The Grace to Grow

Life can be A LOT. The whirlwind of daily expectations from others or ourselves can be overwhelming at times. As I’ve grown older, I’ve been better able to appreciate how complex managing a growing family truly is and give myself the grace to not be perfect. We are all faced with situations that smack us…

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 #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.