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.
To learn about a day in the life of adults on the autism spectrum, we invite you to read their stories.
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.
In our original series which was published by Geek Club Books, we collected together a group of 13 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.
When Geek Club Books shut their nonprofit doors at the end of 2021, the original series was available for free download. Permission to share was given to Autism Empowerment, the nonprofit creator of SpectrumLife.org.
Because the series provides such a wonderful opportunity to hear diverse autistic stories, Autism Empowerment was excited to provide a platform for the series to continue with new interviews each quarter. Jenny Bristol and Rebecca Burgess joined Autism Empowerment and Spectrum Life Magazine as contributing creators in 2022. In each quarterly issue, autistic writer Jenny Bristol will interview an autistic adult who has found success in their own way. Autistic creator Rebecca Burgess will provide an illustration based on that person’s photos and interests.
Our first collaboration was in the Spring 2022 issue and features Adriana White, librarian, teacher, and champion for the neurodivergent. You can read that article at our sister site, SpectrumLife.org or on pages 29 – 33 of our Spring 2022 issue. Also check out her feature at our SpectrumLife.org website, 10 Picture Books for Starting A Conversation About Autism.
Our second collaboration was in the Summer 2022 issue and features Jennifer Cook, librarian, teacher, and champion for the neurodivergent. You can read that article here or on pages 16 – 19 of our Summer 2022 issue. Fun fact: Jennifer recently starred as the featured autism expert in Love on the Spectrum U.S. on Netflix!
Our third collaboration was in the Fall 2022 issue and features Dr. Anson Service, a mental health professional and advocate who has both an autism and ADHD diagnosis. You can read that article here or on pages 48 – 53 of our Fall 2022 issue. Fun fact: Dr. Service is a regular columnist for Spectrum Life Magazine and has a channel on YouTube called the Neurodivergent Doctor. He recently joined Autism Empowerment’s Board of Directors and is local to the Southwest Washington area!
Our fourth collaboration is in the Summer 2023 issue and features Karen Krejcha, Executive Director and Co-Founder of Autism Empowerment. She is also the Editor of Spectrum Life Magazine. Karen is an autistic advocate devoted to faith, family and service. You can read her interview here and in our Summer 2023 issue. Fun fact: Karen was a touring professional bowler with the Professional Women’s Bowling Association (PWBA) in the 1990s and has competed collegiately, nationally and internationally!
Our fifth and sixth collaborations bring us back full circle to have updated interviews with our original series creators, Jenny Bristol and Rebecca Burgess. As it had been a few years since the original series started and many Autism Empowerment and Spectrum Life readers had never seen Jenny and Rebecca’s stories in print, we thought it would be a good time to re-introduce these talented creators back to our community.
Jenny Bristol is a writer, multipotentialite, and devoted family member. She is a Gen-Xer who was diagnosed autistic at age 45 and has been having a series of lightbulb moments ever since, finally understanding her entire existence. She is an autistic advocate, freelance writer and author of several books, Editor-in-Chief of the geeky parenting blog GeekMom.com, and parent to two incredible autistic adults. She works hard to promote the social model of autism rather than the medical model, encouraging people to understand that a child’s behavior is a form of communication and a reflection of their inner struggle, not something to be punished. You can read her interview here or on pages 16 – 20 of our Winter 2023 issue.
Rebecca Burgess is a thoughtfully creative illustrator, comic artist and author working in the UK, creating award-winning published and small press work. Along with drawing comics for their day job, Rebecca also loves drawing webcomics in their free time. Being autistic, they are particularly passionate about bringing more autistic characters into comics and stories! Outside of drawing comics and cuddling their cat, Rebecca also loves playing RPGs with friends, going on deep dives into history and growing vegetables in their humble Bristol garden. You can read her interview here or on pages 22 – 25 of our Winter 2023 issue.
Our seventh and most recent collaboration was in the Summer 2024 issue and features Marcus Hedemark, a tech professional based out of eastern U.S.A. who has grown and expanded both his career and his understanding of himself in big ways throughout the years. An advocate for authenticity, personal growth and exploration, Marcus actively embraces multiple hobbies including photography. He is multifaceted, giving his attention to many things and his interview provides a lot of helpful advice and wisdom for other autistic and non-autistic teens and adults. You can read his interview here and in our Summer 2024 issue.
Coming Soon:
Watch for a new interview in the Fall 2024 issue of Spectrum Life Magazine out in October 2024.
Original Interviews and Illustrations:
You may read and download a copy of the entire series here at:
https://bit.ly/adayinourlives.
Autistic adults who are featured in the original interview series include:
- Lauren Alex Hooper
- Abby Brooke
- Hari Srinivasan
- Anthony Schmidt (middle row, center)
- Maisie Soetantyo
- Emma Dalmayne (middle row, right)
- Anthony Harrison (middle row, left)
- Jenny Bristol (bottom row, middle)
- Rebecca Burgess (bottom row, left)
- Lyric Holmans, NeuroDivergent Rebel (top row, right)
- Chris Bonnello, Autistic Not Weird (bottom row, left)
- Haley Moss (top row, left)
- Dr. Lamar Hardwick (top row, middle)
Jenny Bristol is a Gen-Xer who was diagnosed autistic at age 45 and has been having a series of lightbulb moments ever since, finally understanding her entire existence. She is an autistic advocate, freelance writer and author of several books, Editor-in-Chief of the geeky parenting blog GeekMom.com, and parent to two incredible autistic adults. She works hard to promote the social model of autism rather than the medical model, encouraging people to understand that a child’s behavior is a form of communication and a reflection of their inner struggle, not something to be punished. Visit www.GeekMom.com
Rebecca Burgess is a comic artist and illustrator working in the UK, creating award-winning published and small press work. Along with drawing comics for their day job, Rebecca also loves drawing webcomics in their free time. Being autistic, they are particularly passionate about bringing more autistic characters into comics and stories! Outside of drawing comics and cuddling their cat, Rebecca also loves playing RPGs with friends, going on deep dives into history and growing vegetables in their humble Bristol garden. Visit www.rebeccaburgess.co.uk
last updated 07/20/2024