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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...
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Autism and the Troubling Risk of Suicide
This article has information about suicide and suicide prevention. For help 24/7, please call or text the U.S. Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988. Few people used to think about the risk of suicide among people on the autism spectrum. Researchers rarely studied it. Primary care doctors did not...
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Intimate Relationship Failures From an Autistic Perspective
The standard narrative positions autism as the cause of relationship trouble when a non-autistic person dates or falls in love with an autistic person. The autistic partner is assumed to be the disruptive or difficult one. Self-help books offer non-autistic partners tips on how to cope with their...
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Sexual Consent and Communication
Historically, professionals have assumed autistic people are incapable of engaging in partnered sexual activities or are uninterested in intimate relationships. Most services for autistics continue to focus on affected family members with children. Until recently, research on autistic sexual...
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An Autistic’s Vision for Lasting and Successful Workplace Neurodiversity
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...
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Autism @ Work: Insights From a World-First Global Study on Employing Autistic Adults
Since the emergence of Specialisterne, a growing number of multi-national organizations have implemented neurodiversity hiring programs including SAP, JP Morgan, Microsoft, IBM, and several others. Alongside them are the innovative pioneers within the social enterprise and...
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Implementing Common Sense Practices to Improve the Psychological and Emotional Safety of Autistic Adults in the Workplace
I hired five adults on the autism spectrum. Am I a hero? No. Do I have all of the answers? No. However, after years of actively listening to autistic adults describe their emotional struggles whilst they desperately tried to maintain employment in the traditional workplace, I am committed to taking...
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Suitable Housing and Community Living: Autistics Face Many Unusual Challenges
Whether they can live independently or require assistance and support, autistics need resources to live in communities, of which they often want to be a meaningful part. First and foremost, adequate housing must be made available. Even for those who can live independently and find and maintain...
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Organizing Virtual Learning Materials for Students with Autism
Due to COVID-19 pandemic, many K-12 schools have implemented virtual instruction and/or hybrid instruction for all students including students with disabilities. For students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), lack of organization and inability to stay focused may impact their success in...
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Silver Linings: Potential Benefits of “the New Normal” for Individuals with ASD
COVID-19 has presented new challenges for individuals with ASD and their families, starting with curtailed access to essential services and rippling out to potentially life-altering changes. Ever-changing stay-at-home orders have led to ongoing uncertainty for health and safety, as well as a...
