Autism Stories

"That's kind of where I stepped in with, yes, if I want to help people to improve their quality of life, I need to understand what quality of life looks like for autistic people", says Becca Lory Hector. Becca makes her return to Autism Stories to discuss the research from her and her team  regarding quality of life for autistic people.  To learn more about Becca and her research visit https://beccalory.com/publicatio...

"I think that's one of the things that's helped me [...], writing about it, right. Writing about these characters that are not afraid to advocate for themselves. [...] And think about how can I be more like my main character?", says DeAndra Davis. DeAndra joins this episode to talk about her new book All the Noise at once.  In this compelling, moving story about brotherhood, identity, and social justice, a Black, ...

"It was actually fascinating because going into [The Traitors], I thought the missions would be the thing that I would like the least. [...] But the missions for me in my season were actually great and really exciting because there was always an element of strategy involved in the sense that you could make choices to further your own game in our mission", says Dan Bird. Dan joins this episode to discuss The Traitors and h...

"That diagnosis when I got it, just really floored me, because I've always been verbal, very verbal, and I'm very outgoing, [...] I just have always been what I am, and things just didn't work out right, and I just kept trying", says Marilyn Roy. Marilyn joins this episode to discuss being diagnosed with autism in her sixties.

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""The services [Autistic Black Coders] are going to be providing is that it's going to be a business service that is providing people in the black community that are going to be [...] getting into tech and learning the software engineering side to become a full stack developer eventually", says Oluwaseye Ogunfidodo. Oluwaseye joins this episode to discuss founding Autistic Black Coders. To learn more about Oluwas...

"One of the rules is that you don't discuss certain topics in public. And those topics include things like sex and body parts. So it can be hard to overcome that taboo and realize that a sexual or reproductive health appointment is exactly the appropriate place to discuss these topics", says Stephanie. Stephanie joins this episode of Autism Stories to discuss supporting patients with their sexual and reproductive heal...

"In the film [Sensory Overload],  it's based on the premise that 20% of the population has significantly higher sensory processing than everyone else, it's a large proportion of people", says Burnett Grant. Bernard and Burnett return to Autism Stories to discuss their involvement in the documentary Sensory Overload coming to Hulu this week. To learn more about Sensory Overload visit https://www.vox.com/ad/396458/s...

"We're still paying [airline] customers, [...] I feel like wheelchair users or people that use mobility aids should still be treated like human beings and seen as valuable as just any other person that is using a service", says Jay Manuel. Jay joins this episode to discuss traveling with mobility aids and his tv show that will be coming to the tv channel  TLC. To learn more about Jay visit https://www.instagram.com/mi...

"A place where we spend a lot of time is in front of our laptops, computers and phones, and in many cases those spaces aren't very calming because the colors and other things on websites can be very overwhelming. So [the] calmspaces.org website looks to address this", says Marion Hersh. Marion joins this episode to discuss the creation of the calm spaces website and important research for autistic people. To learn mor...

"Many leaders are fearful of coming out, so to speak, with being neurodistinct. That's unfortunate. There is a popular statistic that 20, 25% of Fortune 500 CEOs identify as neurodivergent or specifically dyslexic, but they only talk about that in private circles", says Grant Harris. Grant joins this episode to discuss his work as a certified diversity executive  and the way in which he works that best suits his brain...

"Autism is my divinity, so I am grateful to my mind for being different. I am grateful to my parents for being my support system. Gratitude is my attitude. Always be grateful for this life because this life was lived once", says Navneet Kulkarni. Navneet and Padma Jyothi join this episode to discuss Indian non-speaking autistics and the power of gratitude. To learn more and purchase Talking Fingers books visit https://www...

""I was the drawing kid, I was the art kid always. And it was part of my regulation is just to draw, and I would get in trouble all the time in school for drawing when actually I could think and hear and understand and learn better if I was actually drawing" says Kaz Windness. Kaz joins this episode to discuss heir children's book that includes multiple autistic characters. To learn more about Kaz and their books...

""Basically, preventing dysregulation is the biggest lever that we can push to improve the medical and behavioral health. So anything we can do to [...] give [people] a little bit more capacity, a little bit more room to act, take any kind of that cognitive or sensory load off can be really helpful", says Dr. Shannan Palma. Shannan returns to Autism Stories to discuss an app that her organization created to help...

"What is your responsibility to your community? [...] One thing I often say is you have the right to ask for help and the duty to assist when possible. I think that really creates what this whole program is for", says Percy De La Luna. Percy joins this episode to discuss a volunteer program he created for adolescents and  teens as well as  the intersection of being indigenous and autistic. To learn more about Percy visit https://ww...

"I think the first thing people need to remember is that their experiences aren't one size fits all. The autistic community is incredibly diverse. So just because someone's experience is different than yours doesn't make it good, bad or less than", says Charlotte Bachelor. Charlotte joins this episode to discuss the impact of storytelling  and how comic con has been a healing experience. to learn more about Charlotte visit https://...

"I co-wrote the opera with my partner Zane, who wrote the words. And it was very important to both of us that we both capture my experience as an autistic adult [...], but also to create an opera that embraces this idea that no matter who we are [...], exactly who we are, is enough," says Amy Scurria . Amy joins this episode to discuss being an opera singer and how music has helped her to communicate and develop community. To learn...

"Within the drag community I just see [people] struggling to be themselves and they're too worried about what everyone else thinks of them, which is why I create spaces so people can know that they are loved and can just let go and be themselves on stage and perform", says Rachel Caton. Rachel joins this episode to discuss  being a drag show performer and organizer. We also discuss Rachels experience as a licensed cosmetologist and...

"Tone tags have taught me the importance of advocating for my needs, while also accepting that not everyone will understand or accommodate them. When people do respect that request though, it makes communication so much easier and less anxiety inducing for me," says Mykie Mubarak. Mykie joins this episode to discuss how being Arab impacts their autistic experience,  competitive gaming, and  tone tags. To learn more about Mykie visi...

"Maybe I could say I'm autistic out loud at a meeting at work. So I'm finding that as I stand up and talk about autism a lot of people at work are reaching out to me discreetly saying, hey I don't want anybody to know this, but you know what should I do here, so just being visible as simple as that sounds can be big," says David Gunter. David joins this episode to discuss disclosing his autism in the workplace and what he is doing ...