This post is about the hundreds and thousands of autistic people who are misdiagnosed everyday by psychiatrists, psychologists, and other professionals.
My brother died because of ableism. Because people—including very close family—were terrified to face his neurodivergence, and his disability.
“I have to be realistic about the community that I am nurturing in, and the community for my children and for the parents that I help, as a Black autistic woman.”
I want to help my patients discover what strategies they as individuals can use in order to accomplish what they want and need to do, and I think I’m more likely to be open to supporting my patients in using “atypical” strategies. I’m less likely to suggest goals that are trying to fit a patient to a “reference norm”.
“It’s really important to us that we be a resource for autistic and neurodivergent people directly in a market that’s so inundated with parent-focused resources.”
Why parents of autistic kids need to be cautious and thoughtful about the therapies they consider for their children.
Jenny Mai Phan is an Asian American autistic autism researcher, an Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) member, and the mother of four children, two of whom are autistic.
Too often, people cause the “behaviour” that they blame on “real autism.” And it’s often their own approaches that need changing.
Parents should tell their children they are autistic in ways that help them understand and feel good about who they are.
Dora Raymaker’s new novel revolves around marginalized folks finding their voice and their place in this world—through magical sci-fi lovely weirdness, but still, they find it!