. I questioned not only whether I was good at what I do, but also how I could meaningfully evaluate my own professional competence. After the birth of my...
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Beyond the Autistic Barbie: Seeing Children as They Truly Are
“Mummy, I want the autistic Barbie for Christmas.” It’s an ordinary request on the surface — a child asking for a doll — but it reveals something larger about the moment we’re in. Neurodiversity has become a storyline the marketplace is eager to package: a label here, a superpower...
