We're Not Broken

by Eric Garcia

  “I Am Autism”: Claudia Wallis, “‘I Am Autism’: An Advocacy Video Sparks Protest,” Time, November 6, 2009, http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1935959,00.html.

  “I know where you live”: “I Am Autism Commercial by Autism Speaks,” YouTube video, YouTube/Find Yaser, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UgLnWJFGHQ.

  a piece on the nonprofit’s website: Suzanne Wright, “Autism Speaks to Washington—A Call for Action,” Internet Archive, November 12, 2013, https://web.archive.org/web/20131112033720/https://www.autismspeaks.org/news/news-item/autism-speaks-washington-call-action.

  John Elder Robison: John Elder Robison, interview with the author, 2015.

  Trump reportedly met with Andrew Wakefield: Zack Kopplin, “Trump Met with Prominent Anti-Vaccine Activists During Campaign,” Science, November 18, 2016, https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/11/trump-met-prominent-anti-vaccine-activists-during-campaign.

  “there will be no single ‘cure’”: “For the Record,” Autism Speaks, 2020, https://www.autismspeaks.org/record.

  the first two autistic members: Dahl, “A Leading Autism Organization.”

  vice president of the organization: Valerie Paradiz, “One Woman’s Journey Navigating Autism and Mental Health,” Autism Speaks, July 8, 2019, https://www.autismspeaks.org/blog/one-womans-journey-navigating-autism-and-mental-health.

  criticized Ne’eman: Amy Harmon, “Nominee to Disability Council Is Lightning Rod for Dispute on Views of Autism,” New York Times, March 27, 2010, https://nytimes.com/2010/03/28/health/policy/28autism.html.

  “want to be associated with the autism spectrum”: Wright and Mermigas, The Wright Stuff, 366.

  right of the middle on the opposite end: Lydia X. Z. Brown, interview with the author, 2018.

  Dr. Sanjay Gupta profiled Mel Baggs: Sanjay Gupta, “Behind the Veil of Autism,” CNN, February 20, 2007, http://edition.cnn.com/HEALTH/blogs/paging.dr.gupta/2007/02/behind-veil-of-autism.html.

  video on YouTube called In my Language: Mel Baggs, “In My Language,” YouTube, 2007, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnylM1hI2jc.

  University of California, Berkeley: Hari Srinivasan, interview with the author, 2020.

  Jessica Benham got into autism advocacy: Jessica Benham, interview with the author, 2019.

  “It’s certainly a milestone”: Jessica Benham, interview with the author, 2020.

  Benham has won their endorsement: Hannah Lynn, “Pittsburgh LGBTQ Political Advocacy Group Announces Primary Election Endorsements,” Pittsburgh City Paper, February 10, 2020, https://www.pghcitypaper.com/pittsburgh/pittsburgh-lgbtq-political-advocacy-group-announces-primary-election-endorsements/Content?oid=16731149.

  she won her primary: Julia Terruso, “Bernie Sanders Is Done but His Fans in Pa. Keep Winning Primaries,” Philadelphia Inquirer, June 16, 2020, https://www.inquirer.com/news/nikil-saval-rick-krajewski-progressive-2020-pennsylvania-primary-harrisburg-20200616.html.

  2. “In My Mind, I’m Going to Carolina”

  about the decline of the coal industry: Kris Maher, “In Pro-Trump West Virginia Coal Country, the Jobs Keep Leaving,” Wall Street Journal, October 28, 2019, https://www.wsj.com/articles/in-pro-trump-west-virginia-coal-country-the-jobs-keep-leaving-11572269967.

  the gripping poverty: Aimee Picchi, “West Virginia Poverty Gets Worse Under Trump Economy, Not Better,” CBS News, September 28, 2018, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/west-virginia-poverty-gets-worse-under-trump-economy-not-better/.

  41.5 deaths per 100,000 people: “Harm Reduction Program,” Office of Epidemiology and Prevention Services, 2020, https://oeps.wv.gov/harm_reduction/pages/default.aspx.

  why the state had shifted: Mike Kelly, “A Town in Opioids’ Grip Still Looks to President Trump with Hope,” North Jersey Media Group, October 19, 2018, https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/columnists/mike-kelly/2018/10/17/town-opioids-grip-looks-donald-trump-hope/1381268002/.

  voting for Democrats in the twentieth century: Philip Bump, “How West Virginia Explains Donald Trump’s Political Success,” Washington Post, February 9, 2016, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/02/09/how-west-virginia-explains-donald-trumps-political-success/.

  the University of Alabama: Megan Davis, interview with the author, 2018.

