By Kris McElroy If someone would have asked me to rate my anxiety and excitement on a scale of 1-10 when I found out I was going to be a dad in May of 2020, I would have said, “are you kidding me? I’m like a 25 on excitement and a 50 on anxiety”. Before then I never believed I could be a parent beca…

My name is Angel, and this is my autism confession. By Angel Nikki Mann I loved being quarantined. Now before you get upset, please understand that I’m not saying I like Covid. When I first started hearing about “coronavirus,” I, like many people, was alarmed. I had just started working at a child …

By Ron Sandison When I was diagnosed with autism in 1982 only one in every 10,000 children in the United States had an autism diagnosis. As a teenager, I felt different, much like an endangered species. I was often excluded from social activities due to my outbursts and meltdowns. The neurodiversit…

A movie review of the 1986 film Children of A Lesser God By Nils Skudra This weekend I had the opportunity to watch Children of a Lesser God, a beautiful 1986 film about a romance between a hearing teacher and a young deaf woman working at a school for the deaf and hearing-impaired. I felt that thi…

The rate of suicide among autistic people is three times higher than the typical population. Autistic females as well as people with additional psychiatric conditions are disproportionately affected. One potential reason for this higher risk may be that autistic females are typically diagnosed and …

Naomi Rubin from Atypical Seasons 2 and 3 co-starred this holiday season in It’s a Wonderful Life’s table read which can be purchased at the Ed Asner Family Center website. The proceeds from the production help young adults and families with autism. By Ron Sandison Last year I interviewed Tal Ander…

By Jill MacCormack There are certain autumn nights when the quality of air is of such utter perfection that no matter my exhaustion I must heed the call of a walk under the auspices of darkness. Tonight was one such night. A gentle rain had fallen early in the eve, just enough to deepen the damp sme…

Michael Worthington has over 400 paintings incorporating found heads-up pennies. By Michael Worthington December, 1999. Holiday time in NYC. Unemployed while in the music business, I was walking home one evening when I noticed a fair amount of change on the sidewalks. It caught my attention that in …

THE AMAZING SEASONS a poem by Ishaan Holloway I see magic in the Kingdom of colour, I see pure joy, I see love in the air, I see hope, I see freshness, I see nature in its bounty, I see beautiful Fall in all its glory. THANKSGIVING a poem by Ishaan Holloway Thanksgiving is a time to celebrate, The …

What? College classes start this week. This summer just sped by! We were all so happy to be at least partially out of COVID confinement that we crammed as much fun and adventure as we could into this summer. We surfed, kayaked, went whitewater rafting, enjoyed playing in the parks and hiking through…

“The COVID-19 pandemic, horrible as it has been, has given us the perfect opportunity to redesign our society and systems to be more inclusive of the rights and desires of people with disabilities. There are numerous bills in congress that can support people with disabilities in achieving the Americ…

By Anton Spivack Recently I posted this article, calling out the musical Jagged Little Pill for its non-binary erasure, to a Facebook page for Mensans who are fans of Broadway. None of the commenters supported me, they just blasted me, accusing me of calling them transphobic and dismissing everythi…

A humorous look at autism. By Englebert Lau 1.) Repetitive habits that only make sense to you Girl: “That’s weird.” Guy: “What’s weird?” Girl: “You always eat food in the same order. Steak, then potatoes, then vegetables.” Guy: “That makes perfect sense. You have to eat steak when it’s warm. P…

As advocates we must embrace intersectionality in all we do because no movement’s issues are isolated issues. By Nicole LeBlanc As we celebrate Women’s History Month and Developmental Disability Awareness Month, we must recognize the struggles women continue to face in our society and sy…