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Promotional photo from the movie Ezra. Robert DeNiro and William A. Fitzgerald, a young white actor with shaggy brown hair and glasses, are playing at holding their fists up at each other. Actor Bobby Cannavale, a white man with curly black hair, looks on from the background with unease.
Autism

Ezra: Is Hollywood Getting Better at Autistic Representation?

Posted on September 16, 2023 by Anne Borden King

The new movie Ezra shows that when autistic people are creatively involved in telling autistic stories, it strengthens not only representation, but the very quality of a film itself.

Renaissance-style oil painting of warrior with orange hair and a blue dress standing on a rock and holding up a sword. Below them is a crowd of people, yelling at or ignoring the main person.
ableism

Autistic People and the Power of Positive Nonconformity 

Posted on September 15, 2023September 15, 2023 by Dr. Sara Woods

Next time you are annoyed by an autistic person’s failure to comply or their different way of doing something or seeing the world, stop and consider the power of positive nonconformity and be grateful for those who dare to be different.

Steampunk illustration of a white mother wearing a yellow dress, standing with her back to a small child with spiky hair who is leaning into the mother's back. The mother is holding a metal spinner device.
profound autism

Grave Concerns About “Profound Autism” and Diagnostic Overshadowing

Posted on September 4, 2023September 5, 2023 by Shannon Des Roches Rosa

We spoke with autistic academics Richard Woods, Kathryn Williams, and C.A. Watts about their recently published letter explaining why “profound autism” bungles the support needs of autistic people with co-occurring conditions, and will endanger autistic lives.

Cover of the book Work it Out by Sarah Kurchak. The background is light aqua with a light gray grid pattern. In the center is a person seen from overhead, lying in a bed with their head on a pillow, holding two hand weights next to their head. They have brown skin, dark brown hair, and are wearing a yellow tank top.
exercise

Work It Out! An Accessible Guide to Starting Exercise

Posted on September 1, 2023September 2, 2023 by Eli Eggers

Sarah Kurchak’s Work it Out is a neurodivergent accessible guide to starting regular physical exercise. This is a handbook on how to get started for those who have had difficult due to any number of reasons (like stigma, physical and mental health, being neurodivergent in a world where instructions are not designed for your neurotype).

Hypersaturated photograph of a grocery store aisle
Accessibility

On Being Overwhelmed By Grocery Shopping While Autistic

Posted on August 22, 2023August 22, 2023 by Ann Memmott

Autistic brains can be in danger of overload while grocery shopping. When that happens autistics needs a quiet space—fast. But there are usually none in big stores.

Image with a blue background featuring a Latine child with long wavy black hair, wearing a green graduation gown and cap, smiling widely with, in neon photorealistic style but with AI image generator-garbled teeth.
Disability

How Gifted Labels Harm Autistic and Disabled Children

Posted on July 24, 2023September 11, 2023 by Sarah Owocki

I still see a lot of “gifted” labeling in the school system, along with a conversation that is frustratingly narrow, because gifted labels cause harm—both to the ability of “gifted” disabled children to get support, as well as to those without the gifted labels.

Three smiling actors from the Australian TV show reboot Heartbreak High. On the left is James Majoos, a biracial person with short curly black hair, wearing a white ringer t-shirt. In the center is Ayesha Mason, a South Asian woman with long black hair wearing a pink suit. On the right is Chloe Hayden, a white woman with red hair in a long shag haircut, wearing a sheer white top with white hearts, and a blue plaid bottom.
Autism

Heartbreak High: A Stunning Depiction of Being Autistic

Posted on July 9, 2023July 9, 2023 by Sarah Kapit

Even though the Netflix series Heartbreak High looks like purely soapy fun, Sarah Kapit says it has “the best on-screen depiction of being autistic that I’ve ever seen.”

White person with long wavy brown hair, lying on grass. They are wearing Groucho Marx glasses with a nose, black bushy mustache, and black bushy eyebrows. Their eyes and mouth are open wide in a mock grimace.
Autism

The Complicated Politics of Passing as Neurotypical—and Writing as Autistic

Posted on July 6, 2023July 6, 2023 by Meg Eden Kuyatt

Maybe there’s a reason autistic authors have often opted to write neurotypical characters. Maybe it’s proven to be more sellable and “believable” than their own experience. I’m upset, wondering how many wonderful autistic stories we’re missing out on as a world because of neurotypical gatekeeping.

Close up profile photo of a squawking seagull.
Autism

Questioning the Pathological Part of PDA: A Talk With Dr. Deborah Budding

Posted on June 29, 2023 by Shannon Des Roches Rosa

The thing about PDA or “Pathological Demand Avoidance” is that there are a lot of reasons why someone would resist doing something, and it’s often more complex than it appears on the surface.

Cover of the book The Fire, The Water, and Maddie McGinn. The background is a photo of a fiery sky over ocean waves, with a young girl standing on a beach at the bottom. The author's name "Sally J. Pla" is at the top, and the title is over the rest of the photo.
acceptance

Book Review: The Fire, the Water, and Maudie McGinn

Posted on June 11, 2023June 11, 2023 by Meg Eden Kuyatt

The Fire, The Water, and Maudie McGinn is an absolutely wonderful, important book for kids that don’t have a voice and may not be able to identify abuse or know how to talk about it. Fantastic for autistic and allistic readers alike.

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thinkingautism Thinking Person's Guide To Autism @thinkingautism ·
23h

Plan for accessibility! "Everyone needs to bake accessibility into their processes. Imagine forgetting to add sugar to a cookie recipe. Pouring sugar all over the baked cookies won’t fix it. The only way to fix it is to start over." By @merylkevans:

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thinkingautism Thinking Person's Guide To Autism @thinkingautism ·
20 Sep

Black autistic children are still being diagnosed later than average, and often not until after multiple evaluations.

(Note: this article endorses ABA therapy. We do not support ABA, but ABA is also not the main point here.)

#AutisticWhileBlack #autism

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johnnyprofane1 Johnny Profane Âû @johnnyprofane1 ·
16 Sep

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thinkingautism Thinking Person's Guide To Autism @thinkingautism ·
20 Sep

Black autistic children are still being diagnosed later than average, and often not until after multiple evaluations.

(Note: this article endorses ABA therapy. We do not support ABA, but ABA is also not the main point here.)

#AutisticWhileBlack #autism

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On Autism Diagnoses

  • The Importance and Power of Autistic Self-Diagnosis
  • After an Autism Diagnosis: 13 Necessary Next Steps For Parents
  • Jean's Adult Diagnosis Story

Understanding Autism

  • Why No Autistic Child Should Be in ABA Therapy
  • What Is Sensory Processing Like For Autistic People?
  • Behaviour Analysis, The Autistic Way
  • Starting Points for Understanding Autism
  • Why I Do Not Hate Autism
  • The Problems with Functioning Labels
  • What the Neurodiversity Movement Does—And Doesn't—Offer
  • Eye Contact: For The Recipient's Validation Only
  • Eleven Ways You Can Make Your Autistic Child's Life Easier
  • Autism Is Not a Shell Surrounding a “Normal” Child
  • An Open Letter from an Autistic Child in Meltdown
  • Understanding Autism, Aggression, and Self-Injury: Medical Approaches and Best Support Practices
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