Morgan Giosa is a 26 year-old web developer, blues guitarist, photographer, and visual artist from Connecticut. Morgan says his music and visual art ultimately come to him from his “unique and unconventional intuition and emotions, and his quirky, idiosyncratic view of the world.” This week he shared his experience as a freelance web developer, musician, and how he recently learned to embrace his Autistic identity.
…
Austin Jones is an Autistic artist, art teacher, gamer, storyteller, and advocacy writer. He graduated with an illustration degree from the Art Center College of Design. He loves Magic the Gathering, Spiral Knights, and Mexican Food. This week he shared advice for helping to advocate for individuals on the spectrum and encouraging safe socialization.
…
Gord Gates is a Canadian author, mental health counselor, and Autistic activist. Gates’ new book, Trauma, Stigma, and Autism: Developing Resilience and Loosening the Grip of Shame offers a unique framework for combating the psychological and emotional impact of stigma and creates a brighter path for anyone who’s been made to feel like an “outsider.” He says stigma is a form of trauma and shows how trauma in various forms can create difficult emotional challenges. He describes how autism can help us better manage these challenges as it provides insight into the nature of stigma and helps us counter the automatic reactions that often stigmatize others. This week he shares his experiences growing up without a diagnosis and how parents and educators can better support Autistic children and adults.
…
Michael Gilberg is a Special Education and Disability Rights Attorney from New York. Michael is passionate about helping others because he knows what it’s like to navigate life without the proper support, since he lived many years without a proper diagnosis. Michael says, “My life experience of having been where your child is drives my desire every day to fight for justice for children with disabilities and their families.” This week Michael shared some of his experiences working as a disability advocate for school-aged children.
…
Mikhaela Ackerman is an autistic writer and speaker. She blogs at Edge of the Playground where she shares resources for individuals on the spectrum and the families who support them. Mikhaela earned her Juris Doctorate in law in 2016 and plans to use her legal skills to advocate for others on the autism spectrum. This week she shared information about her advocacy work and how neurotypicals can be more aware and accommodating of sensory sensitivities.
…
This is Part 2 of our two-part interview with Gillan Drew, a British author and father of two. He was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome at 28 and blogs about his life at Aspie Daddy. Gillan is also the author of An Adult with an Autism Diagnosis: A Guide for the Newly Diagnosed. This week he shared his thoughts on his role as a father and weighed in on some important advocacy considerations for parents of autistic children.
…
Gillan Drew is a British author and father of two daughters. He was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome at 28 and blogs about his life at Aspie Daddy. Gillan is the author of An Adult with an Autism Diagnosis: A Guide for the Newly Diagnosed. This is the first part of a two-part interview with him. This week he shared his experience grappling with a diagnosis later in life and offered advice for offering support to other autistic adults.
…
Michelle Swan is an autistic Australian writer, speaker, mentor, and neurodiversity rights advocate. She has experience in peer support, mentoring, education workshop presentation, community building and advocacy with degrees teaching and psychology. Michelle is also a mother to six neurodivergent children and is the author of The Real Experts: Readings for Parents of Autistic Children and the co-author of The Respectfully Connected Anthology. This week she shared information about her advocacy work and offered advice for how parents can model autism acceptance in order to help build a positive autistic identity for their children.
…
…
Braydon Keddie is a former journalist turned blogger/photographer and currently works as a caretaker. He blogs at Confidence with ASD. Brayden is also a part-time student in Building Environmental Studies, and self identified movie fanatic and comic book geek. This week he shared some advice on positive autism advocacy and succeeding in the workplace.
…