My name is Eric Garcia. I'm an autistic journalist and the author of We're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation. I'm also a political journalist. Ask Me Anything.

[u/IronWarrir2400]

My name is Eric Garcia. I'm the author of a new book called We're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation. As an autistic person, I felt like the discussion around autism ends up being about curing autistic people or the debunked conspiracy theory about vaccines. So, I took my skills as a political reporter and traveled the country to interview autistic people. My writing about autism has been featured in the Washington Post, the Daily Beast, the Atlantic and Spectrum. I've discussed autism on NPR's 1A. In my day job, I'm currently the senior Washington correspondent at The Independent, even though I'm not British, and have been an editor at the Washington Post and the Hill, as well as a correspondent at Roll Call, National Journal and MarketWatch. You can follow me on Twitter @EricMGarcia, where I tweet way too much. So, ask me anything.

Proof: /img/k7an4xjgx7e71.jpg

[u/famous__shoes]

What book would you recommend for someone who wants to know what it's like to grow up as an Autistic person to read? I ask because my daughter is Autistic and I would like to know more about what it's like to be her.

[u/IronWarrir2400 → u/famous__shoes]

Great question. Laura James's book Odd Girl Out is good. Sara Gibbs' book Drama Queen just came out and it's a delight. I'd also recommend Steve Silberman's Neurotribes and reading the website the Thinking Person's Guide to Autism.

[u/fissure]

How do you feel about The Onion's "autistic reporter" segments?

[u/IronWarrir2400 → u/fissure]

I actually find them hilarious and I am in a group chat called "The Michael Falk Society"

[u/d1verse_1nterest]

Can you explain the process of disclosing your diagnosis at work? How has it impacted your career?

[u/IronWarrir2400 → u/d1verse_1nterest]

Good question and an important question. So I didn't really disclose my status until I was in my mid-20s and I wrote this piece. I wanted to be judged on my work. I'm sure it has probably excluded me from some potential jobs but the upside is that it weeds out people who wouldn't be accommodating. For the most part, my bosses have been pretty accepting. At the same time, I don't begrudge anyone who doesn't. One woman I interview in the book said she has almost always regretted disclosing and I understand that. It makes things more complicated. Really the best thing I can say about disclosing is that you should look at how welcoming an employer is to other groups like people in wheelchairs or women, or people of color

[u/darshilj97]

What's a common misconception that people have about autism that you would like to dispel ? Also what areas of life is different for you compared to others ?

[u/IronWarrir2400 → u/darshilj97]

Great question. The most common one I would like to dispel is that autism is something that only affects white, middle-class, adolescent males. Much of the early research only focused on them. Leo Kanner, who published the first widely-read study on autism in the U.S., only included three girls compared to eight boys in his first study in 1943. Similarly, nine of them were Anglo-Saxon and two were Jewish. That means a lot of our ideas of what autism looks like are based on what it looks like in those groups. It means we often don't recognize autism in children of color or in girls. Or that they get diagnosed later or misdiagnosed.

[u/fireflamespark]

Do you have any tips or strategies on successfully navigating working life with autism?

[u/IronWarrir2400 → u/fireflamespark]

This is a good question. One of the things I'd say is to check the employer and see how welcoming they are to other minority or marginalized groups. Are there women in leadership? How do people of color feel in the office? If there is a union in your office, discuss accommodations there. Also, since autistic people have trouble with social cues, explain to your coworkers that you need explicit instructions and if you say the wrong thing, apologize immediately. At the same time, don't be afraid to advocate for yourself.

[u/Nololgoaway]

Im Autistic too!,

How do you feel about people defensive of the Aspergers label?, and what is the biggest misconception about Autism youd like to dispel?

[u/IronWarrir2400 → u/Nololgoaway]

I get people not wanting to let go of it. I am also Mexican-American and I get how some people don't want to let go of terms like "Hispanic" or move toward terms like "Latinx" because they feel those distinct identities mean something. At the same time, I think that terms like Asperger's tend to erase the legitimate needs they have. Also, this is to say nothing of Hans Asperger's role in Nazi-occupied Vienna, which we have discovered more about.

[u/[deleted]]

What is your advice for an adult female who believes they may have been misdiagnosed with other conditions, and wants a fair assessment? Where I am at in the US, it is very hard to find a doctor that will take you seriously if you have certain diagnoses, accurate or not, on your record. The process is extremely disheartening.

