Articles and Blogs

Blogs

• Danny with Words by Danny Whitty, Nonspeaking Autistic Writer & Advocate.  https://dannywithwords.com/ 
  
  
• Neuroclastic.  https://neuroclastic.com/ 
  
  
• The Autism Wars by Mrs. Kerima Çevik https://theautismwars.blogspot.com/ 
  
  
• Nonspeaking Autistic Speaking – Amy Sequenzia https://nonspeakingautisticspeaking.blogspot.com 
  
  
• Unstrange Mind by Maxfield Sparrow.  https://unstrangemind.com/ 
  
  
• Stop ABA, Support Autistics. Advocating for Better Treatment of Autistic Individuals https://stopabasupportautistics.home.blog/ 
  
  
• Judy Endow blog - includes a new 8-part series, Autism and the Sensory System http://www.judyendow.com/blog/blog-list/ 
  
  
• We Are Like Your Child – “WALYC is a group blog dedicated to countering the misunderstanding that autism/disability acceptance means pretending that our struggles and challenges aren’t real or significant. This is where we talk about what our real challenges are, and how we strategize, problem solve, adapt, and work with them to build satisfying, sustainable lives as disabled people.” http://wearelikeyourchild.blogspot.com/
  
  
• Amy Sequenzia – Nonspeaking Autistic Speaking.  “This blog is to provide links to my articles published in my two homes, Ollibean and Autism Women's Network, and guest posts in other sites.”  https://nonspeakingautisticspeaking.blogspot.com/ 

Magazines

• Leo in Bloom Magazine - AS WE BLOOM IN WORDS.  Editors:  Danny K. Whitty, Nick Pentzell, and Tara Sayuri Whitty. FREE.  https://leoinbloom.com/

Newsletters

• The Communicator.  Newsletter by AutCom – The Autism National Committee.  https://autcom.org/newsletters/ 
  
  
• The Listening World:  Dispatches from our neurodiverse future. By Unrestricted Interest. https://thelisteningworld.substack.com/p/the-listening-world 

Videos

Autism

• BEING AUTISTIC: An Interview with Emma Van der Klift https://www.broadreachtraining.com/being-autistic-an-interview-with-emma-van-der-klift 
  
  
• The Beautiful Colors of Jeremy Sicile-Kira (Short documentary from 2021; captioned; 9:55)
  “I do my art to help people understand the beauty around them….
  I communicate through my nice paintings. . . . Green, the calm grounded feeling my wonderful career as an artist gives me.”
  – Jeremy. A version of this documentary was shown on PBS on 1/9/2023; the artist prefers this longer, fine cut. 
  https://www.pbs.org/video/beautiful-colors-of-jeremysicile-kira 
  
  
• The Reason I Jump - Sundance, 2020.
  “An immersive cinematic experience of nonspeaking autistic people across the world, The Reason I Jump is based on a book written by Naoki Higashida when he was just 13. The film follows a young Japanese boy on a journey through an epic landscape. As a maelstrom of thoughts, feelings, impulses, and memories affects his every action, he gradually discovers what his autism means to him, how his perception of the world differs from others’, and why he acts the way he does—the reason he jumps.”
  https://www.sundance.org/projects/the-reason-i-jump  
  
  
• Treasure All: Peyton Goddard and Autism. An experimental animated film in a vertical format about growing up with autism, through the eyes and words of Peyton Goddard.
  “Treasure all, because great is each.” (2:59)
  https://leirighfilms.com/titles/treasure-all 
  
  
• Understanding Sensory-Motor Differences and the Impact of Neurological “Noise” in Autism with Dr. Dana Johnson, PhD, MS, OTR/L, Dr. ElizabethTorres, Ph.D., and Jen Schonger, New Jersey Autism Center for Excellence (2 hours; captioned)
  https://youtu.be/snJNZrvTdLg 

Communication

• Communication First video channel on YouTube  https://www.youtube.com/@CommunicationFirst 
  
  
• Conversations that Matter.  An engaging online video library of interviews with the Leading Voices in Community Living and Disability Rights  (subscription fee) https://conversationsthatmatter.org/ 
  
  
• In My Language by Mel Baggs. (2007) (8:36; captioned). https://youtu.be/JnylM1hI2jc  
  
  
• LEARN FROM US, a 3 minute version of the film LISTEN, from CommunicationFIRST, with the restraint scene removed. https://youtu.be/ooKVxwVt8iI 
  
  
• SPELLERS (the movie):
  “Inspired by the book Underestimated, the new full-length documentary SPELLERS challenges conventional wisdom regarding a group relegated to society’s margins: nonspeakers with autism, who most ‘experts’ believe are cognitively disabled.”
  See the website for updates on when and where to watch it. https://spellersthemovie.com/
  
  
• This Is Not About Me: A story about growing up nonspeaking. Film by Marco Niemeijer. This documentary focuses on Jordyn Zimmerman, a nonspeaking autistic woman who learned to communicate by typing as a teenager, and fought to follow her dream of becoming a teacher https://thisisnotaboutme.film/ 
  
  
• Also, A Toolkit for Educators of Students Who Cannot Rely on Speech to be Understood Primarily authored by nonspeaking autistic AAC users Cole Sorensen (B.S., Special Education) and Jordyn Zimmerman (M.Ed.) for CommunicationFirst https://thisisnotaboutme.film/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/CommunicationFirst-This-IsNot-About-Me-Toolkit.pdf 

Positive Approaches

• AuTeach: #stoptheshock with Lydia X. Z. Brown and Shane Neumeier — discussion of how we move forward as a community to fight against the torture and inhumane treatment of individuals at the Judge Rotenberg Center and elsewhere (1 hour; captioned) https://tinyurl.com/3mtazpe2 
  
  
• TED Talk:  Amy Laurent·TEDxURI - Compliance is Not the Goal: Letting Go of Control and Rethinking Support for Autistic Individuals https://www.uri.edu/tedx/talks/amy-laurent-rethinking-support-for-autistic-individuals/ 

Articles

• “Augmentative and Alternative Communication for Speaking Autistic Adults: Overview and Recommendations” by Alyssa Hillary Zisk and Elizabeth Dalton in Autism in Adulthood (2019). “In this article, we provide an overview of the speech differences autistic adults choose to support through AAC, including varying difficulties with speech depending on environment and content. We also discuss the technologies and strategies adopted by autistic adults, . . . barriers to AAC use, . . . and the cost of dedicated AAC applications or devices. We then provide suggestions for autistic adults, people supporting autistic adults, and researchers. Overall communication—rather than speech—should be prioritized.”
  https://doi.org/10.1089/aut.2018.0007