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A pink earth pony with a bright pink mane is dancing beneath a disco ball. There’s brightly colored confetti all around it, against a white background. On a teal background text reads: “Autistic people are individuals, and We all deserve media representation” -C.L. Bridge, “Pinkie Sense”- awnnetwork.org In the lower right hand corner is the awn logo- the large “a” in pink with the pale blue spoonie dragonfly on it and awnnetwork.org below it. Illustrated by Erin Casey

Pinkie Sense: an Autistic Pony Tale

September 29, 2021

Not all autistic people are withdrawn or shy, although most media portrayals and “signs of autism” lists focus on those who are. We need representation of what autism can look like in a more outgoing…

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The logo is comprised of block letters "MHHD" with the organization's name to the right which says "The Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities (MHDD) National Training Center" and below this is the tagline "at the intersection of mental health and developmental disabilities"

How the COVID-19 pandemic has affected me and other autistics

May 3, 2021

I have been trying my best with this pandemic. It’s taking a toll on my mental health because I have been staying at home almost all the time since March 2020. I am a type 1 diabetic so I’m high risk. I’ve been staying home to protect myself, my family, and everyone else.

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Teenage faeries Musa, Stella, Bloom, Aisha, and Terra walk through the gates of Alfea Academy in the Otherworld in Fate: The Winx Saga. Musa, Stella, Bloom, and Terra are white. Aisha is Black.

Neurodiversity, Changelings, and what Fate: The Winx Saga can teach us about acceptance

March 1, 2021

As a transgender Latinx woman who is autistic and bipolar, I rarely see positive representations of neurodivergence on screen which I can relate to. So when I tried out Netflix’s recent show Fate: The Winx…

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mage is a closeup photo of a purple tufted sofa with a nailhead border at the bottom edge, and a pale purple AWN logo on the left side. White text in the lower half of the image says: "I’m always searching for female characters who are allowed to be eccentric, allowed to have unbridled enthusiasm for their interests, allowed to admit they don't always know what to say." – CL Bridge, awnnetwork.org

Oh, Brilliant!: the 13th Doctor and Autism

November 19, 2020

Like most autistic people, Thirteen gets very excited about things that interest her, however small those things may seem to NTs. She loves a laminator.

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Puerto Rican flag is draped across the upper half of a warm white background; there is a semi-transparent AWN logo in red and blue at the right end of the flag. Below the flag there is text in a black handwriting font: “I’m Puerto Rican and I'm autistic. That’s not something you hear everyday.” Red text reads: “¡Feliz Mes de la Herencia Latinx!” At bottom right in black text is “- Kayla Maria Rodriguez, awnnetwork.org

Latinx Heritage Month: Being Puerto Rican and Autistic

October 13, 2020

Hello, I’m Kayla Maria Rodriguez. Happy Latinx Heritage Month my fellow Latinx people! I’m Puerto Rican and I’m autistic. That’s not something you hear everyday.  I get why you might not ever hear Puerto Rican…

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Image is a photo of an old paintbrush dipped in white paint, hovering over a white surface, with a small transparent AWN logo just below the brush. Text in gradations of purple reads: "I wonder how often my own creativity has been underestimated by people who put me under a microscope and saw only a masked version of me. - C.L. Bridge, awnnetwork.org"

The Challenges of an Autistic Artist

April 20, 2020

Lately, nothing I create seems good enough. Maybe it’s because I’ve been stuck at home with my thoughts for several days, and sometimes my thoughts are not very kind to me. Maybe I need to…

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Image is a cool-toned black and white closeup photo a person’s face in profile with their head slightly bowed, hands over their face. Text says, “ The coronavirus is a legitimate and terrifying threat. But we still have meals to cook, meetings to schedule, dishes to wash, friends to call, projects to finish, groceries to buy. – Reese Piper, ‘How To Get Work Done When You're Panicking About The Coronavirus,’ awnnetwork.org”

How To Get Work Done When You’re Panicking About The Coronavirus

April 3, 2020

The coronavirus is a legitimate and terrifying threat. But we still have meals to cook, meetings to schedule, dishes to wash, friends to call, projects to finish, groceries to buy

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Image is a blue-toned photo of a classroom and students at desks in silhouette. Text in boxes at the top and bottom headers says, ‘As you sit in psychology class, there may very well be an autistic student sitting in the same room. Her heart may ache as she hears an “expert” talk about using behavior modification to make people like her “indistinguishable from peers”. – C.L. Bridge, ‘Dear Neurotypical Psychology Students,’ awnnetwork.org” Small AWN logo in the bottom left corner.

Dear Neurotypical Psychology Students

July 1, 2019

You’re a university freshman, or maybe a sophomore. You’re sitting in class—General Psychology, or maybe a different psychology class. The professor is discussing autism. Maybe you don’t know much about autism, apart from what you…

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Image: photo of a computer keyboard in neutral tones, with the text: “To be seen as fully human, to have my thoughts and opinions, even feelings, validated, the demand is that I perform, that I do what others want, when they want, the way they want.” – Amy Sequenzia, “My Human Value is Inherent to My Existence,” awnnetwork.org

My Human Value is Inherent to My Existence

March 29, 2019

This article is not supposed to incite pity, or even anger. I am just hoping a few people will at least try to empathize with the many typists who are dismissed, ignored, attacked, dehumanized, silenced,…

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Image description: sepia toned photo of a child's hands holding a teddy bear, with text: "A child who sounds like a little adult is still a child. A big vocabulary does not equal emotional maturity—especially for someone with a developmental disability. - CL Bridge, 'Actually, It's Crooked' awnnetwork.org"

“Actually, It’s Crooked”: Autism and Precocious Speech

August 21, 2018

When it was time for cake at my second birthday party, I sat at a table surrounded by smiling grown-ups. One of the grown-ups asked me a question. I don’t remember the question itself, but…

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Image is a photo of Scrabble letter tiles, with five tiles on top spelling out the word DREAM. Text says "We don't have to prove that we deserve a voice. Typing to communicate is hard work, and it is about our individuality and identity. It is about what we want for ourselves and for our lives. - Amy Sequenzia, awnnetwork.org"

My Right to Communicate Does Not Depend On Your Bigotry

June 19, 2018

From time to time typed communication, and people like me who use typing as our chosen method of communication, are attacked and disrespected under the guise of “protecting our human rights”. Actually, the attacks never…

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“In so many ways my gender and autism work in tandem. Even after I came out as trans something was missing. Finding out I was autistic made everything clearer,” Credence (pronouns he/him). Photo image is of Credence, printed with permission.

12 People On What It Felt Like To Discover Autism

May 19, 2018

After decades of oversight, autistic women, non-binary and transgender people are coming out of the shadows. For years researchers focused their studies on white middle-class boys and blinded the world to the unique ways autism…

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* All articles on this website are offered as personal viewpoints of the author and should never be a substitute for your medical recommendations. Always consult your personal healthcare professional before making changes to your prescribed or recommended health care plan.