By Jocelyn Eastman I am pleased to finally publish the second installment of our #AutismSweets series. I know it is not quite Netflix, but I certainly enjoyed being able to hear some of the different points of view and some of the surprising things that came in during this part. The fun thing about…

What’s most important is that you begin a dialog of understanding and acceptance of your child’s differences early. If you don’t lay the foundation for your child’s positive awareness of his or her differences, you leave room for others to fill the gap with undesirable and potentially damaging imag…

The average interview will force an AS person to simultaneously study themselves and the interviewer(s), deal with typical interview stress (and special anxiety from being in a new area and around a new person who is judging them), and think of good answers to hard questions. All this mental and emo…

By Jocelyn Eastman After seeing all of these delicious cakes (Inspired by the SugarArt4Autism Project) and hearing how many different collaborations took place for the cakes to be made, I thought to myself, ‘What could we learn from the cake artist experience? The cakes are beautiful, but how are pe…

By Debra Muzikar When Kevin was three years old he was part of an early intervention program funded by Santa Barbara County Education Office. The preschool program was part of an inclusive school called Discoveries Preschool in Santa Barbara. At 7:10 AM for three years a short yellow bus rounded our…

How Autistic people experience the world is still not well understood by many mental health clinicians. As many Autistic adults – and particularly women – are undiagnosed, mental health clinicians may assume they communicate and behave like a non-Autistic person would in the same situati…

Meltdowns are a child’s (or an adult’s) way of communicating they are in a situation that is too much for them or they have reached their limits.  By Planet Autism There seems to be an overwhelming desire in all areas of life, to make people with autism fit into a neuro-typical (NT) way of being. Ap…

“You’re autistic?” By Leanne Libas The first thing most people say when I disclose my autism is, “Really?! You don’t look autistic.” I have a love-and-hate relationship with that particular phrase. I love the reactions I receive from those who perceive me as a “normal person.” I …

Think of a 1 in 68 prevalence number in a nation of 318.9 million, then take the working ages between 18-69 and then enact the 75-85% unemployment number… By Michael John Carley Over the last five years, many new non-profits (and for-profits with consciences) have formed to answer the 75-85% u…

All the Weight of Our Dreams: On Living Racialized Autism, the first anthology of its kind – a call for donations by Lydia Brown Leaving Evidence I am a proud autistic of color working with the Autism Women’s Network to create the first ever anthology of art and writings by autistics of colo…

I got it. You had to be tough to be black. There was no crying, no picky eating, none of this I can’t look you in the eye. Humor was a way of toughening yourself up, because the world was going to be tough for us, so if you don’t have a sense of humor now, you had better develop one. By …

I believe much of my misery was rooted in my perceived inability to make thoughtful, empowered and meaningful choices in my life—choices about my thoughts, my attitude, my perspective, and my behavior. By Emily Grey Berman The Vision I always wanted to be a mother. I had this vision of raisin…

Autistic people, diagnosed or not, are not here to prove themselves to you, me or anyone else by virtue of “how autistic they are.” By Jocelyn Eastman CN: A Teensy Bit of Vulgarity and Bad Language for effect I’m truly a lucky woman. I don’t have any diagnosed children who would have compelled…

By Michelle Damiata Autism is not just a disability; Autism is something that requires understanding and empathy. Autism is a mental disability that affects a child’s social skills and learning skills as well. It can also affect the way a child’s thinking and it can make it difficult to comprehend …