Disability Discrimination in Social Trends

What do ASMR (or “oddly satisfying”) videos, fidget spinners and cubes, and weighted blankets all have in common? These things were all considered “weird” when disabled and neurodiverse people used and enjoyed them, and were “cool” when neurotypical people popularized them. If you enjoyed “geek culture” in the 1980’s and 1990’s, maybe you were bullied […]

Red Flags of Early Intervention for Autism

After children are given an autism diagnosis, their parents are often recommended early intervention services, such as occupational therapy, speech therapy, and Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). Some of these services can provide benefits for developing neurodivergent minds, such as sensory integration and motor skill acquisition that occupation therapy provides, and speech therapy and communication skills […]

The Ableist History of the Puzzle Piece Symbol for Autism

On World Autism Awareness Day (April 2nd) , many neurotypical people show support and spread “autism awareness” for their autistic family members and friends by displaying the puzzle piece ribbon, wearing puzzle piece pins, and put puzzle piece stickers and decals on their car bumpers and windows. But one question is commonly forgotten; what do […]

Autism Pseudoscience is Disguised as “Activism”

It should go without saying that autism pseudoscience is extremely dangerous and harmful to the autism community. Some autism pseudoscience techniques range from providing essential oils, supplements, or a change of diet to “treat” autism. Others are much more lethal, such as electric shock, ingesting damaging substances, and undergoing chelation (which is used to remove […]

The Male Diagnostic Bias in Autism

One of the favorite and tired stereotypes about autism is that only boys can be autistic, or that girls are not “as autistic” as boys are. Autism was once believed to be exclusively for men, and autistic women would hardly receive a formal diagnosis. Even on websites today, it may state that men are more […]

How Embracing Neurodiversity Helped Me to Find Myself

I am now so proud to say that I accept myself for who I am. But I have not always been able to say that. Growing up as an autistic child at school was difficult, but not always necessarily because of my autism, but mostly because of how others reacted to my autistic behaviors. When […]

The Autism Spectrum is Not Binary

We are beginning to recognize that gender is a social construct, that gender fluid people exist, and that gender is not as binary as we thought it was. Well, autism is not binary, either. When most people think of the autism spectrum, they may think of autism as a linear sliding scale from low functioning […]

Why Autism Awareness Isn’t Enough

With April around the corner, autistic people are preparing for (and dreading) a wave of blue puzzle pieces and a month long celebration of autism “awareness.” It is true that being aware of what autism is, how it presents differently in every autistic person, and what autistic traits and behaviors are, including sensory needs and […]