Out Of The Shadows: Black Families With Autism Speak Out, Eric Evans on Training Police

Kim Riley, founder of The Transition Academy (an organization dedicated to ensuring students with disabilities have the opportunity to explore college and career options after high school), hosted a webinar earlier this month in the wake of protests over George Floyd’s murder. The webinar was titled Out Of The Shadows: Black Families With Autism Speak Out. One of her guests was Eric Evans, a Black man diagnosed with Asperger’s.

#BlackAutisticLivesMatter

“We–those of us who exist at the intersection of disability and race–aren’t treated as if we are ‘real.’ Little concern is paid to the innumerable factors present in our lives that impact how we view ourselves and the world, to how we ourselves are viewed by the world, to our strengths, to our needs. This…

A Preview–What Your Child on the Spectrum Really Needs: Advice From 12 Autistic Adults

Stories That Need To Be Told

I love listening to stories. The idea for this book came from my passion for storytelling and a special interest in the authority of personal experience. I studied the personal essay in graduate school and have continued using the transformative power of storytelling in a variety of different ways. My interest in autistic storytelling comes from living alongside my autistic brother and son.

When my son was diagnosed with autism at four, my husband and I sought the advice of every “expert” we were recommended to: doctors, therapists, psychologists, etc. But there was one problem with these professionals that left a big gap in our pursuit for the best support for our son–they weren’t autistic. I grew tired of the media stories about what I should or should not be doing as a parent of an autistic child. Avoid milk! Extra doses of vitamins! Try this really expensive supplement! Don’t eat broccoli in your first trimester! So…the broccoli reprimand I haven’t actually heard yet, but you get the idea. When I first started this project, I wanted to find out what autistic people thought of the overwhelming amount of therapy, behavioral, and diet advice out there. I soon realized this is where I should have started.

What the Autistic Community is Saying About Trump’s Tax Bill

autism and the tax bill

Congress has moved closer to turning President Trump’s tax bill into law with both the Senate and House passing different versions of it. Now a conference committee process begins where lawmakers from both sides attempt to reconcile their differences and create a mutually agreed-upon bill for the American people. One important debate will include handling a deduction that many Americans take for high medical expenses. This deduction is repealed by the House, but expanded by the Senate. Below is a brief summary of how the changes presented in the tax bill might affect disabled individuals and how the autistic community has reacted.

“Suffering” Parents and Dehumanizing People on the Spectrum

There is a tendency for people on the spectrum to be portrayed as burdens to their families in the media. Sometimes this is the angle of the journalist reporting a story, and other times, it comes from the voice of a parent. Sometimes this narrative can even attempt to justify parent or caregiver murder of someone on the spectrum. Unfortunately, this portrayal has damaged public perception of autistic people, and many on the spectrum have spoken out against it.