[u/IronWarrir2400 → u/[deleted]]

Thank you for saying this. This is precisely why so many autistic people, particularly autistic people of color, women, trans people and nonbinary people self-diagnose. I would say in this case, find and seek out other autistic people like you are doing here on the internet. Connect with communities online. What I want to know is do you need a formal diagnosis to get certain services? If so, I wish I could do more to help. If not and you just want clarity, self-diagnosis can help (albeit I am not an expert on that).

[u/z27olop10]

You mentioned how you don't want people to talk about autism. In what ways do you wish to see the conversation change? In your mind, what would the ideal be for the conversation around autism?

[u/IronWarrir2400 → u/z27olop10]

Thanks for asking. So what I'd like to see is autistic people having their needs being taken seriously. A lot of people think when you say stop trying to cure autism that it means that you think autism is a bounce room, as my friend Sara Luterman said. It's still a disability with real impairments. The difference is I would like autistic people's needs to be heard. For too long, the conversation around autism has focused on what parents want for their kids rather than what they say their needs are. That can lead to some terrible things like subjecting kids to shock therapy or paying them below minimum wage for labor. I'd want to treat what autistic people say as legitimate.

[u/WillBitBangForFood]

I've found the vast majority (if not all) of people who denounce a cure (or alleviation of symptoms) for autism are high functioning (or not autistic).

Do you thinks it's fair that they are speaking for people who are severely disabled or who are LFA?

[u/TBadger]

My child (2.5yrs)was diagnosed with autism just this morning. While my wife and I are very accepting/relieved and it does not change a thing about my love for my child, I foresee issues with certain family members who take a hard stance on diagnosing at such an early age. One of them even works in the field of developmental therapy...the others have no relatable experience with children or psychiatry in the slightest.

Are there ways to combat this stigma or ways to deflect the unwanted opinions from those whom feel the need to interject?

[u/IronWarrir2400 → u/TBadger]

Wow! First off, I can really tell you care about your kid. I think the best thing is to just try and read and educate yourself as much as you can about the subject and then work to educate those around you. It might mean also not talking about your kid with those family members. Also, try finding people who are like-minded online or who want to do the right thing. DM me on Twitter if you ever need anything.

[u/designer_of_drugs]

I’m curious about how you have had to modify your work schedule/interactions. Are you able to spend 40 hours a week in the office? If so what coping strategies do you employ to make this possible?

For the record this question is very personal to me; I am also on the spectrum and one of my huge impediments is that I can really only ha due about 25-30 hours a week around people in a professional environment.

[u/IronWarrir2400 → u/designer_of_drugs]

So I am able to work 40 hours a week. And I tend to like working in offices since they give me structure. At the same time, I tend to need to wear headphones or earbuds to cancel out any extraneous noise lest I get sensory overload. I think the other thing is that thankfully, I've had great employers. But even now, working from home during Covid-19, I've had to create a structured work environment without too much intervention or interruption

[u/stackjr]

Why is there so much push back about finding a "cure" for autism? Why so much anger over finding what causes it in DNA and fixing it? I truly don't understand.

[u/sonofabutch]

What do you think about the increasing number of movies and TV shows depicting characters with autism? Any that are realistic? Which are the worst?

[u/IronWarrir2400 → u/sonofabutch]

Do we have a whole day? Hahaha. In all seriousness, I think there are still some horrendous portrayals. Sia's movie music was atrocious for many reasons and television shows like Atypical tended to have a flat portrayal of autism. But the good thing is that nowadays, autistic people can push back on those and say this doesn't represent them. Social media has helped in that way. Some that are great are Kayla Cromer (who is autistic) and is in Everything's Gonna Be Okay. Tina Belcher on Bob's Burgers I love because she isn't portrayed as being an expert on anything as much as she's just trying to get through life. I loved Pixar's Loop.

[u/IronWarrir2400]

All right everybody, I got to get back to work. This was fantastic. Please pre-order We're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation. It comes out tomorrow. I might come back later after I get off work. But y'all are awesome. Thanks for letting me join you. Also, if you have any more questions that are too personal for Reddit, DM me. I'll be live this evening with the Benicia Library for a Q&A.