There will be triumphs and challenges along the way. You will gain and lose friends. You will question yourself constantly about who you are. It will take awhile to get acclimated with your autism, and it will not be easy. Change is good, and that’s what life is. By Leanne Libas Author’s Message: He…

By Debra Muzikar The holiday season can be stressful time. Routines are broken and expectations are high. While for some people, the homemade smell of a cooking Turkey and stuffing can be inviting, for others with sensitivities to smells the aroma can be nauseating! I don’t want to recreate th…

I was bullied by other kids, teachers and faculty, my own family at times and bosses and yet I couldn’t communicate what was happening until I was well out of my teens. By Christina MacNeal As someone who was an autistic teen and is now an autistic adult I want to share the problems of bullying that…

The rescue mentality, the resistance to innovation, and the self-serving “we know what’s best” is ultimately preventing people with disabilities from more individualized supports that could lead to more inclusive lives in our communities. By Dale DiLeo If you are unfamiliar with the term “ableism”,…

By Jack Gunthridge I grew up not knowing I was on the autism spectrum. I knew I was a little bit different than everybody else, but they were seen as quirks. I actually attributed it to being born in the late 70s and being exposed to a mixture of the Village People, Culture Club, and Ronald Reagan i…

By S. Scott Sanderson I am Autistic, I have Asperger’s. Having Asperger’s allows me to look at the world uniquely. While I am very educated with two master’s degrees, I have had a difficult time with employment. I often have had to struggle with anxiety and communication. Recently I have begun…

Maybe you are also looking for answers, hoping to find meaningful work or feel happier.  I found that it has been helpful to ask and answer certain questions to make decisions and put my life on the path that’s right for me. By Tom Iland Anyone who has seen the movie Flashdance or heard the song ‘Wh…

I would like to rephrase Dr. Stephen Shore’s statement “If you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism,” to become “if you’ve met one person with a label, you’ve simply seen the label and not the person.” By Kurt Muzikar The definition of  neologism is “a relativ…

By Debbie Denenburg Over the course of decades I have learned many coping strategies for all kinds of emotional situations which those of us on the spectrum experience. I was lucky enough to have my knowledge validated when eight of my articles got published in the book Been There. Done That. Try Th…

Implications of the Conjunctive Behavioral © Model on Our Society Today by Kurt Muzikar I always thought inspiration descended on one from some unknown source in the sky. When I walked, I would look up to the heavens, and ask for guidance. It never occurred to me that I should be looking down to the…

By Ramy Mahmoud In my 10 years of teaching ninth grade, I, as have many of my colleagues, struggled with a certain category of students; the low performers. These are the boys and girls who walk into our classes on the first day of school EXPECTING to fail. They know nothing about us, but we represe…