“You are always one decision away from a totally different life.” Author Unknown By Ron Sandison As a young adult with autism I often struggled with making decisions and taking healthy risks. After employment and relationships this was my greatest challenge. I have learned to take risks …

Header Image: Kabir Vernal “Coloured Hands” Hand imprints of Kabir Outlined and Coloured in using Acrylic Marker Pens on Ivory Paper. Kabir is a 10-year old mostly non-speaking child who loves playing with sticky textures, colors and the process of creating art. This is the Art of Auti…

Header image: Rainbow Mosho, Age 13 “Let’s Bring Peace” PEACE By Aadi Narayan, Age 14 The world is so large But the mind is not that big My world is smaller than I see My eyes are searching for the views to calm me Saw only green leaves without colourful fruit Saw birds are flyin…

By Kris McElroy Back-to-school time is a huge transition time full of different emotions and to-do tasks. As a autistic parent with chronic illness & disabilities, there is an excitement mixed with anxiety, stress, and overwhelm as we prepare for the fall season kickoff of work and our 2 year o…

By Catherine Londero Back when it was first announced that England was going into lockdown, many let out a sigh of dread. I did not. In fact, it was more an inhalation of fresh air. While so many people faced difficulties living with these restrictions, I was discovering a new sense of freedom. No m…

“Autistic burnouts for me feel like the puzzle pieces in Tetris falling so fast you don’t have enough time to line them up before they reach the top and the videogame is over, burnouts leave me feeling overwhelmed and exhausted.” Ron Sandison By Ron Sandison I’ve experienced many autistic burnouts …

By Dan L. Edmunds, PH.D. They said to persevere. I began to perseverate. They discouraged me. Be joyful they said. I flapped my hands with a joyful feeling. Not like that they said. They used a lot of words whereas I had not many. They said I needed to speak like them and when I did they said it was…

By Dennis Procopio “Dennis, please just get in the f***ing car.” This was my mother, pleading with her 9-year-old son to sit in a friend’s car which had crushed velvet seats. I wouldn’t. I couldn’t. It felt…. unbearable. As she herself was diagnosed with a laundry list of clinical diagnoses includ…

My name is Zach Stehle. I am 22 and I have autism. In the past month, I have also received over 15 million views on TikTok! It all started one day in the beginning of July 2022. I was sitting in my room, minding my own business, reading a comic book and stroking my cat, Piper. All of a sudden, I hea…

By Na’Imah Todd, DVM I speak in silence, but language is my story. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a prodigy is defined as “a young person who is unusually talented in some way.” For me, this has always been language. My family recounts I started speaking at around 9 months of age. Som…

By Kaelynn Partlow I am 24 years old and I am diagnosed with “high-functioning autism.” There is a broad misconception in the autism community that so-called “high-functioning autism” means “easy autism.” And while it’s largely true that those of us labeled “high-functioning” tend to hav…

My Friend Theo By Scott Lentine He jumps for joy when you open the door Very happy and delighted to see you Doing a happy dance on the floor And enjoying getting hugs too   He loves looking out the windows Hoping to see other dogs and humans as well He gets a thrill out of playing various games…

“Growing up as an autism sibling was not easy and there was a lot of things I never understood, but as an adult I’ve learned how to find gratitude for the journey.” Natalie Castro By Ron Sandison Autism and sensory issues makes living space important to me. Home is a place for me to decompress and r…

By Nils Skudra As a Civil War historian, I have always been fascinated by the various personalities on both sides that played a pivotal role in shaping the course of the conflict. One of the most enigmatic of these figures is Jefferson Davis, who served as the Confederacy’s president throughout the …