Autism Interview #208: Michael Fugate on Bridging the Gap Between the Autistic Community and Autism Service Providers

Michael Fugate is a commercial driver and public speaker from Indiana. Fugate is passionate about mental health and helping others gain the confidence to improve their lives. He enjoys music, films, history, writing, guitar, traveling, studying the world wars, and Howard Hughes. He hopes to expand his role as a public advocate to serve those in need.

This week Fugate shared some of his experience as a public speaker and his passion for bridging the gap between the Autistic community and autism service providers.

Autism Interview #198: Jeremiah Josey on Transitions, Cooking, and Advocacy

Jeremiah Josey is a twenty-three-year-old pastry chef from Maryland and published author of Here’s What I Want You To Know. He is a public disability advocate and has cooked alongside a wide range of successful, talented chefs, such as Chef Kwame Onwuachi, Chef Chris Scott both who have appeared on Bravo TV Top Chef, Franklyn Becker, Bravo Master’s and Paul Denamiel, Owner and Executive Chef of Le Rivage. This week Josey shared the racial justice motivation for writing his new book as well as some of his experiences with life transitions and cooking.

Autism Interview #197 Part 2: Mike Macedo on Transitions and Advocacy

This is the second part of a two-part interview with Mike Macedo. Mike Macedo is a clinical social worker, psychotherapist, writer, and autism advocate working in Rhode Island. Macedo speaks on a variety of autism advocacy topics including school and workplace transitions. Last week he shared some of his experiences growing up undiagnosed with multiple disabilities and often misunderstood by his peers. This week he shared his transition to college and current disability advocacy work.

Autism Interview #188: Bart Shoaf on Late Diagnosis, Therapy, and Advocacy

Bart is a husband, father, grandfather from North Carolina. He has worked both in ministry, and in Continuous Improvement, both in food manufacturing and now in the printing industry.  He blogs at ManualTransmissionAutism.com.

Bart struggled for years with anxiety, social skills, and sleep disorders and was not diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder until his mid 50s. This diagnosis, although painful and confusing at first, has given him a lot of understanding about why he acts and reacts certain ways. He is now on the journey to find “autism life hacks” and hopes to share these with others along the way.

Autism Interview #167: Tas Kronby on Allyship and Equal Access to Higher Education

Tas Kronby are Autistic members of the disability community with developmental, mental health, and physical disabilities. They use them/them and plural pronouns and we/ours in writing (Really, they are not typos). They advocate for equal access and awareness and acceptance of neurodiversity. They aim to use their voice to break the stigma surrounding any and all invisible disability diagnosis. For more information on what they do, come visit them at www.tasthoughts.com. This week Tas discussed allyship and equal access to higher education.

Autism Interview #147: Bernard Grant on Writing and Autism Acceptance

Bernard Grant’s writing has appeared in Crab Orchard Review, New Delta Review, The South Carolina Review, Third Coast, and Craft, among other online and print publications. Bernard serves as an Associate Fiction Editor of Tahoma Literary Review and holds an MFA from The Rainier Writing Workshop at Pacific Lutheran University where they were awarded the Carol Houck Smith Graduate Scholarship. They have also received scholarships to The Anderson Center, Sundress Academy for the Arts, and Fishtrap: Writing and the West, as well as fellowships from Vermont Studio Center, Jack Straw Cultural Center, Mineral School, and The University of Cincinnati, where they are a PhD candidate in Comparative Literature and Creative Writing, and are at work on a novel-in-stories that focuses on a mixed-raced family and features autistic characters. Bernard is also working on essays on autism and American racism, which they plan to collect and title Unmasking. This week Bernard discussed his life as an Autistic author and ways society can work towards autism acceptance.

Autism Interview #145: Rosie Weldon on Autism Advocacy and Inclusion

Rosie Weldon is an Autistic accountant living and working in the North West of England. She is also a prolific author and has her own blog about everyday Autistic life, including things like Autistic behaviors, mental health, advice for parenting Autistic children, and lots more. This week she shared her path to a diagnosis and the ways she advocates for inclusion and autism acceptance.

Autism Interview #137: Alicia Trautwein on The Mom Kind

Alicia Trautwein is an Autism Advocate, Writer, Motivational Speaker, and dedicated mom of four. Alicia’s desire to advocate for Autism comes from her own autism diagnosis and that of her three children, niece, and brother. Her life’s mission is to educate on autism acceptance and change the world for future generations of autistic individuals. This week she discussed her website The Mom Kind, a resource hub offering a unique perspective to parenting children on the autism spectrum (especially multiple children).

Autism Interview #127: Louis Scarantino on Dating, Advocacy, and Life Coaching

Louis Scarantino is a writer, motivational speaker, and public advocate. His motivational speeches fight the stigma associated with mental health around the world. He is a contributor for Autism Parenting Magazine and The Mighty. He also publishes blogs, videos, audio notes, and has also authored a book based on personal experience. This week he discussed his personal journey as an Autistic advocate. An excerpt from his book, Love is Too Hard: The Dating (Mis)Adventures of a Man with Autism is included below his interview, with his permission.