In November, 2015, President Donald Trump was speaking at a rally in South Carolina when he began to criticize a New York Times journalist, Serge Kovaleski, who has arthrogryposis, a congenital condition affecting his joints. Trump’s beef was that the man had allegedly disclaimed having reported that Muslims in New Jersey celebrated the 911 attacks...Read More

This is video #12 in my video series introducing my book The Power of Neurodiversity:  Unleashing the Advantages of Your Neurodivergent Brain (Completely Updated and Revised Second Edition).  In this video I highlight four individuals whose successes in life have made them good exemplars for neurodivergent individuals, especially those on the spectrum: Temple Grandin, Anthony...Read More

The public perception of people diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is that it is a disability.  However, when seen through the lens of Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences, the situation is more complex with both strengths and challenges serving as a truer picture of autism.  People identified with ASD usually have difficulty with...Read More

Neurodiversity originally emerged in the 1990’s out of the efforts of autism rights advocates (see for example, Jim Sinclair’s 1993 speech ”Don’t Mourn for Us’‘  which many view as the initial impetus for the neurodiversity movement). In this video (part 7 of a 10 part series on An Introduction to Neurodiversity), I look at the...Read More

A new study reveals that the strong interests of students with autism should be encouraged, not suppressed.  New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, surveyed autistic adults and asked them reflect on their childhood interests and the way in which they impacted on their current occupation.  Of the 80 participants in...Read More