Monday, October 20, 2008

Herstory 12th Anniversary Gala & Luncheon

Yesterday, I read the introduction to my book, "The Naughty Autie," at Herstory's 12th Anniversary Gala and Luncheon, which was held at the Charles B. Wang Center at Stony Brook University. I think it went extraordinarily well, and I'm so happy to have gotten it on video so that I can share it with you all. The audio is also much clearer than that from the video of my Gersh Academy speech. So, without further ado, here is my reading (and if you'd like to pass it on, the link is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRw6Qod9oG8):


Thursday, October 9, 2008

My Article in the ASCEND Newsletter and Other News

I am very happy to announce that "Miss Peach Strikes Out," the article I wrote for the ASCEND Fall 2008 newsletter, has finally been published! I received several copies of it in the mail courtesy of Deirdre Wright, the founder of ASCEND, whom I met at COSAC's annual conference in Atlantic City this past May.

So, without further ado, I am proud to present my article, "Miss Peach Strikes Out," and a sidebar that I also wrote, "The Naughty Autie's Top Five Dating Tips for Girls with Asperger's Syndrome," both of which are featured in the Fall 2008 of the ASCEND Newsletter.

Cover (my article title is circled in red):


Centerfold!


Page One:


Page Two:


~*~

In other news, I am also excited to announce that another article I wrote, "I Can Cook, I Can Write: Prenatal Testing, Asperger's Syndrome, and the Journey to Existence," has been accepted for publication in the February '09 issue of Autism Spectrum Quarterly magazine! I am also being interviewed by Liane Holliday Wiley in the "C.E.O.: Celebrating Excellence and Originality" column for the November '08 issue, as a lead-in piece. So I will post links to the articles here as they become available. Don't forget to look for the hard copy issues on newsstands, too!

In terms of public speaking engagements, I have several events that are occurring this month. On October 19th, I will be performing a reading at Herstory's 12th Anniversary Gala Luncheon at the Charles B. Wang Center at Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, NY. On October 26th, I am facilitating a workshop for parents of children on the spectrum at the Special Day for Special Kids event at the West Hills Day Camp in Huntington, NY. Finally, I am scheduled to speak at two social skills group meetings at the JCC in Manhattan; one on October 21st, the other on November 4th. I'll also be co-chairing, along with my business manager and friend Nicole Turon-Diaz, a vendor table at Kean University's "Autism: Putting the Pieces Together" conference on November 21st. There is also the potential that I may be speaking at the conference. I'll be sure to let you all know how that pans out.

This bears little repeating, but, I (obviously) have quite a busy schedule ahead of me these next few months. I'm also going through a bit of personal turmoil at the moment, trying to find a new apartment in which to live with my friend Dan, as my current situation is coming to a close and I'll need to move out of here soon. Sigh. So much to do, so little time. I'll see you folks at the next bend in the road.