By Dr. Dan L. Edmunds I encountered a fellow lad who is Autistic. He told me he struggled with fitting in and sometimes prayed to be ‘normal’. He felt many judged him as weird or eccentric. He at times felt lonely and isolated. He was often lacking in confidence. We first began in our di…

A Short Blurb about African American Blues and Rock n’ Roll Artists: John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry For Black History Month By Austin John Jones Running away from home from a family of sharecroppers must be a pretty traumatizing thing. Well, it was the choice John Lee Hooker made to make…

By PJ “Starling” Letourneau Motherless baby Fatherless son A spark in the void Where once there was none I needed a King I needed a Queen To call off the war Inside of my being I needed a truce To this horrible war From the battles that raged Outside my front door I am weary and worn Fro…

By Austin John Jones You ever had a bowl of ramen that was so good you didn’t want it to end? You ever been so happy you wanted to hold onto that feeling forever? Dopamine. The chemical in our brain that makes us feel good. That makes us feel happy. That makes us feel pleasure. It’s an a…

By Traci Neal Nature nourishes my body in waves before reaching my ebony surface. My countenance counts the sunshine’s rays each time I awaken. The world I compose in my consciousness witnesses the wind welcoming the trees as a treasure. Musical songs and delight ring throughout my cerebrum. Shelter…

By Martine Mussies 7 Types of Rest for Neurodivergent People Rest is essential for everyone, but it is especially important for neurodiverse people. Non-neurotypicals are simply more likely to experience sensory overload, autistic burnout, and other challenges that can be exacerbated by a feeling of…

By Jack Pemment There are two things that can severely determine a person’s social fate: A criminal verdict and a mental health diagnosis. Regardless of the true events behind the criminal verdict, the return of guilty by a judge will sway most public opinion in a direction where the recent defendan…

Being part of the Austin Adult Neurodiversity Group has been an enlightening experience for me, providing the opportunity to make connections with other neurodiverse adults and listen to their perspectives on various aspects of neurodiversity. By Nils Skudra Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pa…

By Nils Skudra One of the most popular hospitality attractions in Greensboro is Chez Genese, a French restaurant located in Greensboro, North Carolina that features exquisite French cuisine for breakfast and lunch seven days a week. A distinguishing aspect of this restaurant is that just over fifty …

by Joel Ashton-Fogle Waiting Room 1 Arriving in a state. Heart racing. Bracing self and pacing, chasing, facing wait with weight Afraid of light. Afraid of sound. Each breath exploding, foreboding Eroding ground Concrete ejection seat Might hurl me into obsolete. Confiscation, condemnation, Where is…

By Dianne Loyet 3 poems about being autistic. 1. Please i keep the world’s chaos at bay by classifying and quantifying its minutia seven times i hear "cross street with caution vehicles may not stop" two steps i take across one square of sidewalk i am captain kirk keeping the sky in place …

Art of Autism announcement: Autistic Pride Day is June 18 – send your art, poetry and blog submissions to info@artautism.com. By Ron Sandison The Honey Badger Award: a Fierce Advocate: A Force to Be Reckoned With is given each April by Spectrum Inclusion to celebrate an entrepreneur and advoca…

In 2010 HBO’s biopic Temple Grandin won five Emmys. Claire Danes won for Best Actress for her portrayal of Grandin. By Nils Skudra Among the autism-themed films that I have seen, one of the most outstanding biographical depictions is the 2010 HBO film Temple Grandin, starring Claire Danes as t…

Even if the change seems small, it will still need to be processed and preferably before you go to bed! By Catherine Londero Consider anything that is unexpected I have always been aware that struggling with change is a trait of being autistic and I definitely identified with that with the bigger ch…