empathy Archives - Learn From Autistics

Autism Interview #163 Part 2: Kristen Hovet on Identifying Autism in Young Girls, Stereotyping, and Microaggressions

March 23, 2021JennaInterviews

Kristen Hovet is a science writer and research communications specialist, covering health research and innovation. After being diagnosed with autism at the age of 38, she set out to create a platform, The Other Autism, to speak about late diagnosis in females and on the positive sides of being autistic. In Part One of her interview, Kristen shared her long path to obtaining an autism diagnosis and explained the more subtle ways autism can manifest both in herself and many other Autistic people. In Part Two she shares indicators for identifying autism in young girls as well as some common stereotypes about autism in women.

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Autism Interview #67: RoAnna Sylver on Writing Neurodivergent Characters

March 17, 2018JennaInterviews

RoAnna Sylver is passionate about stories that give hope, healing and even fun for LGBT, disabled and other marginalized people, and thinks we need a lot more. Aside from writing oddly optimistic dystopia books, RoAnna is an autistic blogger, artist, singer, and voice actor. This week RoAnna discussed her passion for creating neurodivergent characters in her writing.

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Understanding Autism: 10 Reasons Why You Should Prioritize Autistic People in the Conversation About Autism

April 25, 2017JennaAutism Acceptance

You’ll find several mentions on this website about the importance of prioritizing autistic individuals in the conversation about autism. But, like anyone, not all autistic people think and believe the same things, so why is this consultation useful? Is it necessary? Is it enough to steadfastly follow the advice of your child’s doctors and therapists? If you think this is enough, you’ll be missing the best piece of the picture to understanding autism (Notice I’m deliberately not using a puzzle piece analogy here for reasons described in this post.). And while it’s important for people to understand that people on spectrum do NOT exist solely to educate others about autism, there are nevertheless numerous autistics willing to share their knowledge in the hopes of better informing families and society about autism (and some make their living doing so). They write and speak regularly about their experiences.

Below are 10 reasons why you should engage with autistic individuals and include them in the conversation about autism (identifying symptoms, useful therapies, supports, describing personal experiences, and how it should be addressed in society).

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Parent Interview: “It’s Not About Turning Him Into Someone Else.” Jim Hines on Supporting His Autistic Son

March 7, 2017JennaInterviews, Practical Parenting

Jim C. Hines is the author of twelve fantasy novels, including the Magic ex Libris series, the Princess series of fairy tale retellings, the humorous Goblin Quest trilogy, and the Fable Legends tie-in Blood of Heroes. He’s an active blogger, and won the 2012 Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer. This week he shared his experience as a parent of an 11-year-old on the autism spectrum.Jim reveals some of the ways he has learned to help his son develop his own unique identity.

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Autism Interview #10: Chris Bonnello on Understanding Different Perspectives

March 15, 2016JennaInterviews

Chris Bonnello is a public speaker and writer with Asperger’s syndrome from Great Britain. He formerly taught primary school in Britain where he worked in special education classes with children on all areas of the spectrum. Chris currently blogs at autisticnotweird.com where he writes to raise awareness about the needs of people on the spectrum and offer guidance to those “trying to navigate their way through life with autism.” He is also working on his MA in Creative Writing.

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