Autism Interview Part 2: Lucas Ksenhuk on Bullying and Telling His Story

Interviews

“I believe Autistic people should be valued more than we are and to be taken seriously as experts on autism.” -Lucas Ksenhuk

Lucas Ksenhuk is an 18-year-old Autistic artist from Brazil. Lucas believes his art can help people and sees it as a way to transform his own life and that of others, bringing independence and recognition to the spectrum. In the feature interview last week, Lucas discussed his life experience being autistic and how he became a recognized visual artist.

Below is a transcript of a recent follow-up Zoom call I had with Lucas Ksenhuk and his mother Tatiana Ksenhuk. Also in attendance were Nereide Santa Rosa, author and owner of Underline Publishing (who published Lucas’ new book A Real Story Created with Colorful Lines), and Isabel Flores who translated between English and Portugese for the call. The transcript has been edited for clarity and approved by all parties.

In our meeting, Lucas and his mother discussed the creation of his new book and shared some specific experiences he had with bullying in school. Lucas hopes that the sharing of his experiences might be instructive to others on the spectrum and their families.

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Autism Interview #144 Part 1: Lucas Ksenhuk on Art and Autism Acceptance

Interviews

Lucas Ksenhuk is an 18-year-old Autistic artist from Brazil. He has an unmistakable style that has been the talk of many street art exhibitions in São Paulo, such as Egg Parade, Cow Parade, and Elephant Parade, Football Parade, Ear Parade, and Vitruvian Parade. Lucas believes his art can help people and sees it as a way to transform his own life and that of others, bringing independence and recognition to the spectrum. Lucas’ recently released book with Underline Publishing, A Real Story Created With Colorful Lines, tells his story of a young autistic man who overcame his difficulties through art and is illustrated with images of his work. He discusses his life experience being autistic and how he became a recognized visual artist.

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Autism Interview #143: Tracey Cohen on Her ‘Up Close and Personal’ New Book

Autism Acceptance, Interviews
Photo credit: Martin Wooledge Photography

Tracey Cohen is an experienced ultrarunner, author, and speaker, and has competed in thousands of races around the world. She was featured on this blog last year discussing some of her experiences growing up undiagnosed, her current advocacy work, and her love of running. Tracey was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome at the age of 39 and speaks regularly about autism to school groups and at conferences. She is the author of several books, including Six-Word Lessons on Female Asperger Syndrome, Six-Word Lessons on the Sport of Running, and the recently-released My Life on the Autism Spectrum: Misunderstandings, Insight & Growth. This week she shared how she’s been surviving the pandemic and the unique, personal nature of her new book.

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Autism Interview #141: Tara Campbell on Parenting, Ableism, and Autism Advocacy

Interviews, Practical Parenting

Tara L. Campbell is a speculative fiction and creative nonfiction science writer with a professional background in technology. She enjoys writing at the intersection of science, technology, and disability. Stories about overlooked or misunderstood people and concepts are key aspects in her work. This week Tara shared her experiences as an Autistic advocate and parenting…

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Autism Interview #139 Part 2: Rakshita Shekhar on Self-Diagnosis and Privilege

Interviews

Rakshita Shekhar is a self-diagnosed teacher of Autistic students in India. Last week she shared her professional background and her journey to figuring out her real passions despite continued failure to obtain an autism diagnosis from medical professionals. This week she explores self-diagnosis, how diagnosis is reserved for a privileged few, and how she has connected with the Autistic community for support.

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Autism Interview #139 Part 1: Rakshita Shekhar on Misdiagnosis and Finding Her Way

Interviews

Rakshita Shekhar is a self-diagnosed teacher of Autistic students in India. She holds a master’s degree in intellectual and developmental disabilities from University of Kent, UK, and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Bangalore, India. She has over 10 years of experience facilitating learning for children and adults, across socio-economic categories and support needs, and currently teaches autistic students with a focus on developing their self and social identity. She has presented research on inclusive education in national and international forums. This is the first part of her two-part interview on self-diagnosis. This week she shared her professional background and her journey to figuring out her real passions despite continued failure to obtain an autism diagnosis from medical professionals.

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Autism Interview #138: Faith Douglas on the College Transition and Inclusive Theatre

Interviews

Faith Douglas is a rising junior at Northwestern University. They study Theatre and are waiting until the very last second to formally declare their second major. Outside of school and their duties as Research Chair for Seesaw Theatre company, they act, write, and play more video games than they probably should. This week Faith discussed their transition to college life as well as their theatre work creating multi-sensory performances for otherwise disabled audiences.

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Autism Interview #137: Alicia Trautwein on The Mom Kind

Interviews

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).

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