  Ruth Christ Sullivan: Carter Taylor Seaton, “The Pioneer,” Huntington Quarterly, September 27, 2018, https://huntingtonquarterly.com/2018/09/27/issue-79-the-pioneer/.

  the cofounder of the National Society for Autistic Children: Pitney, The Politics of Autism, 20–21.

  Sullivan was focused: Silberman, NeuroTribes, 304.

  the movie Rain Man: Megan Osborne, “Autism Services Center Marks 40 Years with New Facility,” Herald-Dispatch, May 27, 2019, https://www.herald-dispatch.com/news/autism-services-center-marks-40-years-with-new-facility/article_73fa9c28-1e98-5c01-b24e-97b316e374d4.html.

  When Sullivan relocated to Huntington: Silberman, NeuroTribes, 299.

  NSAC’s Information and Referral Service: Kyla Asbury, “Autism Center Celebrates 30 Years,” Herald-Dispatch, March 28, 2009, https://www.herald-dispatch.com/news/recent_news/autism-center-celebrates-years/article_ae278fb9-b9e6-5dc8-b905-7fa9fb55a7bd.html.

  the first state to specifically include autism: Silberman, NeuroTribes, 299.

  In 1984, Sullivan led efforts: Barbara Becker-Cottrill, “From the Director,” The West Virginia Autism Training Center at Marshall University-News and Views, 2004, https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/15385274/2004-spring-issue-marshall­university.

  it began offering services for autistic students: Rebecca Hansen, interview with the author, 2018.

  Old Main Suite building: “Front Page,” College Program for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Marshall University, https://www.marshall.edu/collegeprogram/.

  Richie Combs, who was in his final year of college: Richie Combs, interview with the author, 2018.

  Zachariah Lewis: Zachariah Lewis, interview with the author, 2018.

  81 percent of college students with ASD: Xin Wei et al., “Postsecondary Pathways and Persistence for STEM Versus Non-STEM Majors: Among College Students with an Autism Spectrum Disorder,” Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 44, no. 5 (2014): 1159–67, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-013-1978-5.

  because it implies that disabled people are getting preferential treatment: Morton Ann Gernsbacher et al., “‘Special Needs’ Is an Ineffective Euphemism,” Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications 29, no. 1 (December 19, 2016), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5256467/.

  Timotheus Gordon: Timotheus Gordon, interview with the author, 2018.

  “There’s this element of disbelief”: M. Remi Yergeau, interview with the author, 2018.

  Hari Srinivasan: Hari Srinivasan, “The Neurodiversity of Autism at UC Berkeley,” Daily Californian, April 29, 2019, https://www.dailycal.org/2019/04/28/it-really-is-a-spectrum/.

  “my counselor knew most of the instructors”: Hari Srinivasan, interview with the author, 2020.

  “disability is a personal problem”: M. Remi Yergeau, interview with the author, 2018.

  Berkeley’s disabled students program: Hari Srinivasan, interview with the author, 2020.

  who goes by Aria on social media: Aria, e-mail interview with the author, 2019.

  perceive as low-functioning: Lee Romney, “Experts Called Hari ‘Low-Functioning’ for Years. Then He Found His Voice,” KALW, June 11, 2019, https://www.kalw.org/post/experts-called-hari-low-functioning-years-then-he-found-his-voice#stream/0.

  was even subjected to applied behavior analysis: Hari Srinivasan, interview with the author, 2020.

  admitted his past experiences using accommodations: Finn Gardiner, interview with the author, 2018.

  Tufts University in Massachusetts: “Finn Gardiner—Lurie Institute for Disability Policy,” Heller School, Brandeis, 2020, https://heller.brandeis.edu/lurie/about/gardiner.html.

  Lydia Brown: Lydia X. Z. Brown, “Autistic Hoya, 2020, https://www.autistichoya.com/.
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  taught a class at Tufts University: Lydia X. Z. Brown, interview with the author, 2018.

  Hansen, the director of campus-based services: Rebecca Hansen, interview with the author, 2018.

  executive functioning: Bonnie Glickman, “Executive Function Challenges in Children with Asperger Profiles,” Asperger / Autism Network, July 21, 2016, https://www.aane.org/executive-function-challenges-children-asperger-profiles/.

  This is the case with many of the students at Marshall: Rebecca Hansen, interview with the author, 2018.

  Marshall teaches “adaptive living skills”: “The WV Autism Training Center’s College Program for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder at Marshall University,” Marshall University, https://www.marshall.edu/collegeprogram/files/College-Program-Summary-and-Overview.pdf.

  Richie Combs told me: Richie Combs, interview with the author, 2018.

  Developing a Social Radar: “The WV Autism Training Center’s College Program for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder at Marshall University,” Marshall University, https://www.marshall.edu/collegeprogram/files/College-Program-Summary-and-Overview.pdf.

  said many students receive assistance: Rebecca Hansen, interview with the author, 2018.

