Keynote Speech at AHA-NY's Fall Autism Conference

Happy Holidays, folks! I am so happy to be able to share with you video of my first-ever keynote speech, about my experiences in school and growing up as a girl on the autism spectrum, which I gave at AHA-NY's 2014 Fall Autism conference in Holbrook, New York this past October. It's a bit long, but I hope you'll all take the time to watch it when you can. And please feel free to share this with anyone you think might be interested. Thank you!

October Speaking Appearances!

Hello, folks! Just wanted to share with you that I will be speaking at two autism conferences this month. The first is AHA-NY's 24th Annual Fall Conference, at which I will be giving my first ever keynote address, on my experiences in school as a child on the autism spectrum. The conference will be held at Eastern Suffolk BOCES in Holbrook, NY on October 20th:

(Click here to view conference brochure)

The second speaking engagement that I have lined up is a workshop on autism and sexuality at Autism New Jersey's 32nd Annual Conference, which I will be co-presenting with Dr. Peter Gerhardt and autism self-advocate Jason Ross. The conference will be held at the Atlantic City Convention Center in Atlantic City, NJ on October 23rd:

(Click here to view conference brochure)

Audio recordings of both presentations will be available after the conferences, and I am hoping to possibly have my keynote speech video-recorded. I will post links to all recordings as soon as they are available. And if you're anywhere near either of these conference venues, I'd love to see you in person! Plus, you'll be in for a great day or two of informative and interesting autism-related presentations and discussions.

Thanks, everyone, and keep checking back for more posts about future speaking appearances!

Amy Does TED!

On April 11th, I had the very exciting opportunity to speak at the TEDx conference at Seton Hall University in New Jersey! One of the organizers for the conference had asked me several weeks prior if I would be interested in participating, and though I had never done a TED talk before, I was happy for the chance to do so and bring my story to a new crowd. Here is the program from the evening's events, with the biographies of each speaker (listed in order of appearance):

The theme of this TEDx conference was "(R)evolution" (a combination of both evolution and revolution). Each speaker came from very disparate backgrounds and spoke from a variety of world views, and for my talk, I spoke about my personal evolution as a woman on the autism spectrum, and then the revolution that we're starting to undergo in society with how we look at autism and at disability overall, and how much farther we have to go.

I'm very happy to now share with you all video of my TEDx speech. The quality is unfortunately not the best, so you may need to turn your volume up to hear properly. Please feel free to share this as well, however you see fit.



I'm so glad that I had this opportunity, and I hope I will have the chance to speak at more TED talks in the future!

Recent Public Speaking Appearances and Events!

The last month has brought a wave of several wonderful events in which I am proud to have participated. First, there was Autism New Jersey's annual conference, held on October 17-18th in Atlantic City, NJ, at which I spoke on the Self-Advocate Panel. The panel went on to receive a mention on Autism New Jersey's "Conference Highlights" page. Here I am with the other self-advocate panelists:

Left to right: Kerry Magro, Amy Gravino, John Richardson, and Lindsey Nebeker.

That same weekend, on October 19th, I co-presented a workshop on autism/Asperger's Syndrome and sexuality with Dr. Peter Gerhardt in Richmond, Virginia. The presentation--titled Sexuality & Sexuality Instruction for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders: What Everyone Needs To Know--was co-sponsored by Virginia Commonwealth University and the Autism Society of Central Virginia:

 

With Dr. Peter Gerhardt.

I want to thank Autism New Jersey and Dr. Gerhardt from the bottom of my heart for inviting me to be a part of these presentations. The response and feedback that I received from members at both presentations was tremendous. The workshop with Dr. Gerhardt was a liberating and thrilling experience in particular, and was the first of what I hope will be many more presentations on the subject of sexuality and autism. It is my goal to become a more recognized authority on the subject, both as a professional speaking from a clinical standpoint and a person on the spectrum coming from a personal perspective.

Want me to come speak at your school or organization? Any and all public speaking or media inquiries should be directed to my business manager, Nicole Turon-Diaz.

AHA-NY's Annual Spring Autism Conference

This is me moderating a workshop at AHA-NY's annual Spring conference on Saturday, April 21st at Adelphi University. Although I have moderated conference panels previously, this was my first turn as a room moderator (i.e., the person who makes the announcements at the beginning and end of the workshop, introduces the speakers, and corrals the audience). The speakers were Dr. Stephen Store and Dr. Faith Kappenberg, two people whom I have been fortunate to know for a very long time now.

The subject of the workshop was the implications of the forthcoming changes to the DSM-5--specifically, the removal of the Asperger's Syndrome and PDD-NOS diagnoses, and the implementation of the broader "Autism Spectrum Disorders" diagnosis.

