Getting upset over a “Black autistic & proud” shirt and asking “why bring race into it?” ignores that we don’t experience autism separately from being Black. The shirt isn’t excluding anyone. It recognizes our lived experience with racism and ableism. We are allowed to be proud 🤎🖤

Here's a new and perfect word for when you realize your (or your child's) autism came from a parent or grandparent: NepAutism! TY @autiebiographical.bsky.social for the coinage.

It's our newsletter's One Year Anniversary! And RFK the Lesser is STILL waging a damaging campaign of absolute male bovine excrement against autistic people & their families. We will not ever let him off the hook, thanks to the eagle eyes of @ejwillingham.bsky.social: buttondown.com/TPGA/archive...

One year in, yet so much stays the same

It's the TPGA Newsletter's 1-year anniversary and here we are, covering The Lesser RFK yet again.

tinyurl.com

“Research about subtyping autism is growing however these ideas remain entirely theoretical. They currently have no clinical value, diagnostic relevance or practical application. We fear that it…may lead to more stigma & discrimination, labels being misinterpreted & jeopardising access to support.”🔥

Thinking Person's Guide to Autism@thinkingautism.com · 22h ago

We'll be The National Autistic Society's Anger Translator: "F*** you, Uta Frith—stop trying to use your expired authority on autism to hurt autistic people, you absolute plonker." *Frith published a new paper wrongly claiming autism is overdiagnosed. NAS response: www.autism.org.uk/what-we-do/n...

"If the world were built for me no one would ever assume poor eye contact meant low trustworthiness. If the world were built for me my fingernails and hair would never need cutting." From autistic writer Rhi Williams: autistrhi.com/2020/07/06/if/ #autism #autistic #neurodiversity

If the world were built for me

If the world were built for me there would be no start times or end times, there would just be the work that needed doing and the space in which to do it. If the world were built for me no one woul…

autistrhi.com

"La investigación acerca de subtipificar el autismo está creciendo; no obstante, estas ideas siguen siendo completamente teóricas. Actualmente no tienen valor clínico, relevancia diagnóstica o aplicación práctica."

Thinking Person's Guide to Autism@thinkingautism.com · 22h ago

We'll be The National Autistic Society's Anger Translator: "F*** you, Uta Frith—stop trying to use your expired authority on autism to hurt autistic people, you absolute plonker." *Frith published a new paper wrongly claiming autism is overdiagnosed. NAS response: www.autism.org.uk/what-we-do/n...

Many "interventions" for autistic children require their parents to "learn and maintain new social communication skills." But since a significant percentage of those parents are autistic themselves (diagnosed or not) that can be an unrealistic expectation. link.springer.com/epdf/10.1007... #autism

We'll be The National Autistic Society's Anger Translator: "F*** you, Uta Frith—stop trying to use your expired authority on autism to hurt autistic people, you absolute plonker." *Frith published a new paper wrongly claiming autism is overdiagnosed. NAS response: www.autism.org.uk/what-we-do/n...

-Autistics diagnosed early report *fewer* autistic traits: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41664902/ -Learning about autism on social media relates to *higher* autism knowledge for autistic adults: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36443495/ -The DSM-5 *narrowed* autism’s diagnosis: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Here's a new and perfect word for when you realize your (or your child's) autism came from a parent or grandparent: NepAutism! TY @autiebiographical.bsky.social for the coinage.

I am autistic. Not mildly autistic, not just barely autistic, not a “high-functioning” autistic. I was born disabled not sick or broken, and worthy of the love I feel from my husband, son, and beautiful friends. I am autistic with no qualifiers, and like everybody else, I am worthy.

Thinking Person's Guide to Autism@thinkingautism.com · 4d ago

There is no such thing as “mild” autism. If you are autistic, you are disabled. Yes, there is HUGE variability re: how that disability manifests. Almost infinite and complicated and often misunderstood and underestimated variability. But there is no such thing as “mild” autism. #neurodiversity

It's our newsletter's One Year Anniversary! And RFK the Lesser is STILL waging a damaging campaign of absolute male bovine excrement against autistic people & their families. We will not ever let him off the hook, thanks to the eagle eyes of @ejwillingham.bsky.social: buttondown.com/TPGA/archive...

One year in, yet so much stays the same

It's the TPGA Newsletter's 1-year anniversary and here we are, covering The Lesser RFK yet again.

tinyurl.com

There is no such thing as “mild” autism. If you are autistic, you are disabled. Yes, there is HUGE variability re: how that disability manifests. Almost infinite and complicated and often misunderstood and underestimated variability. But there is no such thing as “mild” autism. #neurodiversity

To quote @kaybowzie.bsky.social, "My head hurts and I'm mad at the government." Thank you, Melody, for listening to and amplifying the very real fears of our community members who need these disability benefits to keep our loved ones and selves above water. Focus on us, not overblown fraud claims.

Melody Schreiber@melodyschreiber.com · 2d ago

“Without this, people become homeless. They lose their income. They lose their stability. Whatever tiny safety net they had is gone,” @shannonrosa.bsky.social said. “It’s just cruel.” My latest: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

"Esa es una forma en la que el autismo impacta en mis habilidades. Para otra persona, podría ser una historia diferente, o múltiples pasos. El autismo es dinámico también, así que las personas podrían ser capaces de hacer algunos pasos un día y no en otro."

Thinking Person's Guide to Autism@thinkingautism.com · 4d ago

"I don’t have a behavior problem. I have a gap in my adaptive ability. I don’t need habilitation training; I need someone to help me out." @mx-joyner.bsky.social at TPGA, on why ability and capacity are often about adaptive skills, and not about "behaviors." thinkingautismguide.com/2026/07/why-...

