Autism


Page Summary in a Sentence
This is an ever evolving page of resources suggested by people who identify with the neurodiverse community focusing on Autism.



General Resources


A group of young people explain what autism is to them, what it means to be autistic, that they are all different, how to best support them with patience, kindness, and knowledge, and how lucky it is to be autistic.

Autistic YouTuber Amythest Schaber answers the question “what is autism?”

Authoring Autism: On Rhetoric and Neurological Queerness by Melanie Yergeau.

Melanie uses rhetoric and queer theory to explore autism, ultimately defining neurodivergence as an identity rather than an impairment; they use the idea of neurodivergence as an identity to develop to queer pathology (we do like that here at Practical Neurodiversity!) and understand the boundless potential of what it means to be neuroqueer.


Jac den Houting explains why being diagnosed with autism was the best thing that ever happened to them. We had this video recommended to Practical Neurodiversity’s Resource page with the following quote from the talk in reference to the difficulties of navigating a neurotypical world as an autistic individual attached: “I’m not disabled by my autism, I’m disabled by my environment.

How to be Autistic by Charlotte Amelia Poe.

Charlotte gives an account of her own journey as an autistic individual through school and college. She explores topics such as, living as an autistic individual, navigating the world, mental illness, gender identity, and sexuality. It is a deeply personal account of growing up on the spectrum balanced with a certain humour which only redoubles the intimacy of her account. We really recommend this!


Sam from the YouTube channel Yo Samdy Sam discusses her own journey in understanding that she was autistic and looks at different ways autism can present in girls. Her story is very personal, validating, and funny at points too!

The Spectrum Girl’s Survival Guide: How to Grow Up Awesome and Autistic by Siena Castellon.

The book and the author are just fantastic! Siena is an autistic teenager who is a multi-award-winning autism advocate and anti-bullying campaigner, and she is the founder of Neurodiversity Celebration Week (which will take place between the 15th and 21st of March 2021), she is doing such amazing things! This book is also testament to her work too as she provides a wealth of accessible advice within a comic book style, although contrary to the title and as many reviewers have suggested, this book is very useful for boys too, and our non-binary autistic peers too!


Princess Aspien goes over ten autism traits which are common in girls.

YouTuber, Purple Ella, reflects on her own experience of being diagnosed with autism as an adult.


Actually Autistic Blogs List

Actually Autistic Blogs List

A comprehensive list of blogs by actually autistic bloggers.


Making sense of your autism diagnosis a resource page by Ambitious about Autism

This page is full of videos of young people discussing their experiences of getting diagnosed and coming to terms with their diagnosis of autism, with a range of diagnosis journeys; for example, Robert was diagnosed when he was 2 years old and discusses how his diagnosis helps him achieve a positive work environment, whereas, Lucy was diagnosed at 23 years old and discusses her experiences feeling isolated and how everyone “deserves to be themselves”. The page has one introductory video and is split into three sections each containing videos of people’s lived experiences:

  • Getting diagnosed in childhood
  • Getting diagnosed in your teenage years
  • Getting diagnosed in adulthood

Autism Awareness / Acceptance by the University of Edinburgh Autism Spectrum Group

This is a document produced by a group of autistic university students outlining what autism is, important terminology, the struggles they may have and solutions which can help, myths and misconceptions about autism, a list of a variety of resources they recommend, and, of course, a page of autism memes.


Hannah Gadsby discusses her experiences of being autistic and how she engages with and navigates a world around her and how she found a sense of freedom and understanding in her diagnosis.

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For Young People


How to be Autistic by Charlotte Amelia Poe.

Charlotte gives an account of her own journey as an autistic individual through school and college. She explores topics such as, living as an autistic individual, navigating the world, mental illness, gender identity, and sexuality. It is a deeply personal account of growing up on the spectrum balanced with a certain humour which only redoubles the intimacy of her account. We really recommend this!


The Spectrum Girl’s Survival Guide: How to Grow Up Awesome and Autistic by Siena Castellon.

The book and the author are just fantastic! Siena is an autistic teenager who is a multi-award-winning autism advocate and anti-bullying campaigner, and she is the founder of Neurodiversity Celebration Week (which will take place between the 15th and 21st of March 2021), she is doing such amazing things! This book is also testament to her work too as she provides a wealth of accessible advice within a comic book style, although contrary to the title and as many reviewers have suggested, this book is very useful for boys too, and our non-binary autistic peers too!


Dear Autistic Kid, on meltdowns and shame by Autistic Science Person

This is a beautiful open letter from an Autistic Adult to an Autistic Kid, which tells them that it is okay to be the way that they are in this world to, “remember that it’s okay to be autistic. It’s okay to wear headphones or sunglasses, or use weighted blankets or fidget toys (lots of us autistic adults do!). It’s okay to want things a certain way. It’s okay to not look into people’s eyes. It’s okay to be you.” It is just such a beautiful article.


