Thinking upon three autistics, my middle son (age 20), my adult partner, and myself, I came up with this list of eight suggestions for more effectively interacting with our loved ones, friends, and colleagues: Having predictability in my day. I do best when I know what to expect. I don’t like surprises of any sort; not…
I was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome when I was a freshman at an arts-based school for students with learning differences, but I was not told about that diagnosis until I was a junior. The same year that I was diagnosed, my mom died of melanoma. She was only in her 50s. It was challenging to…
Change. Every military family will experience it at some point in time when they choose to serve. In fact, it seems to be the only thing a military family can count on as the service member changes positions and moves to another installation. When I sense the edginess and anxiety in the faces of our…
Watching teenagers flirt can be cringe-inducing for any adult. But when the youth in question are on the spectrum, sometimes it can be all the more challenging to figure out whether—or how—to run interference. Take the case of Nina,* a 15 year-old girl who joined a recreational program for youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).…
I co-founded the Academic Autism Spectrum Partnership in Research and Education (AASPIRE) with my friend and colleague, Dr. Christina Nicolaidis, in 2006. At that time, including a majority of autistic adults as co-researchers on the team and conducting autism research with autistic participants as self-reporters were such radical ideas that a grant reviewer told us…
In April, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention upped its estimate of autism prevalence in children from 1 in 68 to 1 in 59. That is an alarming number. In our family, however, it is even higher. Of my wife’s and my four grandchildren, two — twin granddaughters — were diagnosed on the autism…
Many people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) face a dilemma in the workplace: being treated differently by their neurotypical coworkers. Some describe being treated with kid gloves, as if they are powder kegs that could go off at any moment. Others describe their coworkers looking at them with unwarranted levels of pity, as if their…
One might assume that college wouldn’t be on the radar for someone on the autism spectrum. However, I believe that my autism helped me to be successful in college. Without it, I would not have received the social skills therapy that helped me hone my coping skills and enhanced my self-discovery and self-advocacy. By high…
When an acquaintance from my childhood showed up on my Facebook Messenger app, I gave her the benefit of the doubt, despite the fact that back then she had never gone out of her way to treat me with kindness. Now that we were in our thirties, I thought it would be hypocritical to judge…
The next time you’re at the grocery store, spend a few extra minutes in the bread aisle and take note of the seemingly infinite selection. As kids some 50 years ago, our choices were pretty limited: white, cinnamon raisin, rye, and wheat. Each had its own special appeal. White smothered with peanut butter and jelly…