The Biggest Day of My Life (So Far)

On Wednesday, April 6th, I had the distinct honor and privilege to sit on a panel at the United Nations in New York City. It was an event co-sponsored by Autism Speaks and the Permanent Mission of Bangladesh at the United Nations, dedicated to raising awareness of autism and addressing related issues in different areas.

My job was to be the "human" face on the subject, to remind the audience and the other panelists that, first and foremost, we are dealing with people here. Not statistics, not figures, but fellow human beings. The other panelists were Dr. Geri Dawson, Chief Science Officer of Autism Speakers; Prof. Saima Wazed Hossain, Chair of the National Advisory Committee on Autism in Bangladesh and daughter of the Prime Minister; and Dr. Shekhar Saxena, Director of the Mental Health division at the World Health Organization.

As I sat on a couch in the Bangladesh Mission before the event, I kept wondering how it was that I got there. A series of chance encounters, made connections, coincidences, taken opportunities, and plain old luck seemed to be at work, all in combination. My family, my friends, everyone who believed in me in my life, are all what I felt like propelled me to the place where I am now, the place where I would be invited to be a part of something like this.

I could say so much more on the subject, but I would very much like to show you all the video of the event, so that you can see for yourself what it was like. The entire event is in the video below, and my portion of the panel starts at the 1 hour, 8 minute mark. I hope you enjoy it!

An Exciting Announcement!

Hello, folks!

I am thrilled and honored to announce that I have been asked to speak at an event on April 6th at the United Nations in NYC! It's co-sponsored by Autism Speaks and the Permanent Mission of Bangladesh at the UN. I will be on a panel with three other speakers: Dr. Geri Dawson, the Chief Science Officer of Autism Speaks; Dr. Shekhar Saxena, the director of the Mental Health division of the World Health Organization; and Prof. Saima Hossain, the Chair of the Autism Advisory Committee on Autism in Bangladesh who is also the daughter of the prime minister.

The event will be attended by the Secretary General (who is giving opening remarks), as well as UN dignitaries and representatives from UN organizations (such as the WHO). The topic I have been asked to discuss is my perspective as a self-advocate and how international collaboration can help to deliver answers for the autism community.

This event is FREE and open to the public, so if you are in the New York area, feel free to come! Click the photo below to view the "Save the Date" flyer with all of the pertinent details (flyer is in PDF format).




Also, be sure to watch for my next blog post, which will be my thoughts on the landmark episode of the TV show Parenthood, in which the parents of a character with Asperger's Syndrome tell the child about his diagnosis.

Interview on NY Talk Radio!

Last night, my friend/business manager Nicole Turon-Diaz told me of a radio show called "Your Beautiful Child" on NY Talk Radio in Tribeca that she was going to be interviewed on today. The show addresses issues faced by parents of individuals with autism spectrum disorders, and Nicole was being interviewed about her organization, Learning By Design, and her upcoming collaboration with Joey Travolta on a summer film camp for kids with special needs.

Initially, Nicole asked if I would call in to the show, but when I told her that my meeting with my professor had been moved from today to Wednesday, she asked if I wanted to accompany her into the city and be on the show itself! I was quite surprised by this, but readily agreed.

So, we drove into the city today and met up with Shane B. Kulman, the woman who is the host of the show, for brunch at a restaurant in Tribeca called Bubby's. We discussed what would be happening on the show and what it would be like, and I found myself very excited for what lie ahead.

It was truly quite an experience, and so much fun. The show wasn't taped in your standard recording studio, either...it was in this building in Tribeca, on the first floor. There was a cat that kept crawling all over me (cute little bugger--left white hairs all over my black dress. Go figure). The room had five different decades of stuff in it: an '80s-looking mirror on the wall; an old, old Singer sewing machine from the 20s; an old radio; a huge vintage portrait of Elizabeth Taylor on the wall; and this coffee table that looked like it was carved out of a tree. Not to mention paisley Oriental rugs and a wet bar that looked like it was from the '70s. Apparently different shows can rent out the space to record there, and just...zowie. What a space indeed.

So, I am pleased to report that the interview went very well--I even got to read my "Letter to My Younger Self" on the air! If you're interested in listening, here is the link (just click on the "play" button, or click "Download" to download it to your computer): http://nytalkradio.net/wordpress/podcasts/your-beautiful-child/lucky-13/. Please do let me know what you think of the show if you decide to listen. Thanks, and I hope you enjoy it!

