How Has Being a Part of the Autism Community Impacted You?

Posted on April 22, 2024

How has being part of the autism community impacted me? Well, where do I start? It has impacted me in a very large way as it has opened doors that I never knew existed before. Spectrum Friends is an adult Autism Spectrum Disorder support group in the Greater Harrisburg area that I am a part of. I am often the person responsible for getting guest speakers for our group meetings each month. One month, I asked Nina Wall the Director of the Bureau of Autism Resources back then, and Dennis O’Brien who was also working in the autism field to speak. Both of them were so impressed with me and the group that in early January 2017, I got a call from Dennis O’Brien saying that he was nominating me for his advocacy award.  Later in April of that year, I traveled to Philadelphia for an autism event at a local school district building to receive the Dennis O’Brien Autism Advocacy Award. This is where my life would start to turn out for the better as I was asked to join an autism subcommittee for a couple of years. It was a thrill to be a part of a group of my peers who also worked in the autism field. In the following years, I would start to take on different autism projects.

The next big thing that would happen to me was I became associated with the Philadelphia Autism Project that Dennis O’Brien headed. When Dennis asked me to attend this autism conference in Philadelphia, I got to meet up again with Kerry Magro, a well-known adult, autistic self-advocate, author, public speaker, and now Doctor of Special Education. I think I should explain how I met Kerry Magro the first time. I do not remember the year but the Greater Harrisburg Autism Society was having a Day of Inspiration at the Antique Auto Museum in Hershey, PA. Kerry was the main speaker at this event and I got a chance to give a presentation about my life on the spectrum, which is how we met and became friends. Now let me get back to the Philadelphia Autism Conference. During this conference, I was chosen with other self-advocates to be interviewed in a room individually, which was recorded and published on YouTube. I was also very fortunate to also to meet Temple Grandin in Harrisburg where she did a presentation. After it was over I got a chance to buy one of her books and get a photo with her.

As you can see most of my blog here is going to be filed with a huge amount of positives about being part of the autistic community and my own personal autism journey. In all my years as an adult self-advocate, I have never faced any backlash or negativity for being in an autism community nor for being an autism self-advocate in Pennsylvania. I have gone out of my way to teach many of my former high school classmates and friends of mine about what autism is, how to treat families living with autism and how to help them, and to be friends with autistic people. They all know that I have a form of autism and they have accepted me in a big way. I have several friends from high school come to me looking for advice because they have a loved one who has been diagnosed with ASD. In my many years of getting guest speakers for my adult ASD support group meetings, I have made many important and influential contacts, some of whom actually work in the autism field and have become friends of mine. I am proud to be the head of our adult Autism Spectrum Disorder support group as it is beginning to grow again. There are times when people come to meetings and realize it is not for them but we have a good number of regulars that attend the meetings and monthly outings.  his adult group has been together for over 15 years now.

It is now April which means it is Autism Awareness and Acceptance Month and to celebrate, I want to fill you all in on the rest of the things I’m involved with.

• Volunteer board member for the Greater Harrisburg Autism Society for 12 years now.
• Advisor to the Self-Advocates United as One (SAU-1) board for about a year now.
• Blogger for the ASDNext.
• Member of a disability autism podcast group – podcast called “A Valid Podcast.”
• Committee member of an adult autism aging for the ASERT collaborative
• Committee member of the P.H.A.S.E.S scientific studies on health outcomes for individuals and families living with autism.
• Committee member of an Employment forum – Department of Human Services, Harrisburg.
• Employment forum committee member Philadelphia.
• Leader of an adult Autism Spectrum Disorder support group – Spectrum Friends – Harrisburg.

I have also done some smaller projects with autism over the last couple of years.  I have not ever had any negative or backlash being part of an autism community.  All of my friends respect me for doing what I am meant to do.

In conclusion to the prompt about how has being a part of the autistic community impacted me, I definitely have to say it has been 100% positive for me. I am a well-respected autism and/or disability self-advocate here in the Keystone state of Pennsylvania. I will continue to work hard to help others with either disabilities or autism which is my chosen field of work for me as I am on the spectrum and also have a medical disability.