I was invited back to Holly Blanc Moses’ Autism ADHD TV to talk about autism and travel challenges. Check it out here.

I appeared on Holly Blanc Moses’ Autism ADHD TV talking about 3 common but incorrect assumptions about autism. Check it out here.

I recently co-wrote an article with my mother about having autism while working in a traditional office setting, bringing awareness to the challenges autistic people experience while working. You can check it out here.

Are you a high school student, or possibly thinking of a new career path, and think college is the only way to go? Do you not actually want to go, but think you don’t have a choice?

Many of us go through high school or our early life hearing that the only way to a good career and financial security later in life is by attending college and earning a four-year degree. In fact, this is the rationale I most commonly hear for why it’s a good idea to attend college—not the skills supposedly gained through a college education.

In reality, there are many careers possible without the four-year degree path. Not sure where to start looking? On this list, I have included over 30 career options that do not (or not necessarily) require a four-year degree. You will almost certainly need a high school diploma or GED, and many of these do require additional training, either an associate’s degree, a community college certificate program, a trade school, or on-the-job training. Specific requirements, licensure, qualifications, and average salaries vary by state and jurisdiction. If any of these careers interest you, consult with your local professionals about what you would need to do to get started.

Public service
911 dispatcher
Air traffic controller
Correctional officer
Firefighter
Military
Police officer
Postal worker

Business
Paralegal
Sales
Small business owner (think…food truck, bakery, ice cream shop, florist)
Software and coding

Repair and manual work
Auto mechanic
Computer repair technician
Contractor
Electrician
HVAC
Plumber
Truck driver
Welder

Transportation
Railway employee
Flight attendant

Restorative
Cosmetologist
Personal trainer
Pet groomer
Tailor/dry cleaning

Language and arts
Food writer
Graphic designer
Interpreter/translator
Video production

Health care
Dental assistant or dental hygienist
Emergency medical responder/paramedic
Massage therapist
Nurse: Certified Nursing Assistant, Licensed Practical Nurse, Registered Nurse
Optician
Pharmacy technician
Phlebotomist
Physical therapy assistant/aide
Sleep technologist
Veterinary technician

The Virtual Autism Summit starts on October 13^th! There are 37 highly qualified speakers, such as Dr. Temple Grandin and Dr. Ross Greene, as well as myself. Daily topics include: physical health, therapeutic approaches, social and emotional health, education, and parenting. The Virtual Autism Summit is co-hosted by Emily W. King, Ph.D. and Holly Blanc Moses, both of whom are psychologists and mothers of autistic children working in Raleigh, NC. This important event will help parents, educators, and other professionals to strengthen your skills in working with and empowering the autism population!

As an affiliate partner of the Virtual Autism Summit, I can provide you a unique affiliate link to register for the Summit. Currently, a limited-time early-bird discount is being offered through 10/17 at $147 – a savings of $50. When you purchase access to the summit, I will receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Those who purchase will have access for one year to all 37 interviews plus 5 bonuses! The list of speakers already looks amazing and I am so excited to hear from autism professionals and other self-advocates. I hope you will join us and I am looking forward to sharing my and other stories with you!

My affiliate link is here: https://www.hollyblancmoses.com/a/34956/FGy9K32w

The novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, which I recently reviewed, was adapted into a play by Simon Stephens. It opened in the West End on August 2, 2012 and closed on June 3, 2017. It had a Broadway run, from October 5, 2014-September 4, 2016. It won prestigious theatre awards, including the Tony Award for Best Play and an Olivier Award for Best New Play. Now it is licensed for use by professional and community theatres.

Raleigh Little Theatre in Raleigh, North Carolina is presenting the play as part of their 2019-2020 season. It is the first local production of Curious Incident. The play features the talents of Michael Larson (Christopher), Simon Kaplan (Ed, Christopher’s father), Rebecca Blum (Judy, Christopher’s mother), Samantha Corey (Siobhan, Christopher’s school social worker), and Benji Jones, George Labusohr, Naveed Moeed, Joey DeSena, Kimmy Fiorentino, and Lucinda Danner Gainey in the ensemble. The play was directed by Patrick Torres. I will state at the outset that Raleigh Little Theatre is a fantastic theatre company that I strongly encourage everyone to continue visiting and supporting.

