Embracing Disability as Key to Autistic Well-Being

• By: Zosia Zaks, PhD Zaks Autism Consulting
• April 4th, 2025
• accessibility, actually autistic, burnout, executive functioning, neurodiversity, self-acceptance, sensory sensitivity, Spring 2025 Issue, well-being
• 114    1

Accepting ourselves as disabled people is key to autistic well-being. Far from defeatist, identifying as disabled is empowering. When we understand ourselves as disabled, anxiety goes down, and self-esteem goes up. For a long time, I compared myself to non-autistic people, and they seemed to...

Engagement in Special Interests Influences Well-Being and Provides Employment Opportunities in Neurodiverse Individuals

• By: Sharon Eva, OTR/L Pediatric Occupational Therapist
• June 25th, 2021
• employment, engagement, identity, neurodiversity, special interests, Summer 2021 Issue, well-being
• 3504    0

A brief note on the terminology used in this article: While people should practice sensitivity towards various opinions, many adults on the autism spectrum have disclosed the preference of identity-first language over person-first language (Botha et al., 2020). Thus, identity-first language, such...