Trevor Byrd, teen advocate and Autistic Nonspeaker, reflects on feelings of isolation, self-blame, and dysregulation and the resolve to know and accept himself for who he is outside of the world’s projections.
Details on vigil commemorating the life of Max Benson, and a call for justice in his death by restraint.
Academic journalist Tré Ventour chronicles the experience of masking and code switching through the framework of intersectionality. This must-read
perspective needs to become a living staple of collective consciousness.
Teen nonspeaker Anantha Krishnamurthy compares the treatment of progressive science during the Renaissance era to modern autism science— and it hits hard.
“From picking your afro because the motion is soothing, to twerking and playing with your braids, to repeating that one itch-scratching line in the rap song you love over and over again… It’s the way that you put on lipgloss even though you just put it on three minutes ago because the motion is soothing.”
“Our desire to stim? We use Soca, Bachata, Dancehall, and Salsa as a cover, allowing the rhythm to put out the fire we have in our brains. And thanks to our Caribbean cousins and siblings, we learn how to be style icons.”
After presenting at a conference, Terra Vance was shuffled between small groups of audience members. In one group, a woman was angry Vance had not included information about how hard it is for non-autistics to have autistic parents.
Lauren Melissa Ellzey is multiracial and autistic. She always felt that the world divided her into what was Black or white, autistic or not. She encourages mixed race autistic teens to see and embrace their whole authentic selves.
Jahnavi appeals to young autistic people who know who they are and what it means to be autistic to connect with those lonely souls who need just one person to see them as not being inherently “bad” or “broken.”
The Autistic community is in a cycle of miscommunication. By using the communication framework of Weavers and Concluders, we can move into a more intersectional and progressive community that leaves no one behind.