Autism, Masking, and Sense of Self

• By: Sam Farmer Neurodiversity Community Self-Advocate, Writer, Author, and Public Speaker
• September 29th, 2022
• actually autistic, confidence, conflict avoidance, Fall 2022 Issue, fitting in, masking, self-acceptance, self-esteem, stimming, unmasking
• 5208    1

In a rightly ordered world, the need to mask, or to hide one’s true self in order to "fit in," would not exist. We all deserve to be who we are without being punished for doing so. But the world in which we live is anything but rightly ordered in this respect. A multitude of autistic individuals...

Inside Dell Technologies’ Neurodiversity Hiring Program: An Autistic Cybersecurity Analyst’s Success Story

• By: Sam Farmer Neurodiversity Community Self-Advocate, Writer, Author, and Public Speaker
• September 29th, 2022
• actually autistic, employment, Fall 2022 Issue, inclusion, job coach, mentor, neurodiversity, neurodiversity hiring program, workplace supports and accommodations
• 2488    0

How can a company's neurodiversity hiring program be evaluated? In part, by listening to its participants’ stories. Alex Sobil, Cybersecurity Analyst at Dell Technologies, is a case in point. His is a success story as inspirational as it is indicative of a truly inclusive...

An Autistic’s Vision for Lasting and Successful Workplace Neurodiversity

• By: Sam Farmer Neurodiversity Community Self-Advocate, Writer, Author, and Public Speaker
• July 19th, 2022
• acceptance, accommodation, actually autistic, collaboration, empathy, employment, inclusion, listening, neurodiversity, neurodiversity hiring programs, stigma, Summer 2022 Issue, workplace
• 4311    2

Consider Dan Burger, a gifted and autistic computer science student at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN. In spite of the challenges he faced along his journey through school and into the workforce, Burger's exceptional abilities at visual problem-solving and dealing with large amounts of data...