Sarah is a writer and and full-time working mom. She blogs at To Aspie or Not to Aspie on a variety of autism-related topics. This week she shared her journey to discovering her Autistic identity and how she has learned to self advocate.
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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.
…Happy Thanksgiving to all those who celebrate this week. I hope your holiday is safe, healthy, rewarding, and warm. This Thanksgiving I’m especially thankful for family, friends, and that my husband has had a stable income throughout the pandemic. I’m also thankful for Autistic writers who are -open to sharing their personal experiences -willing to…
Lydia Wilkins is a freelance journalist based in the UK. She has written for publications including The Independent, Readers Digest, The Metro, Refinery 29, and others. She also documents life with Aspergers Syndrome, over at her blog Mademoiselle Women. Here she regularly interviews people such as Anastacia, journalist Paul Conroy, and others, as well as discussing topics such as interoception. This week she discusses Autism acceptance and offers some advocacy tips for parents.
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James Sinclair is a marketer and autism advocacy blogger from the UK. He is the founder of the popular website Autistic & Unapologetic where he shares his exploration of what it means to be autistic and reframes the autism advocacy narrative to emphasize understanding and acceptance. He also tweets @AutismRevised and manages the Autistic & Unapologetic page on Facebook. This week he shared his personal experience developing an autistic identity, the wonderful supports provided by his family and fiancée, and stressed the importance of understanding the needs of the individual in any autism advocacy efforts.
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J.R. Reed is a late-diagnosed autistic blogger and advocate. J.R. currently co-hosts the podcast Not Weird, Just Autistic with fellow advocate Shannon Hughes where their goal is to promote autism acceptance by removing the barriers – practical, ideological, legal, and social – that marginalize and isolate those with autism. This week he shared some of the different facets of his advocacy work.
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Connor Ward is a speaker, consultant, and vlogger. His popular YouTube channel features autistic expertise on a variety of topics and promotes autism acceptance and understanding. This week Connor discussed some of his advocacy efforts, how he uses technology to manage anxiety, and his recent experience in the hospital following a car accident.
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Professor Sandra Jones is an autistic mother of two autistic sons and Pro Vice-Chancellor (Engagement) at Australian Catholic University. She has studied autistic adolescent development, the impact of diagnostic labels, and the development and evaluation of social support and peer support programs.
Last week, she shared her experience obtaining a late diagnosis and how she is raising her sons to achieve a positive self-image. This week Professor Jones discussed the casual misuse of autism as a slur, her path to employment in higher education, and leading a more peaceful advocacy movement.
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Dr. Natalie Engelbrecht is a late-diagnosed, registered psychotherapist practicing for over twenty-five years who has a passion for helping individuals with autism reach their potential. She blogs at Embrace ASD on a variety of autism topics, including the latest autism research. This week she discussed her professional background with helping others on the spectrum (including those who are diagnosed later in life), her surprising diagnosis, and how she assesses the latest autism research.
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I am pleased to announce this is the 100th interview on the Learn From Autistics site! I’m especially excited to introduce Julia Bascom, Executive Director of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network. Julia is a leading voice in autistic self-advocacy and currently serves on the Centene National Disability Advisory Council, the advisory board of Felicity House, the board of the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities, and the board of Allies For Independence. Julia is also the editor of Loud Hands: Autistic People, Speaking, an anthology of writings by autistic people. This week Julia discussed autistic identity, autistic representation, and how The Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) advocates for all autistic individuals.
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