Making sense of your autism diagnosis a resource page by Ambitious about Autism

This page is full of videos of young people discussing their experiences of getting diagnosed and coming to terms with their diagnosis of autism, with a range of diagnosis journeys; for example, Robert was diagnosed when he was 2 years old and discusses how his diagnosis helps him achieve a positive work environment, whereas, Lucy was diagnosed at 23 years old and discusses her experiences feeling isolated and how everyone “deserves to be themselves”. The page has one introductory video and is split into three sections each containing videos of people’s lived experiences:

  • Getting diagnosed in childhood
  • Getting diagnosed in your teenage years
  • Getting diagnosed in adulthood

The Autistic Guide to Starting College by AsIAm

A resource-packed website for autistic students by the Irish charity AsIAm which includes videos of college students answering questions, downloadable resources to help students ranging from helping revise for exams to cooking a meal, and a virtual tour of a college campus.


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For Supporters


Supporting Transgender Autistic Youth and Adults: A Guide for Professionals and Families by Finn V. Gratton.

Finn, who is both non-binary and autistic, looks at the specific issues and difficulties autistic individuals face when exploring and trying to understand aspects of their gender identities, especially when that includes navigating social aspects of gender which just seem a bit… well, neurotypical and odd to some of us. It is a really good read for those of you who want to better support transgender or non-binary autistic individuals in your life, and a really good read for trans and/or non-binary autistic individuals who want to further explore their own identities.


Yeah, we just thought it best to put this here!

Sam, an autistic YouTuber, gives you 10 things she believes autistic people would like you to be aware of.

A group of young people explain what autism is to them, what it means to be autistic, that they are all different, how to best support them with patience, kindness, and knowledge, and how lucky it is to be autistic.

Robin Roscigno, who is an autistic mother of an autistic child, autistic educator, PhD Candidate at the Rutgers Graduate School of Education where her research focuses on equitable education for Autistic children, and founder of AuTeach which is her community outreach project about respectful, neurodiversity-informed parenting & teaching, offers a kind approach to autism which questions fears and limiting and normative neurotypical assumptions on to how to approach autism.

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Comorbidities


Paul from Asperger’s from the Inside looks at the differences and interactions he sees in his autism and ADHD.

YouTubers, Daniel from The Aspie World and Jessica of How to ADHD, discuss the differences and similarities between ASD and ADHD.

Sam, an autistic individual from the YouTube channel, Yo Samdy Sam discusses autism and comorbidities on one of her live streams.

YouTuber, Stephanie Bethany, outlines a definition of comorbidity and introduces some of the comorbidities seen with autism.

Purple Ella discusses her own personal experience of having an eating disorder and its relationship to autism.

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Sleep


We found this small video super informative and wanted to include it as we know how difficult sleep can be (Ally, the autistic human writing this, says whilst writing this at 0230!)

AspieLife shares his personal experiences and general information on problems sleeping associated with autism.

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Organisation & Time Management


YouTubers, Daniel from The Aspie World and Jessica of How to ADHD, give tips for better organising your daily life as a neurodivergent individual.

Sam, a neurodiverse YouTuber, discusses executive functioning and autism and ADHD.

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Executive Function & Dysfunction


YouTuber Amythest Schaber talks about what executive function and executive dysfunction is and ways to better understand and manage executive dysfunction.

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Routines & Change


Dan from The Aspie World gives us a personal look at his routines and the interaction between his autism and OCD.

IndieAndy looks at what is change, why autistic people like him find it difficult, and he then goes on to give five tips to manage it better.

Dan from The Aspie World explores why change impacts autistic people.

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Autistic Burnout


YouTuber, Amythest Schaber, introduces the concept of autistic burnout, how it comes about, how it presents (i.e. feeling “more autistic”), and how we deal with it.

IndieAndy looks at what autistic burnout is generally and for him personally too.

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Social & Emotional Communication


Sam, an autistic YouTuber from Yo Samdy Sam, discusses autism and friendship.

YouTuber Amythest Schaber talks about alexithymia, which entails problems identifying, distinguishing between, and expressing emotions which is something some neurodivergent people can struggle with.

Yo Samdy Sam discusses her own experience with alexithymia.

The Guide to Good Mental Health on the Autism Spectrum by Jeanette Purkis, Dr Emma Goodall, and Dr Jane Nugent

Two of the authors are on the autism spectrum themselves and, as a result, this book provides an insightful and understanding guide for autistic mental health and wellbeing. This is a fantastic and easy to read guide covering many different topics, from anxiety and depression to the value of pets and helpful strategies to aid in mental health and wellbeing.


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Masking


Paige Layle talks about what masking is generally and what it means to her personally as it was a big thing for her growing up.

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Suggestions & Recommendations
We hope you find what you need here, but as Practical Neurodiversity is a really new project and because neurodiversity is so expansive, we will unfortunately not have resources on every topic; so, if there is something you see elsewhere that you feel we should add or if there are resources you would like us to help you find, just let us know by using the form below.

Important Note
As we update and categorise this list some resources may be mentioned more than once due to their overlap between context and certain resources may appear under multiple subheadings of neurotype due to the complex overlaps between neurodiverse ways of experiencing and knowing the world, and we also just want to make sure you are able to find what you are looking for too.


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