Autism Interview #82: Michelle Swan on Modeling Autism Acceptance

Michelle Swan is an autistic Australian writer, speaker, mentor, and neurodiversity rights advocate. She has experience in peer support, mentoring, education workshop presentation, community building and advocacy with degrees teaching and psychology. Michelle is also a mother to six neurodivergent children and is the author of The Real Experts: Readings for Parents of Autistic Children and the co-author of The Respectfully Connected Anthology. This week she shared information about her advocacy work and offered advice for how parents can model autism acceptance in order to help build a positive autistic identity for their children.

Autism Interview #70: Tom Iland on Law Enforcement, Self Discovery, and Advocacy

Diagnosed with autism at 13 years old, Thomas “Tom” Iland has worked hard to achieve his goals: learning to drive, living on his own, graduating from college, obtaining full-time employment and having a girlfriend. Tom recently left his career as a certified public accountant (CPA) to educate, inspire and motivate people affected by autism and other learning differences. One of only 4,000 Distinguished Toastmasters in the world and a member of the National Speakers Association, his mantra “Know Yourself. Love Yourself. Be Yourself.” has been featured in keynote speeches in autism conferences around the country and is among the topics in his award-winning, bestselling book, “Come to Life! Your Guide to Self-Discovery.” This week Tom shared advice about advocacy and his background as a public speaker, including training individuals on how to interact with law enforcement.

Autism Interview #63 Part 2: Ally Grace on Communication and Fighting Stigma

This post is a continuation of an interview with Ally Grace, Respectfully Connected blogger and autistic mother of five. Last week Ally discussed unschooling her children and advice for parents considering therapy for their children. This week Ally offered suggestions for communicating with your autistic children and challenges us to rethink how we advocate for them.

Autism Interview #63 Part 1: Ally Grace on Unschooling, Therapy, and Autism

Ally Grace is an autistic mother of five from Australia. Ally strongly believes in challenging the pathology paradigm of autism. She blogs at Respectfully Connected about her family, rejecting conventional autism assumptions, challenging social norms around raising children, unschooling, and being autistic. This post is part one of a 2-part series with Ally. This week she shared her experience unschooling her children, as well as advice for parents considering different therapies for their children.

Autism Interview #58: Georgia Lyon on Navigating School with Autism

Georgia Lyon
Georgia Lyon is a college student, author, illustrator, and autism advocate who was diagnosed with autism at age three. In her book How to Be Human: Diary of an Autistic Girl, Lyon details her journey trying to figure out facial expressions, make friends, and navigate the social world of school. This week she shared her experience growing up with an autism diagnosis and how she’s used her writing and illustrating skills to advocate for other autistic individuals.

My Path to Proper Formal Autism Diagnosis–Anlor Davin

The article below was written by autistic author Anlor Davin. It was originally published on her website and is reprinted here with her permission.  Anlor Davin grew up on the West Coast of France and immigrated to the United States in her 20s. She has written about some of her experiences growing up undiagnosed in her memoir Being Seen. She also shared shared some of her experience as an autistic French immigrant to the United States in a recent interview for this blog. In this article, Anlor sheds light on the difficulty of living without a diagnosis and how we can support others with autism throughout their lives.

Autism Interview #50: Roy Dias on Aspergers and Fatherhood

Roy Dias teaches English as a second language at a school in Portugal where he lives with his wife and two sons. He and his two sons are all diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome. In addition to teaching and caring for his family, he writes fiction to promote autism understanding and acceptance, including the Aspean series. This week he shared his experience publishing his series and raising two sons on the spectrum.

Autism Interview #46 Part 2: Courtney Johnson on Autism Advocacy

Courtney Johnson is a writer, public speaker, and Chemistry Ph.D Candidate on the autism spectrum. Courtney manages the website AutismAchiever.com, where her goal is to share information she has learned through her varied life experiences to help individuals on the spectrum reach their full potential. Last week Courtney shared some of her personal experiences growing up on the spectrum. This week she discusses her advocacy work and how parents can best advocate for their children.

Autism Interview #46 Part 1: Courtney Johnson on Motivation

Courtney Johnson is a writer, public speaker, and Chemistry Ph.D Candidate on the autism spectrum. Courtney is a professional speaker on topics related to her experience with autism, inspiring her audience to achieve at higher levels. She also manages the website AutismAchiever.com, where her goal is to share information she has learned through her varied life experiences to help individuals on the spectrum reach their full potential. This week Courtney shared some of her personal experiences growing up on the spectrum. Visit us next week to hear her discuss her advocacy work and how parents can best advocate for their children.