Episode 8: Avoiding Harm for the Holidays
In this episode Jeanne (she/her) shares quotes from autistics about things they wish others understood about being autistic and the holidays, along with suggestions for both autistics and others on ways to reduce stress around issues such as changes to routine, new social environments, different food, and more.
Episode 7: Neurodiversity (and Other Models), Part 1
In this episode Jeanne (she/her) introduces several common ways of viewing disability and differences, including the medical, social, neurodiversity, and deficit models, and highlights the pros and cons of each. The neurodiversity lens holds that neurological differences are a natural part of biodiversity and should not be thought of as inherently inferior to what is considered typical.
Episode 6: Food, Eating, and Autism
In this episode Jeanne (she/her) looks at an autistic’s perspective of eating struggles both through research and personal experience, how this connects to eating disorders, and gives some suggestions for ways to improve autistic eating experiences. She is joined by past guest Gigi (she/her) talking about how texture impacts relationships with food and Katie (they/their) discusses their experiences both with food and treatment for anorexia.
Episode 5: Autistic Communication Part 3: The Double Empathy Problem
A classic diagnostic trait of autism is “deficits in social communication.” However, as past episodes have highlighted, many new studies are showing that this is more a case of autistics and non-autistics struggling to communicate with each other, with both sides failing to interpret differences. By viewing autistic communication through the lens of this double empathy problem rather than as an autistic deficit, and through examining new research highlighting ways in which autistics communicate effectively with each other, non-autistic teachers, therapists, and caregivers can help meet autistics halfway and create more supportive and effective relationships. Jeanne (she/her) speaks with fellow autistics Katie (they/them) and previous guest Amanda (she/her) about their experiences about this disconnect between autistic and non-autistic perspectives.
Resources and Recommendations
AWN provides community, support, and resources for Autistic women, girls, transfeminine and transmasculine nonbinary people, trans people of all genders, Two Spirit people, and all others of marginalized genders. The website includes resources for autistics, parents of autistics, and extensive information about autism, especially from the perspectives of people who are often not included in autistic stereotypes around gender, race, and age.
Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network (AWN)
Autistic Self Advocacy Network
The Autistic Self Advocacy Network is also on both Facebook and Twitter and seeks to advance the principles of the disability rights movement with regard to autism and to organize the autistic community to ensure our voices are heard in the national conversation about us. The website includes a wide array of resources around autistic research, support, and community.
The Autisticats: Three autistic young adults, figuring out life and sharing our experiences as neurodivergent people.
The Black Autist: The Black Autist is a blog where posts are focused on #autismacceptance and issues & news surrounding autistic #peopleofcolor
AutisticSciencePerson: (They/Them), Autistic late-diagnosed grad student in neuroscience.
Kerima (Vaccine Equity) Cevik: Creator of #AutisticWhileBlack, #AutisticAphorism. Blogs & speaks on neurodivergence, race, & facilitating for their high support needs autistic offspring.
