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Why has public discourse about autism been dominated by non-autistic voices? And, what\u2019s been happening recently to change this?

My guest Eric Garcia breaks this down in today\u2019s episode! Eric is a journalist based in Washington DC and the senior Washington correspondent for The Independent. He is also the author of the book, \u201cWe\u2019re Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation\u201d which was published in 2021.

During this episode, you will hear Eric talk about:

• Why non-autistic voices have traditionally dominated the public conversation about autism
• How government policies have shaped and evolved the public\u2019s perceptions about autism
• Including a wide variety of autistic people\u2019s experiences in his book \u2013 including non-speaking autistic people \u2013 as well as his own experiences as an autistic Latino man
• How writing this book helped him confront some of his own biases \u2013 and what he learned about becoming a better ally and learning from criticism
• Where the public can find accurate information about autism and the autistic community
• How social media has helped autistic people share their experiences, amplify their voices and effect change (for example, by calling out harmful autistic stereotypes about autism in a recent movie by a certain singer)

Buy Eric\u2019s book, \u201cWe\u2019re Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation\u201d

Read Eric\u2019s National Journal article (the precursor to \u201cWe\u2019re Not Broken\u201d)

Check out Eric\u2019s recommendations for other helpful autism resources:
The Thinking Person\u2019s Guide to Autism
Sincerely, Your Autistic Child
#ActuallyAutistic on Twitter \u2013 hashtag used by autistic content creators (a good place to listen to autistic people, and especially helpful if you\u2019re newly-diagnosed autistic)
#AskingAutistics on Twitter \u2013 use this hashtag to post questions you want to ask autistic people

Watch the video of this interview on YouTube!

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Click here for the episode transcript.

*Disclaimer: The views, guidance, opinions, and thoughts expressed in Beyond 6 Seconds episodes are solely mine and/or those of my guests, and do not necessarily represent those of my employer or other organizations.*