
Actually Autistic Adults in the Real World
A Day in Our Lives…
By Jenny Bristol
Illustrations by Rebecca Burgess
The autistic population is just as diverse as the non-autistic population.
There are plenty of autistic doctors and lawyers, business people and teachers. But there are also self-employed autistic people, such as writers and artists, caregivers and stay-at-home parents. And autistic people exist across all cultures and financial situations. Among this variety of folks, there are many who work hard to advocate for themselves and the world’s autistic population.
We have collected together a group of autistic adults who have found success in their own way. All of them live life on their own terms, not anyone else’s. While each one is an individual who has discovered their own niche, there are also many commonalities, especially in the advice they offer autistic kids and parents of autistic kids.
Realize that we are a part of the same society that you are.
We are around you every day. We work with you, we are your customers, we are your service people, we are your teachers, lawyers, and peers. We are not “other;” we are just like you in so many ways, with our own sets of skills, talents, and challenges. We’ve learned to advocate for ourselves and for each other.
Learn about autism through autistic life experiences.
We hope this series will be a resource for those who want to learn more about autism directly from autistic adults themselves, those who have the words to express their needs and experiences.
You’ll learn what has helped us and what has hindered us. What has been necessary for growth and what held us back. And you’ll learn how to be more supportive of autistic children and adults, both those you already know and those you have yet to meet.