I found the play to be a faithful adaptation of the source material, which for me, is not really a good thing. My review of the novel makes it clear that I am not a fan, so I went in with an inherent bias—keep that in mind as you read this review. I also go in knowing that as part of the audition process, RLT was adamant about recruiting an autistic actor for the role of Christopher, which many people in the local autism community (including myself) were elated about. I had no involvement in the production, so I don’t know what was in the script, what was the director’s creative decisions, or what were the actors’ chosen interpretations for their performances. Given that, I write this review knowing that I don’t know who was responsible for what—I can only comment on what I saw and how it made me feel, and that most of my issue is with the source material, not the actors.

This play was well-cast. I found the performances to be over-dramatic at times, moreso than I imagined the characters behaving as I was reading the novel, but hey, it’s theatre. Kaplan and Blum, in particular, gave powerful performances as Christopher’s parents. They recruited a winning cast of diverse performers for the ensemble roles, enriching the on-stage presence. Michael Larson was a worthy choice for the role of Christopher—he unsurprisingly nailed the autistic mannerisms like cadence of speech and facial expressions. Additionally, the set design and staging was a clever execution of bringing the story to life. The costumes assigned a color palette to the characters (Christopher=red, Ed=blue, Siobhan=green, ensemble=black), which was very interesting.

Within all that, I still take issue with the story being told. It’s been nearly a year since I’ve read the book it was based on, and I’m reminded of what I found so problematic in it. For example, Christopher believes fiction to be a form of “lying” and therefore worthless. I don’t think I’ve met an autistic who would concur with this assessment, especially since fiction isn’t truly lying when the audience knows it’s fictional. This is not really how an autistic aversion to lying (which isn’t universal) manifests anyway. Another example is that in this production, Christopher curls into a fetal position every time he is upset. I realize this might be for dramatic effect, but I’ll say for the record we don’t all do this. My reaction to stress is more often to freeze and/or exit than it is to visibly react.

This play is intense, with very few comedic moments to be found. Because it was filled with autistic stereotypes and exposed the inner workings of the autistic brain on full display, it was painful to watch, like a voyeuristic journey into the most intimate parts of the mind for someone like me. The person sitting next to me, when I explained my background and my reception of the book, noted that for a non-autistic audience member, watching this play could be a empathetic interaction with the challenges of living with autism: like swirling in a whirlpool of never-ending thoughts as a stranger in a world that doesn’t make sense. I can see that myself as well. If you watch this play or read this book, I hope that is your takeaway, and not that this is what is what all, or most, autistics are like.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time runs at Raleigh Little Theatre in the Gaddy-Goodwin Teaching Theatre from January 17-February 8, 2020. Running time is 2.5 hours. With some strong language and intense themes, parental discretion is advised. As part of RLT’s commitment to inclusive theatre for all, a sensory-friendly performance will be offered on February 9 at 3pm (their first sensory-friendly production for adults).

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time is a 2003 novel by English author Mark Haddon. The novel is common assigned reading for high school students. It earned a spot on bestseller lists and has been well-received/reviewed by the public at large…but not autism/disability advocates.

Our protagonist and narrator is 15-year-old Christopher Boone, living in Swindon, England alone with his father, Ed. Christopher is never explicitly identified as autistic, and the author claims he wasn’t written to be tied with a specific condition, but he matches many of the hallmarks or stereotypes of autism and as such is often described as an autistic character. Because of this, I’m going to write about it as if Christopher is autistic.

Much of the novel is a stream of consciousness about Christopher’s thoughts and perceptions, but there is also a plot: One night, Christopher discovers his neighbor’s dog dead in the yard, paled with a garden fork. He starts an informal investigation to find out who killed the dog. In so doing, he uncovers more information about himself and his past that sends him on new adventures.

To put it simply, I don’t like this book. The main reason being that the portrayal of autism is very stereotypical, and I’ll flesh that out in a moment. But, to be fair to the author, this novel was released before understanding of the complexity of the condition was widely understood, so chances are he just didn’t know any better. But that also means I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone looking for a balanced and nuanced depiction of an autistic person.

