In 'We're Not Broken,' Author Eric Garcia Takes On Myths About Autism

[Jilly_in_VA]

Whether you know it or not, you know somebody who is autistic.

So if you think autism doesn't affect you, you're wrong, says Eric Garcia, a senior Washington correspondent for The Independent. Garcia is the author of the book We're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation. The book was written partly out of frustration — frustration over the media's coverage of autism, frustration over the myth surrounding autism, and the policies that have been shaped by society's misconceptions.

Garcia's autistic and knows the consequence of such policies first hand. Policies that he says have wrongfully focused on finding a cure for autism. Something he says Autistic people don't want and never asked for. His book asks: instead of trying to prioritize trying to 'fix' autistic people, what can we do to make their lives better?

We're Not Broken is a lyrical mix of myth-busting, memoir, history, field interviews, and straight-up advice on how to better understand the autism spectrum, how to talk about it, and why it impacts every one of us.

Garcia spoke with Life Kit about the wide range of autistic experiences and how to help your autistic loved one live their most fulfilling life (spoiler alert: just ask).

https://www.npr.org/2021/09/16/1037852578/autism-myths-eric-garcia-changing-the-conversation

[Scrivener7]

1. I have worked with many autistic children. I love spending time with them. Generally they

have really interesting observations and ways of looking at things. And in all my years working with them, I never saw or experienced a moment of malice from any of them.

To me that is amazing. Not once, ever.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

3. I have a freind whos autistic

We meet up hang out and have cuddle time.
We are not lovers,just good freinds.

Secondly there is an autistic 5 year old kid living upstairs from me.

She stomps everywhere and is loud as shit.
Her parents say they cant tell her to stop stomping. Claim she doesn't understand it.

The stomping and ball thumping is driving me crazy and it shakes the walls in my apartment.

What do I do?

Why should it suck to be in my own apartment because of the kid upstairs?

Sometimes I wonder why there isnt a building or two in an apartment complex devoted to noisy kids and noisy people?

If autistic kids are noisy when they're younger why not make autistic friendly apartments for kids with autism that are noisy. The parents could have each other to relate to,and help each other out too.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

5. Not all autistic kids are noisy.

My older son has Asperger's, and he was always very quiet.

However, I have had the experience of having a young child in the apartment above me who thumped around, so I know what you are experiencing.

[Jilly_in_VA]

2. I have an adult autistic son

and it's interesting to me that I can spot many characteristics in others. I generally keep my observations to myself, or share them only with my husband or daughter. Temple Grandin's books have been nearly biblical to me in helping me with my son. Nothing like help from the "inside"!

I've been binge-watching Chicago Med. There's a character on there, a cardiothoracic surgeon, who is, among other things, a Black orthodox Jew. He is also written in such a way that I had him pegged almost immediately as a person with Asperger's. The signs were fairly subtle but were there. The resident psychiatrist on the show finally suggested to him that he might be a person with it, and he said he often suspected that he was and they went from there.