Thriving While Living as a Verbal and Nonverbal Autistic

Below is a guest post written by Tas Kronby. 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. 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 and author the blog tasthoughts.com.

Autism Interview #160, Part Two: Marcelle Ciampi on Learning About and Advocating for Neurodiversity

Image source: The Art of Autism

Marcelle Ciampi M.Ed. (aka Samantha Craft) is an author/advocate best known for her book Everyday Aspergers. She serves as the Ambassador and Senior Manager of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Ultranauts Inc., an engineering firm with a neurodiversity-hiring initiative, where Ciampi is credited for developing an innovative universal design approach for inclusion. She also provides keynotes, workshops, corporate training, consulting, and life coaching for Spectrum Suite. In Part One of her interview, Ciampi discussed how Ultranauts is serving as a model of workplace inclusion and offers advice for advocating for inclusion in the educational setting as well. In Part Two, Ciampi shared a defense of the neurodiversity paradigm as well as resources for families interested in learning more.        

Autism Interview #160, Part One: Marcelle Ciampi on Core Inclusion in the Workplace and School

Image source: The Art of Autism

 Marcelle Ciampi M.Ed. (aka Samantha Craft), a respected Autistic author and worldwide advocate, is best known for her writings found in the well-received book Everyday Aspergers. She serves as the Ambassador and Senior Manager of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Ultranauts Inc., an engineering firm with a neurodiversity-hiring initiative, where Ciampi is credited for developing an innovative universal design approach for inclusion. She also provides keynotes, workshops, corporate training, consulting, and life coaching for Spectrum Suite. In Part One of her two-part interview, Ciampi discussed how Ultranauts is serving as a model of workplace inclusion and offers advice for advocating for inclusion in the educational setting as well.  

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.

7 Reasons Why the Neurodiversity Movement Matters to Parents

neurodiversity for parents

How invested are you in the neurodiversity movement? The societal shift to treat autism (along with a variety of atypical neurological conditions) as a difference rather than a disease has improved autism acceptance, thereby potentially improving the quality of life for individuals on the spectrum. But it would be a mistake to think this movement is only for autistic people. Parents too have several important reasons to embrace neurodiversity.

Autism Interview #47: Frank Ludwig on Autism Appreciation

Frank L. Ludwig is an Irish author of several short stories, plays, essays, and poems. He writes about autism appreciation, among other topics and believes “Autism is not only a natural but an indispensable part of human neurological diversity.” This week Frank shared with us his experience receiving a late diagnosis, and advice on how to not only respect individuals on the spectrum, but learn to appreciate the autism’s presence in society.

Ways to Connect with the Autistic Community

Engaging with individuals on the spectrum should be a foundational part of any parent’s plan to support their autistic child. It’s relatively easy and comfortable to access resources from doctors, therapists, and other parents of children on the spectrum. Communicating with or accessing resources from people who are #actuallyautistic is sometimes, unfortunately, an afterthought; however, there is plenty of information easily available from autistic sources for anyone interested.

Autism Interview #22: Rudy Simone on The International Aspergirl Society

Rudy Simone

Ms. Simone is the author of 6 books, founder and creator of www.Help4aspergers.com, and the founder and President of The International Aspergirl® Society. Credited with coining the term “Aspergirls”, Simone, along with Liane Holliday Willey, helped bring female Aspergers to the forefront of cultural awareness. She created the first “Table of Female AS Traits” now widely used by doctors everywhere to help identify AS in women and girls.

Simone gives presentations and webinars for professional and personal development and is also a composer, musician, recording artist and engineer, and actor. This week Ms. Simone shared with us her perspective on autism, dating, and her work with the International Aspergirl Society.