How Developing a Freelance Brand Changed My Career

• By: Andrew Arboe Autistic Self-Advocate
• March 16th, 2026
• career development, employment, freelance, lived experience, neurodiversity, personal branding, self-advocacy
• 58    0

One thing I never expected in my professional life was creating a freelance brand that empowers me. I originally developed it as a way to showcase my talents, much like a website portfolio. I’ve always blended my lived experiences with my professional interests; human services and special...

Creating a Personal Support Network: A Suicide Prevention Resource for Autistic Individuals

• By: Mary P. Donahue, PhD Mindful Paths Psychological Services
• September 15th, 2025
• crisis coping, Fall 2025 Issue, lived experience, mental health, neurodiversity-affirming, social support, suicide, suicide prevention, support network
• 1171    0

Being an autistic person living in a non-autistic majority presents many unique challenges. Lived experience describes daily trials with at times overwhelming stimulation, miscommunication, and emotional struggles, combined with reduced coping capacity, especially during crises. Differences in how...

Research Meets Reality TV: How the Media Stigmatizes Autism and Why it Matters

• By: Valerie Gaus, PhD Psychologist Amy Gravino, MA, CAS Rutgers Center for Adult Autism Services Jill Krata, PhD, CLC Evolve Autism and Family Coaching
• July 9th, 2025
• adults, advocacy, autism representation, inclusive, lived experience, media, neurodiversity, research, stigma, Summer 2025 Issue
• 3149    1

Depictions of autism in the media—whether fictional or nonfictional—influence the wider public’s perception of autism, both positively and negatively. Two of the more well-known portrayals of autism are Sheldon Cooper from the Big Bang Theory as well Raymond Babbitt, the historically common...