Below is a list of resources that may be helpful to the autistic community, to include its allies. Feel free to make suggestions and post/comment about them to create engaging discussions! Note: this is a dynamic list that will change as we learn of new resources and things are updated.
Autism (General)
- A social description of autism.
- A review of Asperger syndrome, it’s history, and how those that are Aspies experience the world.
- Tips on how to discuss autism in a respectful and inclusive fashion.
- A medical approach to describing autism.
Abuse
12 Ways to Recognize Passive Aggression
- A ~17 minute video covering 12 ways to identify passive-aggressive behaviors. This video is helpful if you are confused over an interaction and want help on assessing if the interaction is passive-aggressive or not.
How Abuse Mars the Lives of Autistic People
- A well-sourced compassionate review of the abuse autistic people may often experience
- A YouTube playlist by a nationally reknown expert on emotional abuse covering tactics that abusers employ and signs that someone is being abused. This is a great playlist for someone that is confused as to whether they are being emotionally abused in a relationship.
- A page covering reasons why autistic people are more likely to be abused, signs that they are being abused, and tactics that abusers use to abuse autistic people.
Recently Diagnosed
- A YouTube playlist of 4 (11-17 mins videos) covering expectations and advice for those that have been recently diagnosed as autistic.
Bienvenidos a la Comunidad Autista
- Un libro electrónico gratuito escrito para empoderar a personas autistas. Cubre todos los asuntos relacionados con ser autista.
Welcome to the Autistic Community
- A thorough and empowering free ebook written for autistic people. It covers all matters related to being autistic.
Relationships
- An ~8 min video guide that breaks down the complexities of flirting for autistic people.
The Five Neurodiverse Love Languages
- An essay covering the 5 major strategies that autistic and ADHD people use to communicate they love you ❤️
Support Groups
Asperger/Autism Network (AANE)
- A list of available online support groups for autistic people.
Self-assessments
- A thorough list of scientifically based assessments with descriptions and ability to complete and score. Note: A self-assessment is not sufficient enough to properly assess autism. A proper assessment includes at least a thorough interview by a licensed mental health professional that specializes in autism assessment.
Broad Autism Phenotype Questionnaire
- “The broad autism phenotype (BAP) is a set of personality and language characteristics that reflect the phenotypic expression of the genetic liability to autism, in non-autistic relatives of autistic individuals. These characteristics are milder but qualitatively similar to the defining features of autism…This instrument provides a valid and efficient measure for characterizing the BAP.”
Strengths
Autistic people – The cultural immune system of human societies
- A thorough blog essay covering contributions that autistic people make to society as a whole.
Understanding Neurotypicality
A Field Guide to Earthlings: An Autistic/Asperger View of Neurotypical Behavior
- A free ebook written for autistic people that describes the neurtotypical world. It can be funny and quite insightful!
YouTube Channels
- A channel ran by a Paul Micallef who discovered he was autistic at 30 years old. His videos are well-educated, compassionate, cover all sorts of autism-related material, and break-down social matters for autistic people to better navigate their internal and external worlds.
- “Autistic ADHDer. Lover of frogs, books, neurodiversity, psychology, etc. Hater of capitalism.”
- A channel ran by Tay, a mother of 2 that discovered she was autistic at 31 years-old. She “share[s] knowledge, resources, and products that empower other neurodivergent people and their loved ones to live freely and creatively.”
Orion Kelly - That Autistic Guy
- Orion Kelly “an Autistic author, YouTuber, podcaster, actor, keynote speaker and Autistic advocate based in Australia. [He is] all about helping increase your level of understanding, acceptance and appreciation of Autistic people.”
- Disabled, Autistic, Lesbian. They are an “an openly queer, disabled, autistic, trans non-binary actor, composer, youtuber, educator, media analyst, and disability advocate. [They try] to use this channel to educate about any and all of the above categories as well [their] original music and a bit of a memory log for [themself]!”
Yo Samdy Sam - ND, Autism, Poor Attempts at Humor
- A recently diagnosed autistic adult, she “explore[s] the autistic experience from every weird corner of [her] brain and help[s] others discover themselves, be proud of themselves and change the world, one silly video at a time.
You’re welcome!