Otters and horned sea mammals gathered around a laptop at a table in an office.

Contributors

A full list of the contributors to Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism, with short biographies.

andy_matthew422-3196692

Matthew Shumaker and Autism Acceptance Month

Matthew (right) and his brother Andy We’re featuring “Slice of Life” conversations with Autistics of all ages — kids through adults — throughout April’s Autism Acceptance Month. Our goal is to help TPGA readers understand that autistic people are people who have interesting, complicated lives and who are as diverse and varied as any other population united by a label. We are the people in each other’s neighborhoods, and the more we know about each other — the more visible autistic people and children are — the more common autism acceptance will be. That is our hope. Today we’re talking with Matthew Shumaker, a talented gardener whose mother Laura Shumaker is a frequent TPGA contributor.  —- What is your name and age? Matthew Shumaker, 25. Do you have a website? NO. What would you like a one-sentence description of yourself to say?  I am a very nice person. Do you…

Coming Out: Autism in College

Kerry Magro KerryMagro.com Kerry was recently featured in a story that ran in the Orlando Sentinel and the L.A. Times which shared his transition to college life and the skills he gained there as he became a self-advocate. He has since graduated from Seton Hall.                       -The Editors Hello, my name is Kerry Magro and I have autism. I just recently learned about The Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism from a truly outstanding individual, Laura Shumaker, who is a remarkable advocate for those of us who are on the spectrum.  Once I looked at the website, and read some of the essays, I knew I was hooked.  Regardless of what I took from the essays, I wanted to help in any way I possibly could. This gave me the idea of posting one of my own personal works about coming out about being on the spectrum. Below you will find…