7 Great Blogs by Autistic Adults

One of ADAPT’s key beliefs is that people are the expert of their own experiences. We advocate to government for a range of autism therapy options because we believe that parents know more about what their kids need than a one size fits all program possibly can – parents have an expertise regarding their children that government officials just can’t attain.

Equally important, if not more so, is listening the expertise of people who are autistic themselves. The following blogs are written by autistic adults and teens, and provide valuable perspectives that we think everyone should be aware of.

Ollibean

Ollibean describes itself as “a dynamic community of parents, families and advocates in the disability community working together for a more socially just, accessible and inclusive world. It does this through a range of strategies, including an online shop, and, of course, a blog. The blog is written by four talented authors:

Judy Endow – an autistic author, artist, and consultant with a Master of Social Work. Judy has also toured to multiple countries to speak on a variety of autism-related topics, and written multiple books, available on her own website (www.judyendow.com).

Henry Frost – an autistic author and advocate for equal education and access. His work in this area began when he was denied entry to a middle school in 2012 due to his disability. He started a campaign at that time called “I Stand With Henry” and worked to challenge the low expectations he was often faced with, eventually winning this battle and excelling in the school he fought to attend.

Amy Sequenzia – a non-speaking Autistic, multiply disabled activist and writer. Amy writes about disability rights, civil rights and human rights, as well as writing poetry. Amy also  serves on the Board of Directors of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN), and the Florida Alliance for Assistive Services and Technology (FAAST).

Lauri Swann Hunt – an advocate committed to inclusion & social justice, proud mother of three wonderful humans, and part of the team that started Ollibean.

Where to Start:

With this many authors with this much experience in writing and advocacy, it is unsurprising that Ollibean is packed full of articles with a range of topics. The best way to get into this blog is probably just to start, but if you’re looking for specific recommendations, the following articles give a taste of each author’s style and focus:

Autism Awareness, Autism Acceptance

My Top Ten

Parents Are You Listening to Your Children?

Six Questions Before Publishing About Children

Neurowonderful

Neurowonderful is the creation of Amythest, who describes herself as an Autistic and multiply disabled writer, artist, public speaker, activist, and advocate. Amythest blogs here, often in response to questions or comments that people have sent to her. She also maintains a YouTube channel called Ask An Autistic. Videos are typically roughly 10 minutes long, and provide clear, detailed and well-explained answers to questions that viewers have asked.

Where To Start:

Ask an Autistic – What is Autism?

Amythest says at the beginning of this clip that she was nervous about this video given the complexity of the topic. She does a fantastic job, however, and it’s well worth a watch.

The Third Glance

E’s blog has a focus that is somewhat more personal than the two we’ve mentioned before. She is an Autistic Woman currently studying for her PhD, and has “a story that wants to be told.” E’s blog hasn’t been updated since 2015, but there is a gold mine of old posts that is well worth looking through.

Where to Start:

The Third Glance

E highlights this post and, of course, pulls the name of her blog from the ideas she describes there. It’s a short post, but it’s challenging and hopeful at the same time.

Posts I’m Most Proud Of

A list of posts that E thinks are most worth checking out. A wide range of topics that will get you started on the rest of the blog’s content.

Ido In Autism Land

Ido describes himself as “an autistic guy with a message.” After spending the first half of his life unable to communicate, he has focussed on spending the rest of it on “becoming a free soul.” Ido communicates by typing on an iPad or letter board, and through this communication has been able to publish a book that tells the story of his symptoms, education, and journey into communication. His hope through this blog is to help other autistic people find a way out of their silence too, but his posts also go a long way to re-educating people about their faulty assumptions.

Where to Start

Picking one post from this blog is challenging. Ido covers a wide range of topics, and conveys a number of important messages through those topics. For a blog like this, the best process is probably to start at his most recent post and explore from there. If this feels overwhelming, it might be helpful to use the Categories list that runs down the right side of his page.

Musings of an Aspie

Cynthia Kim discovered she has Asperger’s Syndrome when she was 42 years old. At the time she began blogging anonymously, sharing her perspectives on a variety of issues. Cynthia now blogs publicly and has had her writing featured in various other places too. Some of Cynthia’s key topics (though not her only ones) are Adult Diagnosis, Marriage to a Neurotypical spouse, Parenting, Executive Function, Self-Employment and Sensory Processing.

Where to Start

As mentioned, Cynthia has posted a lot of content. The key topics mentioned can be found at the following links:

Adult Diagnosis

Asperger’s and Marriage

Asperger’s and Motherhood

Executive Function

Self Employment

Sensory Processing

Look Me In the Eye

John Elder Robison is a guy who grew up in the 1960s before the Asperger diagnosis came into common use. He knew he was different, but he didn’t know why. John is very active in his efforts to support and promote research leading to therapies or treatments that will improve the lives of people who live with autism in all its forms today. He’s widely known as an advocate for people with autism and neurological differences, and has written some of the most widely read stories of growing up on the autism spectrum and living with Asperger’s syndrome.

Where To Start: 

Autism – What Is It?

I Resign My Role at Autism Speaks

 

We hope this post has introduced you to some new resources, or reminded you of some old friends. Whatever stage you and your children are at now, the words of autistic individuals can offer insights and perspectives that you may not have otherwise considered! And if you know a great blog to recommend, please, let us know via the comment section!

 

 

3 comments

  • Awesome content dear keep on posting

  • I’m impressed, I must say. Seldom do I come across a blog that’s equally educative and engaging, and without a
    doubt, you’ve hit the nail on the head. The issue is
    an issue that too few folks are speaking intelligently about.
    I am very happy I stumbled across this during my search for something concerning this.

  • marinus lutz

    Hi-
    I’m an old autist in Vancouver, seeking a venue for a collection of observations, mostly on culture, psychology etc., but also on autism. Thanks for your time.
    Hang loose but don’t fall off.
    Marinus

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