As a character, Christopher fits into all the stereotypical autistic boxes. White male. Literal-minded and doesn’t know figurative speech. Interested in math and science, to the point that chapters are numbered as prime numbers (like, really?). Finds abstract concepts, like God and imagination, difficult. Humorless. A pattern for life that is totally rigid down to the exact details. Christopher’s thoughts read more like what a neurotypical thinks an autistic thinks, than how they really think. Besides that, Christopher is deeply disturbed. He carries around a Swiss Army Knife, and it’s anyone’s guess why his father allows him to do that. He occasionally makes threats and in my opinion, is shown to be not merely aloof and quirky but lacking in a lot of positive qualities like kindness and empathy and generosity. At best, plodding through his thoughts is taxing and annoying, but at worst he’s not only asocial, but anti-social.

Then, there’s his parents. Autistic people in fiction always seem to have bad parents, whether they’re good people bad at parenting or dysfunctional all around. Either way, the commonality is parents who have no idea how to grapple with this strange child they’ve been saddled with, and these parents are no exception. Their son tore them apart, the source of frustration for his parents’ marriage. I feel like this sends the message that not only is autism a tragedy for the person, but it is a tragedy for their parents who were expecting a normal, predictable child.

What I found in this novel is a portrayal of autism (or whatever the author had in mind) as not only stereotypical, but unsympathetic. I was not compelled by the characters, though I was compelled a little by the adventure plotline, but overall unimpressed and dissatisfied with this novel. If you’re looking for a foray into the mind and thought processes of an autistic, I would suggest looking for books and articles written by people who actually have autism.

Autism accuracy: 1/5 Writing: 2.5/5 Cringe factor: 5/5 Overall rating: 1.5/5

If you’re autistic or the parent of an autistic, dental care can be challenging. So many dental products and instruments cause harsh tastes and sensations that can quickly send an autistic spiraling. I’ve been there myself.

Knowing the importance of good dental health, I’ve had to seek out alternatives to standard dental products to give my teeth the cleaning they need. With these tips, you can take the stress out of the process.

Finding the right dentist

Routine dental cleanings are necessary, but I’ve always dreaded them. The sounds of the cleaning instruments, the vibrations of the electric polisher, the flavors of toothpaste available, the viewing mirror that feels like a coin in my mouth, the x-rays inducing my gag reflex—all this and more make me apprehensive of dentist visits. After asking around, I was encouraged to investigate sedation dentistry. A quick Google search turned around several local dentist offices that offered sedation dentistry, but one in particular—in fact my first hit—caught my eye.

Appropriately named EndYourFear (formerly of Dr. Elizabeth Rushin, now of Dr. Nathaniel Leedy), this office specializes in treatment to patients afraid of visiting the dentist. They pride themselves on compassionate and friendly service to clients, welcoming them like family. I was sold both on the website and the reviews, and decided it was time, both for my mental and dental health, to try a new dentist. Since visiting this office, I can add myself to the list of happy patients and can heartily recommend them to anyone in the Wake County, North Carolina area looking for a dentist. I never would have imagined I could be so happy, relaxed and welcome at a dentist’s office!

For my most recent treatments, I tried the sedation. It sounds counterintuitive, but I was a little antsy about the sedation. I’ve been under anesthesia before (though note, sedation is not as powerful as anesthesia) and waking up from that was weird. Would this sedation leave me feeling strange and dizzy? For the most part, no, and I won’t hesitate to be sedated again for future treatments. If you’re thinking about sedation, I will share a bit about my experience if you want to know what to expect.

Most sedation for dentistry is administered orally, so you likely won’t need to stick a needle. I took one pill an hour before treatment and then received more once at the office (two different drugs). It made me relaxed and quite simply not care about the treatment I was getting. Most people say they don’t remember having the treatment after the fact, but in my case, I do remember some of being there. However, treatments that combined took a few hours felt like they only took about one, if that. Before the drugs wear off, they do leave you drowsy and uncoordinated, so they actually brought me outside in a wheelchair and you will need another person to drive you home.

The bottom line is, do some research on finding a dentist where you or your child will feel safe and comfortable. Consider sedation dentistry if it will make treatment easier for you. Sedation dentistry might also be available for children in some locations—in the Wake County, North Carolina area, I’ve heard good things about Little Tooth Co. (Dr. Jean You) pediatric dentistry.