  Gardner said it was important: Sara Gardner, interview with the author, 2018.

  overlap with Marshall’s: “Neurodiversity Navigators,” Bellevue College, 2020, https://36d5l8225ig13rrnnc3w4af9-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/68/2020/09/NdN-one-page-2021.pdf.

  most autistic college students, the major problem wasn’t: Scott L. J. Jackson et al., “Brief Report: Self-Reported Academic, Social, and Mental Health Experiences of Post-Secondary Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder,” Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 48, no. 3 (2017): 643–50, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-017-3315-x.

  Savicki argued it was “much more competitive”: Andrew Savicki, “The Hot Seat: Oklahoma’s 5th District,” Medium, September 3, 2018, https://medium.com/@rudnicknoah/the-hot-seat-oklahomas-5th-district-afdfd74f087.

  Horn proved Savicki right: Michael Burke, “Dem Kendra Horn Wins Oklahoma Seat in Major Upset,” Hill, November 7, 2018, https://thehill.com/homenews/house/415413-dem-kendra-horn-wins-oklahoma-seat-in-major-upset.

  “I’m just stuck in a never-ending loop”: Andrew Savicki, interview with the author, 2019.

  and himself a high school dropout: “John Elder Robison,” Psychology Today, 2020, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/experts/john-elder-robison.

  “What we need to balance that are successful adults”: John Elder Robison, “The Challenges of Neurodiversity in Colleges,” Look Me in the Eye, October 13, 2015, http://jerobison.blogspot.com/2015/10/the-challenges-of-neurodiversity-in.html.

  “most of us can grow up to live independently”: Robison, “The Challenges of Neurodiversity.”

  Caudel, who did not know he was autistic: Dave Caudel, interview with the author, 2018.

  Bridge Program: Dave Caudel, interview with the author, 2018.

  which helps underrepresented students: “About the Program—Fisk-Vanderbilt Master’s-to-PhD Bridge Program,” Fisk-Vanderbilt Master’s-to-PhD Bridge Program, https://www.fisk-vanderbilt-bridge.org/program.

  who founded the bridge program: Spencer Turney, “Ph.D. Bridge Programs Show Success in Fostering Diversity and Inclusion, According to New Study,” Vanderbilt University, December 6, 2019, https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2019/12/06/ph-d-bridge-programs-show-success-in-fostering-diversity-and-inclusion-according-to-new-study/.

  promote neurodiverse talent: “The Frist Center for Autism and Innovation,” Vanderbilt University, 2020, https://my.vanderbilt.edu/autismandinnovation/.

  “If we only take care of those wealthy kids who have autism”: Dave Caudel, interview with the author, 2018.

  Vanderbilt Autism and Neurodiversity Alliance (VANA): “Children’s Specialized Hospital—CDID Advisory Board,” Center for Discovery, Innovation and Development, 2020, http://www.cdid.org/advisory-board.

  “The thing that keeps me up late at night”: Dave Caudel, interview with the author, 2020.

  “There are two sides to Vanderbilt’s treatment of neurodiversity”: Claire Barnett, “The Neurodiversity Movement,” April 2, 2018, https://vanderbilthustler.exposure.co/the-neurodiversity-movement?embed=true.

  Vice President Mike Pence’s office: Claire Barnett, permission from the interviewee, 2020.

  “she would tell people, ‘I got hired because I’m autistic’”: Dave Caudel, interview with the author, 2020.

  3. “That Ain’t Workin’”

  he didn’t even intend to admit he was autistic: John Marble, interview with the author, 2018.

  to work on Hillary Clinton’s campaign: “John Marble,” Pivot Neurodiversity, 2020, https://www.pivotdiversity.com/john-marble.

  Autism Advantage: “About Us,” Neurodiversity Pathways, 2019, https://ndpathways.org/about-us/.

  individual service plans: “Workplace Readiness Program,” Neurodiversity Pathways, 2018, https://ndpathways.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/WPR-Brochure-Sept-2018-2.pdf.

  Marble frequently took students around to companies: John Marble, interview with the author, 2018.

  “soft bigotry of low expectations”: Linda Wertheimer, “A Final Word with President’s Faithful Speechwriter,” NPR, June 21, 2006, https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5499701.

