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Life Through an Autistic Lens: My Fear of Growing Old Without Financial Stability
I deeply feel time speeding by. The years speeding by. And it viscerally terrifies me. Because with each passing day, my fear over my future grows. It gets increasingly real. At the heart of my fear is this one question: Will I have enough money to be able to live independently for as...
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Dear Younger Me: What I Wish I’d Known About Being Autistic
One of the questions I always hear being asked is, "What words of advice would you tell your younger self?" Such a question seems very cliché to me. However, just because something is cliché doesn't mean it's boring. In fact, our thoughts on this evolve through our life experiences. This is...
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Why Spider-Man: Brand New Day Is Resonating with Neurodivergent Audiences
(Warning: This article contains spoilers for "Spider-Man: Brand New Day.") Something was fitting about seeing Spider-Man: Brand New Day at a packed 7:30 a.m. screening in Brooklyn (yes, I said a.m.). As the lights went down, I wasn't just watching Peter Parker – I was watching New York. And,...
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Opening the Door: Psychotherapy With Nonspeaking or Unreliably Speaking Autistic Young Adults
This article is about providing psychotherapy services to nonspeaking or unreliably speaking autistic young adults. Going forward the terms "communicators," "typers," or "spellers" are used interchangeably to describe this group. My hope is to encourage parents, professionals, and the wider...
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The Importance of Leisure Activities for Individuals with Autism
When families first learn of their child’s autism, it is not uncommon to concentrate on early intervention efforts to help their child develop the requisite skills to support their least restrictive placement during the school years. Early studies that reported on the efficacy of these intensive...
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Access to Public Recreation and Leisure Opportunities for Autistic People as a Measure of Societal Acceptance and Inclusion
Sometimes a break is more than just a break. The value of hobbies, special interests, and other recreational activities is often viewed through the lens of respite from more serious pursuits, and with good reason. Going to the bowling alley after work every Friday is a good way to relieve the...
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The Missing Middle: Recreation Access for Autistic Adults in New York
When autistic students finish high school or college in New York, the transition into adulthood often brings unexpected loss. What disappears is not only structured support, but also access to community, hobbies, and meaningful social participation. For autistic adults without intellectual...
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Autistic Endurance: What Ultra Running Has Taught Me About Regulation and Belonging
Getting up at 4:40 a.m. most mornings is hard. I want to stay in my warm bed. I can find no logical reason to get up that early to run in the cold, but I need the miles. I am training for a 100k race, and it’s only a few short weeks away. My sleepy brain argues with me: can’t I just take a day...
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Creating Space Where Possibility Thrives: Recreation, Belonging, and Purpose at WJCS Shelanu/Supper Club
In my experience, after high school, services taper off, structured opportunities for recreation and social engagement often diminish dramatically and isolation begins with many adults on the spectrum. Research consistently shows that autistic adults are significantly more likely to experience...
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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.,...