Toothpaste

Finding acceptable toothpaste has proven very hard for me. So much toothpaste out there tastes like it was sent through a liquor shower on the conveyor belt. It might be a bit of trial-and-error to find a toothpaste you like. The fruit flavors can be a better bet. I use Tom’s of Maine children’s toothpastes, which come in strawberry and orange mango flavors. They do not have the harsh edge that many toothpastes do. They’re marketed to children, but so what? No one’s checking and it gets the job done. Another company I recommend testing out is Hello Products. They offer fluoride-free training toothpaste for young children. Lastly, consider unflavored toothpaste or flavors available on Amazon you can’t find in retail.

Toothbrushes

I am unashamedly a plastic reducer. I use a toothbrush made with bamboo. Once it has reached its limit the handle is compostable and the bristles are recyclable! On Amazon there’s several varieties available and the price per unit (they’re usually sold in bulk) is comparable to a store-bought toothbrush. I have found I actually like the feel of the bamboo in my mouth better than plastic. If you don’t want to try this, I can tell you any regular, soft-bristled, $1 toothbrush from the store will do. You do not need a toothbrush with fancy schmancy features. Try different ones until you find one you like best.

Floss

Flossing is probably the hardest part of dental care for me. I’ve tried to use the floss you wrap around two fingers and I can’t fit both hands into the back of my mouth. I’ve also used floss picks, but finding good floss picks that aren’t coated in the alcoholic mint flavor I avoid in toothpaste, is challenging. A friend buys these grape-flavored floss picks for her son. I’ve bought Plackers children’s flossers in “fruit smoothie swirl” flavor. Even still, I usually don’t like the feeling of it going between my teeth and my gums usually bleed!

Then I learned about water flossers, or oral irrigators. These are devices that look similar to electric toothbrushes, using a stream of powered, concentrated water to do the same job as filament-based floss. They’re a bit pricey—usually at least $35—but I decided it was an investment worth trying. The most familiar brand is probably the Waterpik flosser, but the one I have is manufactured by Mospro. This one is designed such that you can travel with it and it comes with a bag for this purpose. It runs on electrical power and must be charged.

So far I’ve liked it. It gives my teeth a nice massage and I feel more comfortable flossing, but even then my gums still sometimes bleed. It has both normal and soft settings, and I prefer the soft. If you try the water flosser, a few tips: as you’re getting used to it, you will probably get water on your clothes. Bite down on your teeth so the water goes directly onto your teeth and gums instead of elsewhere in your mouth. The water shoots out at such at speed it will feel weird if it lands on your tongue.

Note: I was not paid for any of these comments/product recommendations and I received nothing for free. I’m simply a happy customer.

The Good Doctor is a medical drama based on a South Korean television series with a similar premise. The American series first began airing on September 25, 2017 on ABC. The first season consists of eighteen episodes, each 40 minutes in length.

Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore) is an autistic from Casper, Wyoming, beginning his medical residency in surgery at San Jose Saint Bonaventure Hospital. The hospital’s president, Aaron Glassman (Richard Schiff), has been a mentor for Shaun since he was 14 and left his dysfunctional home. The series follows the medical cases of Shaun’s surgical team: the attending physician Neil Melendez (Nicholas Gonzalez), resident Claire Browne (Antonia Thomas), and resident Jared Kalu (Chuku Modu), as Shaun adjusts to the demands of residency and adulthood.

Rounding out the cast are Marcus Andrews (Hill Harper), Chief of Surgery at the hospital; Jessica Preston (Beau Garrett), a hospital attorney and fiancée of Dr. Melendez; Allegra Aoki (Tamlyn Tomita), chair of the board of trustees and funding director; and Lea Dilallo (Paige Spara), Shaun’s neighbor. Flashbacks feature young Shaun (Graham Vechere) and his brother Steve (Dylan Kingwell). Later in the season introduces hospital residents Morgan Reznick (Fiona Gubelmann) and Alex Park (Will Yun Lee).

