In another life, author Laura Richmond might have been a medieval vowess—but in this one she is a writer, parent, and autism and mental health advocate. She writes for The Daily Tism, and her book is All My Worldly Joy. We talked with Laura about being misunderstood for much of her life before her adult […]
Kaligirwa is a noted autistic autism scholar and advocate. They recently had their advocacy and motives challenged after they asked an autism diagnosis and resources company, Embrace Autism, whether it was behaving unethically in coaching people on how to take an online autism screening test. We wanted to know more, and so we talked with […]
My colleagues and I recently did something scary. For the past few years, we built the Neurodiversity Pathways program at Goodwill of Silicon Valley. I worked as a consultant, and my colleagues Ranga Jayaraman (the father of an autistic adult son), and Khushboo Chabria (an ADHD woman) served as full-time employees. Together, we taught career […]
Just like red and blue overlap, intersect, and interact in a tie-dye t-shirt to make unique color combinations, Autistic and ADHD traits combine to create AuDHD. It has been possible to diagnose both autism and ADHD together in the same person since 2013 (under the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition). However, […]
It’s hard to believe we have been covering INSAR, the annual meeting of the International Society for Autism Research, for fifteen years. The autism research landscape, being expansive and varied, both has and has… not evolved during that stretch to focus on the needs of existing autistic people, and their families. (It should be noted […]
Autistic author, journalist, lawyer, and professor Katie Rose Guest Pryal is an invaluable autism parenting and neurodivergent self-advocacy resource, with several books plus a column at Psychology Today. We talked with Pryal about her recent and very excellent book on parenting neurodivergent kids, Your Kid Belongs Here. Shannon Des Roches Rosa: I really want people […]
If you are familiar with the empowering concept of the Double Empathy Problem—in which blaming autistic people for lacking empathy is reexamined and turned inside out—then you know that British sociologist and social psychologist Dr. Damian Milton came up with the concept in 2012. You know that the Double Empathy Problem (DEP) has resonated deeply […]
The English muffin has to be toasted evenly.Not too dark on the edges, not pale in the center.I clean the toaster before I use it. Every time.The jelly is homemade. Smooth. No seeds. These foods are not boring to me.They are the reason I can sit at a table at all. People think this is […]
AutINSAR is an online and in-person discussion about autistic priorities in autism research. It began at the 2017 INSAR International Society for Autism Research meeting in San Francisco, as a frustrated community response to INSAR’s chronic neglect of existing autistic priorities and needs. Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism now co-hosts the AutINSAR chat each time […]
If you are familiar with the empowering concept of the Double Empathy Problem—in which blaming autistic people for lacking empathy is reexamined and turned inside out—then you know that British sociologist and social psychologist Dr. Damian Milton came up with the concept in 2012. You know that the Double Empathy Problem (DEP) has resonated deeply […]
I was 30 when my son’s Yeshiva principal called and asked to speak to my husband. When I pressed for details, I was told my 8-year-old was “awkward” and struggling, and that we should pursue testing. An evaluator within our Chassidic community in Brooklyn recommended an autism assessment. Soon after, several of my children received […]
I was 30 when my son’s Yeshiva principal called and asked to speak to my husband. When I pressed for details, I was told my 8-year-old was “awkward” and struggling, and that we should pursue testing. An evaluator within our Chassidic community in Brooklyn recommended an autism assessment. Soon after, several of my children received […]
