alexbippiclarge-3891508

Autism Acceptance Month 2014: Ally Grace

This month we’re asking our autistic community members What Do You Want? What Do You Need? We’re featuring their answers all April long, right here. Today we’re having a conversation with Ally Grace. Please read, listen, and share. A bit about me: I am an autistic woman, and I live in a household full of autistics. My partner, Bart, and my four children, are also autistic. We live in Australia. I love to read and write, and I am a proponent of radical parenting reform and radical education evaluation; especially in regards to autistic children. I have a strong belief in the abilities of all children and adults to be highly motivated and ethical beings, and I dream of a day when more trust is put into our autistic children and adults. My own children are raised without the use of Behaviourism, and without coerced learning. I have an interest…

Autism Acceptance Month 2014: Star Ford: Specificity

This month we’re asking our autistic community members What Do You Want? What Do You Need? We’re featuring their answers all April long, right here. Today we’re having a conversation with engineer Star Ford, whom we spoke with earlier this month about the Ocate Cliffs project. Please read, listen, and share. There’s a lot of stuff out there aimed at or against autistic people — therapies and services — but there is a big disconnect between that and what we really need. The industry churns by its own internal incentives and since we’re generally not paying, we’re not driving — usually not even asked. I think most of us can feel what we don’t like, when an intervention is done to us, and many can also articulate what we don’t like. But fewer people can articulate why we don’t like it, and almost no one can articulate the alternatives. I’ve…

img_01273_1-4248429

Autism Acceptance Month 2014: Nick Mediati

This month we’re asking our autistic community members What Do You Want? What Do You Need? We’re featuring their answers all April long, right here. Today we’re having a conversation with technology journalist Nick Mediati. Please read, listen, and share. What are some things you like people to know about you? I’m a freelance editor and writer based in the San Francisco Bay Area, focused primarily on technology journalism. I’m a fairly new member of the autism community, having received an official diagnosis last December, but my discovery process was years in the making. I first learned about Asperger Syndrome when I was in college, and it instantly resonated with me.But at the same time, I remember thinking, “That isn’t really me, is it?” But as I learned more about autism beyond the Wikipedia entry, and learned about all the different ways it can manifest itself, the more I realized…

chessboard-2343013

Autism Acceptance Month 2014: TH

This month we’re asking our autistic community members What Do You Want? What Do You Need? We’re featuring their answers all April long, right here. Today we’re having a conversation with TH, age 12. Please read, listen, and share. What are some things you like people to know about you? I am shy, so nothing. What are some things that make you happy? Why? Chess and Minecraft. Because they are fun games in my opinion. What are some things you avoid whenever possible? Why? People that I do not know, because I am very shy as you may have already noticed. What features does your ideal living space have, and why? I am not entirely sure, but I like the couch that I am on and the laptop I have. What are your favorite books, movies, and/or TV shows? I like Spongebob Squarepants, the Star Wars franchise, the Indiana Jones…

robotm-8873336

Autism Acceptance Month 2014: M. Kelter

This month we’re asking our autistic community members What Do You Want? What Do You Need? We’re featuring their answers all April long, right here. Today we’re having a conversation with writer M. Kelter, who blogs at The Invisible Strings (theinvisiblestrings.com). Please read, listen, and share.  What are some things you like people to know about you? Life is easier when people know my conversational strengths and weaknesses. When I’m around people who know that I generally lack body language … that I may not make great eye contact … and when those people are okay with it, life is good. Other people can misinterpret these traits to mean I’m not listening or not interested in what they are saying, which leads to awkwardness and/or hurt feelings, which is not what I want; so generally I like for people to both know and understand my interaction style. Basically, when that…

img_0770-9250424

Autism Acceptance Month 2014: Jason Ross

This month we’re asking our autistic community members What Do You Want? What Do You Need? We’re featuring their answers all April long, right here. Today we’re having a conversation with Jason Ross, a self-advocate who thrives on empowering others. Please read, listen, and share. What are some things you like people to know about you? I run Self-Advocacy/Empowerment meetings part-time, helping many people who are autistic, have developmental disabilities, ID, or mental health issues. These people who are residents and day habilitation consumers in New York City feel that they have a voice and the same real choices that everyone else has. I create presentations every week, and curriculum that I try to get everyone to follow to help create a sense of worthiness for everyone. Empowering others really empowers not only them, but myself as well. I also run the Adaptations Facebook page for the JCC in Manhattan…

photomattfriedman-5385356

Autism Acceptance Month 2014: Matt Friedman

This month we’re asking our autistic community members What Do You Want? What Do You Need? We’re featuring their answers all April long, right here. Today we’re having a conversation with Autistic artist Matt Friedman. Please read, listen, and share. What are some things you like people to know about you? I self-identify as autistic, and am happy to remain so. I work as a grant writer for a national nonprofit organization serving children in poverty. Besides raising funds, I also record and categorize all donations we receive. It’s a role that’s well-suited for my systematic mind. My employer knows I am autistic and lets me know how much my talents are appreciated. Superficially, people would describe me as quiet, polite, and intensely private. Those who care to look beneath the surface have an inkling of my strong convictions, passions, and irreverence. Peer pressure is nonexistent for me. I prefer…

nick_sensei-2498304

Autism Acceptance Month 2014: Nick Walker

This month we’re asking our autistic community members What Do You Want? What Do You Need? We’re featuring their answers all April long, right here. Today we’re having a conversation with Autistic scholar, educator, and aikido teacher Nick Walker. Please read, listen, and share. What are some things you like people to know about you? Generally, the first thing I like people to know about me is that my wife and I run a lovely aikido dojo called Aikido Shusekai, in Berkeley, California, with a very sweet and friendly bunch of students. I like people to know this about me because my wife has pointed out to me that the more people know about the dojo, the more likely it is that potential aikido students will hear about us and come train with us. This makes sense to me. My wife is wise. Also beautiful. I like people to know…

tomstratton-5483204

Autism Acceptance Month 2014: Tom Stratton

This month we’re asking our autistic community members What Do You Want? What Do You Need? We’re featuring their answers all April long, right here. Today we’re having a conversation with high school student Tom Stratton. Please read, listen, and share. What are some things you like people to know about you? I try to enjoy things and see everything from the brighter side. When I like something, like a topic or a hobby, I love it and when I talk about it or do it, I reach a level of happiness that is amazing. People tend to see me as a laid back type B person and a joker, mostly because I tend to joke around in school and with my friends. I like to be the center of attention and I’ve learned that by making people laugh is the best way to stand out. But I’m actually more…

jeanandjack-4818789

Autism Acceptance Month 2014: Jack and Jean

This month we’re asking our autistic community members What Do You Want? What Do You Need? We’re featuring their answers all April long, right here. Today we’re having a conversation with autistic parent advocate Jean Winegardner and her autistic son Jack. Please read, listen, and share. Note from Jean: “I told Jack (he’s almost 11 years old) about Autism Acceptance Month and explained that some people wanted me to interview him about his autism to publish on a website. He was totally on board and even went so far as to dictating the punctuation I typed as he answered. In case you couldn’t figure it out, he’s super into cats these days.” What are some things you like people to know about you? I love cats. And I think they are cute. What are some things that make you happy? Well, I was thinking about kittens and they make me…