  “Silicon Valley of tomorrow”: Nancy Snyderman, “Standards for Diagnosing Autism under Review,” Today, June 14, 2012, https://www.today.com/video/standards-for-diagnosing-autism-under-review-44548675739.

  when she pioneers new methods to handle livestock: Temple Grandin, Thinking in Pictures, 2006, https://www.grandin.com/inc/visual.thinking.html.

  learning to set off bombs: John Elder Robison, Look Me in the Eye (New York: Crown, 2007).

  and then working on toys: Robison, Look Me in the Eye, 192–96.

  before moving to cars: Robison, Look Me in the Eye, 232–36.

  commonly cited statistic: Paul Austin and Andrew Williams, “As People on the Autism Spectrum Move into Adulthood, Who Will Hire Them?,” Smarter Business Review, March 26, 2019, https://www.ibm.com/blogs/services/2019/03/26/as-people-on-the-autism-spectrum-move-into-adulthood-who-will-hire-them/.

  85 percent of college-educated autistic people: Nicole Lyn Pesce, “Most College Grads with Autism Can’t Find Jobs. This Group Is Fixing That,” MarketWatch, March 2, 2019, https://www.marketwatch.com/story/most-college-grads-with-autism-cant-find-jobs-this-group-is-fixing-that-2017-04-10-5881421.

  “the least common outcome”: Anne Roux el al., “2017 National Autism Indicators Report: Developmental Disability Services and Outcomes in Adulthood,” A. J. Drexel Autism Institute, Drexel University, May 24, 2017, https://drexel.edu/autismoutcomes/publications-and-reports/publications/National-Autism-Indicators-Report-Developmental-Disability-Services-and-Outcomes-in-Adulthood/.

  a quarter of autistic adults: Anne Roux el al., “2017 National Autism Indicators Report,” 13.

  hiring autistic people is not an act of charity: John Marble, interview with the author, 2018.

  regretted disclosing she was autistic to her employers: Marcelle Ciampi, interview with the author, 2019.

  the pen name Samantha Craft: Marcelle Ciampi, “Samantha,” My Spectrum Suite, 2020, http://www.myspectrumsuite.com/keynote-speaker-workshop-presenter/.

  for her book Everyday Aspergers: Samantha Craft, Everyday Aspergers: A Journey on the Autism Spectrum (Lancaster, UK: Explainer, 2018).

  employers begin to question: Marcelle Ciampi, interview with the author, 2019.

  “Our goal is that this initiative encourages”: Dane Holmes, “Embracing Neurodiversity,” Goldman Sachs, April 2, 2019, https://www.goldmansachs.com/careers/blog/posts/dane-holmes-embracing-neurodiversity.html.

  “traditional interview techniques”: H. Annabi et al., “Autism @ Work Playbook: Finding Talent and Creating Meaningful Employment Opportunities for People with Autism,” Information
School, University of Washington, 2019, https://disabilityin.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Autism_At_Work_Playbook_Final_02112019.pdf.

  robots out of Legos based on a set of instructions: Jeff Chu, “Why SAP Wants to Train and Hire Nearly 700 Adults with Autism,” Inc.com, June 12, 2015, https://www.inc.com/jeff-chu/sap-autism-india.html.

  these exercises was to gauge how candidates read and follow instructions: Chu, “Why SAP Wants to Train.”

  has pledged to create one million jobs for autistic people: Thorkil Sonne, “First Person: Founder of Specialisterne,” ABC News, April 1, 2010, https://abcnews.go.com/WN/person-founder-specialisterne/story?id=10260011.

  plenty of misconceptions: Tara Cunningham, interview with the author, 2018.

  “being honest and loyal”: Pesce, “Most College Grads with Autism.”

  he tweeted that disabled employees were not loyal: Steve Lieberman, 2019, Twitter, August 20, 2019, https://twitter.com/stevemlieberman/status/1163967410325610497.

  “I worry about saying, ‘Hire an autistic person’”: Tara Cunningham, interview with the author, 2018.

  focusing on a certain type: Julia Bascom, interview with the author, 2019.

  withdrew from the discussion: Julia Bascom, correspondence with the author, 2020.

  Kriss told me in 2020: Alan Kriss, interview with the author, 2020.

  “While it’s good to advocate for decreased barriers”: endever star, interview with the author, 2018.

  A total of 383,941 autistic people: Social Security Administration, Office of Retirement and Disability Policy, and Office of Research, Evaluation, and Statistics, 2020, “SSI Annual Statistical Report, 2019,” Social Security, August 2020, https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/statcomps/ssi_asr/2019/ssi_asr19.pdf.

  Meanwhile, people who have never been able to work: endever star, interview with the author, 2018.

  “One of the times they told me I wasn’t disabled enough”: Andrew Savicki, interview with the author, 2019.

  President Franklin D. Roosevelt: Howard D. Samuel, “Troubled Passage: The Labor Movement and the Fair Labor Standards Act,” Monthly Labor Review, December 2000, https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2000/12/art3full.pdf.