I am not a doctor, so I cannot comment on the medical accuracy of this show, but I have heard anecdotally it is relatively accurate, at least in the anatomical knowledge. I would suggest that with any medical drama, take that with a grain of salt. Shaun is purported to have a “savant syndrome” and has memorized medical diagrams and images that aid in his diagnoses and suggested treatments. Given that, I thought this might be a House, M.D. style show (The Good Doctor and House share a creator), where he miraculously knows what rare problem is going on with each patient. But actually, the show features less of this than I first thought it might. Shaun sometimes gets things right, and sometimes gets things wrong.

This is the first medical drama I have watched that wasn’t in passing, but I would guess that the scenarios were par for the course in a medical drama: rare, eye-catching cases, with variable outcomes (e.g., fetal surgery, conjoined twins, tapeworm infection). In the later episodes, the cases and themes grew increasingly political, addressing topics such as sexual harassment in the workplace, religion stereotypes, transgender issues, and male infertility. I particularly liked the show shedding light on the bureaucracy of hospitals.

(As an aside, one episode has Shaun treating an autistic patient. The character, Liam West, is played by an autistic actor, Coby Bird. Another episode focuses on transgender patient Quinn Darby, played by transgender teen Sophia Giannamore).

Highmore’s acting and portrayal of autism is excellent. One scene in particular, when Shaun has a meltdown, is brilliantly performed and executed. Shaun’s mannerisms, behaviors, and patterns match autistic adults very well. We know Shaun’s quirks: he likes pancakes and apples and does not like pickles. He stims with a toy scalpel given to him by his brother. He doesn’t like touching or music. He has a keen memory of odors.

At times, the show reveals how an autistic processes and understands their world from Shaun’s perspective, which is important for casual viewers to see. The show provides examples of what autistics find very confusing and frustrating about neurotypical communication. The flashbacks show the bullying Shaun experienced in his youth, a sadly all too common experience for autistics. In general, the show is accurate about the symptoms of autism, but I do think Shaun can be a bit behind in his social understanding for an autistic his age.

What I like about the show is that Shaun’s diagnosis is an asset to his work as a physician. Shaun has challenges, but he is not only an adult capable of supporting himself, he also has a job as a surgical resident. “What would happen if an autistic was a doctor?” is a premise I thoroughly enjoyed exploring. That said, I do admit to suspending some disbelief. Being a doctor, or a surgeon, is incredibly difficult for anyone, and I would imagine it would only be exponentially harder for an autistic, where one is expected to maintain focus and keep cool in life-or-death situations. Along the lines of Shaun’s social understanding, let’s not forget he didn’t become a doctor in a vacuum; he had to attend years of college and medical school. Much of what he learns on the job in residency about social interactions, I would think he would have already learned during medical school clinical rotations.

As a final verdict, I very much enjoyed season 1. I found most of the characters interesting and enjoyable, the actors were great, and so was the cinematography, color palette and music throughout. Most episodes left me feeling good. I would recommend this show, and I am excited to dive into season 2.

Autism accuracy: 4/5 Acting: 5/5 Cringe factor: 2/5 Overall rating: 4/5

Atypical is a Netflix Original series first released on August 11, 2017. The first season consists of eight episodes, each between 30-40 minutes in length.

The series protagonist is autistic Sam Gardner (Keir Gilchrist), a senior at Newton High School in the fictional Webster, Connecticut. Sam lives with his mother Elsa (Jennifer Jason Leigh), a hair stylist, his father Doug (Michael Rapaport), an EMT, and his sister Casey (Brigette Lundy-Paine), a sophomore track athlete. The series is an exploration of life at home and school for an autism family, and Sam’s endeavor to understand the world around him. Sam’s special interests are Antarctica, penguins, and wildlife.

The central conflict is Sam’s search for a girlfriend. He has a crush on his therapist, Julia Sasaki (Amy Okuda), but begins exploring with quirky fellow senior Paige Hardaway (Jenna Boyd). He receives bad relationship advice from his friend Zahid Raja (Nik Dodani), a wannabe womanizer and coworker at Techtropolis, a Best Buy copycat. Rounding out the cast are Evan Chapin (Graham Rogers), Casey’s love interest, and Nick (Raul Castillo), a bartender Elsa begins an affair with.

I know that this show, like any television show, is a family dramedy watching ridiculous stunts that wouldn’t happen in real life, and the autism piece drives and explains the drama, or is played for laughs. But in doing so, we are served a caricature of autism. Sam is funny because he’s weird, not because he’s witty.