I read this sort of thing with both my AuDHD kid and my own ADHD brain in mind because it's relevant to both. I'm trying to help my kid grow up and adapt to the "real world" in an autism friendly way, neurodivergence embracing, all that. .

Thinking Person's Guide to Autism@thinkingautism.com · 4d ago

"I don’t have a behavior problem. I have a gap in my adaptive ability. I don’t need habilitation training; I need someone to help me out." @mx-joyner.bsky.social at TPGA, on why ability and capacity are often about adaptive skills, and not about "behaviors." thinkingautismguide.com/2026/07/why-...

"I don’t have a behavior problem. I have a gap in my adaptive ability. I don’t need habilitation training; I need someone to help me out." @mx-joyner.bsky.social at TPGA, on why ability and capacity are often about adaptive skills, and not about "behaviors." thinkingautismguide.com/2026/07/why-...

Why Autistic People Need Understanding Beyond "Behaviors" — THINKING PERSON'S GUIDE TO AUTISM

I don’t have a behavior problem. I have a gap in my adaptive ability. I don’t need habilitation training; I need someone to help me out.

thinkingautismguide.com

PSA: Any time you see Amy Lutz's name in an autism article, please know that article is going to be pushing myths about " #ProfoundAutism," misdirecting parents from useful approaches, painting parents as martyrs, smacking down self-advocates, &/or claiming assisted communication methods are hoaxes.

Maybe the 'spiky profile' framing of autism isn't enough? "Our sensory, communication, and cognitive profiles are always moving, always in relationship with our environments—never fixed long enough to be pinned to a single chart." By @autisticrealms.bsky.social: autisticrealms.com/the-constell...

The Constellation of Intensities: Neuroqueering the Spiky Profile | Autistic Realms

Why even the "spiky profile" still measures us against a grid — and what a constellation of intensities offers instead.

autisticrealms.com

I really feel this. People assume that understanding a task means you should be able to perform it. Depending on others’ presumptions about your competence, they may assume that you don’t (& maybe can’t) understand the task, OR that you’re perfectly able to do the task & just being lazy or stubborn.

Many "interventions" for autistic children require their parents to "learn and maintain new social communication skills." But since a significant percentage of those parents are autistic themselves (diagnosed or not) that can be an unrealistic expectation. link.springer.com/epdf/10.1007... #autism

The low-high functioning dichotomy really feels like the system's way of determining which disabled/neurodivergent people are worthy of personhood and who they're safe to discard. It's fucked up.

I'm not on that side of the ocean, and I don't understand the political context very well, but all I can think of is people going after Claudine Gay... I look forward to reading Arday's book.

Robert Chapman@drrobertchapman.bsky.social · 4d ago

I wrote about why I think solidarity is important here in a bit more detail. open.substack.com/pub/neurodiv...

"Someone who suspects they are autistic but does not want the risks associated with having the diagnosis in their record still deserves community support." From @dramypsyd.rmh-therapy.com: www.verywellmind.com/self-diagnos... #autism #autistic #neurodiversity

As an Autistic Psychologist, Here Are My Thoughts on Self-Diagnosed Autism

Self-diagnosis is an often-discussed topic in the autistic community. Learn what it means to self-diagnose and how self-diagnosis impacts the autistic community.

verywellmind.com

There is no such thing as “mild” autism. If you are autistic, you are disabled. Yes, there is HUGE variability re: how that disability manifests. Almost infinite and complicated and often misunderstood and underestimated variability. But there is no such thing as “mild” autism. #neurodiversity

"Everyone wants to be safe & to live independently in their community. Autistic people want this too. However, lots of autistic people may have extra challenges when it comes to staying safe." Thankfully, @autisticadvocacy.org has safety tips for self-advocates: autisticadvocacy.org/wp-content/u...

Turns out "autistic children don’t gain skills in navigating the wider world when subjected to ABA; they are treated, still quite literally, as rodents to be 'conditioned' to conform to non-autistic expectations." From @ejwillingham.bsky.social in this week's TPGA newsletter. Share and subscribe!

Thinking Person's Guide to Autism@thinkingautism.com · last wk.

Our newsletter is back from hiatus! Today @ejwillingham.bsky.social takes exception to the Autism Science Foundation (ASF) & its coldly manipulative attempt to convince the autism community that ABA therapy is "nicer" now. (Spoiler: It is not.) Pls share & subscribe! buttondown.com/TPGA/archive...

There is a lot of space between being nonspeaking & being able to communicate in socially expected ways. @yesthattoo.bsky.social explains how intermittent, unreliable, insufficient & expensive speech help describe the space between nonspeaking & fully speaking: www.assistiveware.com/blog/intermi...

Intermittent, unreliable, insufficient, and expensive speech - AssistiveWare

This article explores some of the varied experiences autistic people can have navigating the space between nonspeaking and fully speaking.

assistiveware.com

"I don’t have a behavior problem. I have a gap in my adaptive ability. I don’t need habilitation training; I need someone to help me out." @mx-joyner.bsky.social at TPGA, on why ability and capacity are often about adaptive skills, and not about "behaviors." thinkingautismguide.com/2026/07/why-...

Why Autistic People Need Understanding Beyond "Behaviors" — THINKING PERSON'S GUIDE TO AUTISM

I don’t have a behavior problem. I have a gap in my adaptive ability. I don’t need habilitation training; I need someone to help me out.

thinkingautismguide.com

It’s ironic for her to speak for what “ppl w/ profound autism want” when speaking for her son & making it about *her* idea of a meaningful life. Journalists need to do their duty & talk w/ various autistic ppl rather than let her speak for “ppl w/ profound…moderate or even high-functioning autism”.