Why has public discourse about autism been dominated by non-autistic voices? And, what’s been happening recently to change this? My guest Eric Garcia breaks this down in today’s 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, “We’re Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation” 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’s perceptions about autism Including a wide variety of autistic people’s experiences in his book – including non-speaking autistic people – as well as his own experiences as an autistic Latino man How writing this book helped him confront some of his own biases – 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’s book, “We’re Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation” Read Eric’s National Journal article (the precursor to “We’re Not Broken”) Check out Eric’s recommendations for other helpful autism resources: The Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism Sincerely, Your Autistic Child #ActuallyAutistic on Twitter – hashtag used by autistic content creators (a good place to listen to autistic people, and especially helpful if you’re newly-diagnosed autistic) #AskingAutistics on Twitter – use this hashtag to post questions you want to ask autistic people Watch the video of this interview on YouTube! Subscribe to the FREE Beyond 6 Seconds newsletter for early access to new episodes! 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.*