In general, I found Atypical season 1 to portray autism stereotypically and not very positively, namely that Sam displays a very limited grasp of social rules for his age. Yeah, I know this is part of the autism equation, but autistics can be educated in these matters, and Sam is implied to have received such an education, and there’s little to show for it. His actions were cringy to watch (more on the specifics later).

As an example, Sam is frequently shown to not know the meanings behind common words and phrases. Something was said to him about throwing curveballs and he said, “Why would I want to throw balls?” Unless he had genuinely never heard this turn of phrase before, autistics do know symbolic meanings and figures of speech that are commonly used and have a singular meaning (trickier is gauging one person’s implied meaning).

However, I am pleased to report that there are other aspects of autism that are very accurate. Keir Gilchrist’s acting is overall very good (as an aside, Gilchrist is not autistic, but the actor who plays an autistic teen on the show, Anthony Jacques as Christopher, is autistic). Sam’s interior narration is a window into autistic perceptions and thought processes. Because so much of autism is internal perceptions, this is a very important addition to the show. Similarly, Sam’s investment in and thought linking with his special interests is on point, and he is shown at least briefly to have a true talent for drawing. His reactions to sensorial stimulation and unexpected events, his stimming and panicking are also done very well.

From here, I’ll discuss one of the worst parts of the show: Sam’s parents. They are terrible at parenting. I have no doubt that they love their children, but at best they are ill-equipped to raise an autistic son. After Sam’s initial diagnosis, Doug left the family for several months and during the show, Elsa begins an affair. In both these cases (heavily implied, in Elsa’s case), this was due to the pressure and challenges of having an autistic son. I know it is difficult to have a special needs child, but is that really what healthy adults do?

Autism is shown to both burden and burn out Elsa, and she’s resigned herself and Sam to a son who will “never do certain things” and “always need certain things.” But strangely, it’s almost as if she doesn’t want more for Sam. She sometimes checks in with Julia, who encourages Sam to reach out of his comfort zone and try new things, and she’s also suggested Elsa see her own therapist. Once out of Julia’s sight, Elsa flips the bird. I mean, really?

The worst part about them though, is how overprotective they are. I’ll draw from the most notable example. Spoilers for the final episode are below.

In the final episode, Sam has decided that he does not love Paige. He really loves Julia, and wants to pursue a relationship with her. The episode begins with Sam having a meal with Paige’s family at a restaurant. He turns to Paige and breaks up with her, telling her it is because he doesn’t love her and he walks out.

He decides it’s time to confess his love to Julia, so he drops in on her unannounced, with a box of chocolate-covered strawberries, and says that he is in love with her and wants to date her. She is not pleased, to put it lightly, and is very angry and upset with him. Sam walks away from this very upset and distressed, and I don’t know if it is because her reaction, the fact she said no, or both.

Here’s the thing though. His parents evidently don’t admonish him about any of this. In fact, they’re angry with Julia, not him. This is a prime example of the poor parenting coming from these parents. They’re inclined to protect Sam from distress, but doing this gets him into trouble. His actions can be not only rude (even by arbitrary standards), but hurtful, like what he did to Paige. Sam needs to be counseled about the actions he takes. Taking some social skills classes isn’t enough—his parents also need to be active in encouraging his prognosis. They’re both too avoidant and overprotective at the same time. They are not preparing him well for adulthood.

As an aside, Julia the therapist is portrayed with more than a few implausibilities. She is 26-27, already has a Ph.D., is a professor of “clinical psychology”, and practices individual psychotherapy (in her university professor office, I might add). Doug finds out from Sam early on in the show that he has a crush on his therapist, and this should have been a major red flag that would compromise the integrity of their therapeutic relationship. But because Sam insisted that he needed to keep seeing Julia, Doug buried the issue, another bad parenting move.

As a final verdict, I found the storylines uninteresting, the depiction of autism too exaggerated for my liking, and most of the characters unlikeable, except for Paige. Some viewers might find her annoying, but I thought she was sweet, accepting, and responsible. She would be great for Sam. Another thing I did like was the cinematography and the music.

Autism accuracy: 2/5 Acting: 4/5 Cringe factor: 5/5 Overall rating: 2.5/5