Autism Acceptance Month 2014: Matt Friedman

April 23, 2014January 31, 2022 by Shannon Des Roches Rosa

This month we’re asking our autistic community members What Do You Want? What Do You Need? We’re featuring their answers all April long, right here. Today we’re having a conversation with Autistic artist Matt Friedman. Please read, listen, and share. What are some things you like people to know about you? I self-identify as autistic, and am happy to remain so. I work as a grant writer for a national nonprofit organization serving children in poverty. Besides raising funds, I also record and categorize all donations we receive. It’s a role that’s well-suited for my systematic mind. My employer knows I am autistic and lets me know how much my talents are appreciated. Superficially, people would describe me as quiet, polite, and intensely private. Those who care to look beneath the surface have an inkling of my strong convictions, passions, and irreverence. Peer pressure is nonexistent for me. I prefer…

Disability

Have You Seen Flummox and Friends Yet?

January 25, 2013January 31, 2022 by Shannon Des Roches Rosa

Shannon Des Roches Rosa www.squidalicious.com Have you seen the pilot episode of Flummox and Friends yet? Or — back up — did you hear that Christa Dahlstrom created a show just for quirky kids and the people who love (and/or identify with) them? Here’s how Christa described the show in a recent BlogHer interview: “Flummox and Friends is a live-action comedy for quirky kids about navigating the social and emotional world. We’ve just released a pilot episode that anyone can watch for free online. The main characters are a trio of inventors and their next door neighbors. We think of it as The Big Bang Theory meets Pee Wee’s Playhouse. “The show is targeted at kids aged 6-11, especially those who struggle with the unspoken rules of social interaction. We see it as a show that parents and kids can enjoy watching together and that education professionals can use support…

Disability

Matt Friedman and Autism Acceptance Month

April 10, 2012January 31, 2022 by Shannon Des Roches Rosa

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 Matt Friedman, whom some of you may know as the irreverent comic artist behind the blog Dude, I’m an Aspie. What is your name? Matt Friedman. Do you have a website? www.dudeimanaspie.com What would you like a one-sentence description of yourself to say? I’m a self-identified autistic who is the cartoonist and writer of Dude,…