Austin Shinn is a self-advocate who has Asperger’s Syndrome; he blogs to fight against the negative stigma people on the spectrum have. In this piece, he briefly discusses how living in a dorm affected and changed his life. You can read his original post on his blog. The subject of advice is always a tricky one.…
Ethan Hirschberg is a teenager who blogs about his autism. In this post, Ethan responds to Michelle, one of his readers who previously asked his opinion on being affectionate. This post was originally posted on his website, The Journey Through Autism. “Ethan, I have a question for you. I have two kids with High Functioning Autism…
Louis Scarantino is a self-advocate for autism. In this post, he provides 10 tips for dating – these tips are geared towards others on the spectrum! This post was originally posted on The Mighty. Nearly everyone with autism has a desire to go on a date sometime. It’s a huge struggle for a lot of…
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…
Christine Christensen is on the autism spectrum and is a self-advocate. In this blog post, she discusses how being diagnosed with autism changed her, and the early warning signs that showed she has autism. This was originally posted on The Mighty. My previous therapist suggested I go in for autism testing. Being nervous about this,…
Erin Clemens is a self-advocate who has Asperger’s Syndrome. In this post, she writes about how Direct Support Services help her attain the skills she needs to live a happy, successful, and independent life. This was originally posted on The Mighty. I’m on the autism spectrum. Sometimes this means I can use my amazing memory…
Rhi, a self-advocate, discusses being on the spectrum and how that relates to motherhood. She writes how motherhood, especially with children on the spectrum, has changed her for the better. This was originally posted on Rhi’s website. NOTE: Rhi prefers to describe people with autism as “autistic people;” OAR prefers to describe people with ASD as…
James Taniguchi is a 2016 OAR Scholarship recipient. This is the second post in his series for OAR’s blog. Last week, I finished my 2nd year of college and would like to reflect on my experiences of trying to find a sense of belonging on campus. Using my socio-communication strategies (explained in my last 2 blog…
Rhi, a self-advocate, discusses being on the spectrum, especially how she differs from other people with autism. Rhi astutely states that the stereotype society has for people with autism is ill-defined and incorrect; she writes this post to illustrate that everyone has different strengths and weaknesses and suggests ways to embrace one’s talents. This was…
James Taniguchi is a 2016 OAR Scholarship recipient. This is the second post in his series for OAR’s blog. In my last post, I explained some of the social and communication challenges that people on the spectrum experience in unstructured conversations. Many of the social approaches I mentioned rely on speaking fluently and understanding what others…