Friends with Benefits

This past Tuesday, I attended the 6th annual benefit for GRASP, the Global and Regional Asperger Syndrome Partnership. Each year, GRASP gives out three awards: the DNA (Divine Neurotypical Award) to a neurotypical individual who has made tremendous contributions and worked towards helping the autism/Asperger's community, the FAB (Friend and Benefactor award) to an organization that has funded and worked towards improving the lives of individuals on the spectrum, and, most recently, the DSM (Distinguished Spectrumite Medal) to a person who is on the spectrum themselves, for their contributions to the Asperger's community.

This year's honorees were Lois Rosenwald (DNA), Linda Walder-Fiddle (FAB), and John Elder Robison (DSM). I was especially thrilled to hear about Linda, as I am on the Self-Advocate Advisory Board for her organization, the Daniel Jordan Fiddle Foundation. Having met John at the AHA-NY conference last month, I was also happy to hear about him getting the DSM, as he is a very nice, very funny man and has done quite a lot to raise the profile of Asperger's Syndrome in the media.

Every year, Michael John Carley (Executive Director of GRASP) has a young adult diagnosed with Asperger's stand up and speak for a few minutes before the awards are given out, to say what GRASP has meant to them over the years. As excited as I was to attend the benefit in the first place, my spirits soared when Michael asked me to be the one to speak this year. I remembered sitting in the audience last year and wishing that it was I who was up there speaking. Stranger things, eh?

It is a bit daunting, however, to condense all that I could say into a 5-minute speech. I had jotted down a few notes on a purple index card, just to remind myself of the points I wanted to touch on, but once I got up there, I hardly even looked at it. The words just seemed to flow, and I spoke from my heart. I don't know if anyone was video recording it, but I feel pretty good about what I said and I believe I got my message across articulately and with poise (which is rare for me, because my spazitude has always gotten in the way of even the tiniest scrap of poise that I might have had in the past).

Just when I thought the evening couldn't get any better...it did! Malachy McCourt (brother of author Frank, who wrote Angela's Ashes, and who is an author, playwright, and political activist in his own right) was in attendance as the resident "celebrity auctioneer" who hosted the silent auction that was taking place. He got up at the end to announce the winners of the auctions, but before he did, he quoted a part of my speech! I had at one point compared being a person with Asperger's Syndrome in a roomful of neurotypicals to Lawrence Welk being at the Apollo Theater.

"Lawrence Welk at the Apollo...that image will stay with me forever!" Malachy declared, and I laughed, elated beyond all measure that he had both quoted me AND liked the joke that I made! I just couldn't believe it. I went up to him afterwards and thanked him for giving me a shout-out, and he was just so sweet, saying that he had loved my speech and the way I'd spoken. He's like an old Irish grandpa, and he tells wonderfully bawdy jokes and has a razor-sharp wit. I even gave him a big hug, and he hugged me back.

My parents were at the benefit, too, and I was able to introduce them to Marc Sirkin from Autism Speaks, the man who had asked to publish my "Letter to My Younger Self" on Autism Speaks' blog. He had brought with him another gentleman named Kai MacMahon, who is the new Director of Online Fundraising at Autism Speaks. Kai introduced himself to me (I liked him right off the bat because he's English. The accent does it for me, what can I say), and we had a lovely little conversation about cooking and my ability and his lack thereof. He said he'd read my Letter as well and had really enjoyed it.

I also met Jesse Saperstein, who just published a book called "Atypical: Life with Asperger's in 20 1/3 Chapters." Interestingly, Jesse is the person who played the same role at the benefit last year that I played this year. I am hoping that, with any small measure of luck, I will follow in his footsteps and have published "The Naughty Autie" by this time next year. In fact, Jesse told me that he was going to refer his publisher to me, because they are looking to publish books about Asperger's Syndrome. So, fingers and toes crossed! We'll see what happens.

I have to admit, I was a little nervous about my speech, if only because I wanted to be sure I covered all of the ground that needed to be covered, and that I did it well. People were coming up to me afterwards to offer all sorts of praise, and so it seems my speech went over like gangbusters! Everyone was so kind and friendly, and it greatly put my mind at ease, that's for sure.

So, overall, the 6th annual GRASP benefit was a smashing success. My friend/business manager Nicole had donated three necklaces to the silent auction, and at least one was bid on (I'm sure all of them were, though). I got to see lots of old, familiar faces, and a few new ones of people who'd heard of me and even read my blog! So here's a big *wave* to all of you out there. Thank you for coming up to me and letting me know who you are! I hope to meet all of the readers of my blog someday, because your support has meant so much to me as I continue on this journey to making the voices heard of all those who are on the autism spectrum. Today, the GRASP benefit in NYC; tomorrow--the world. :)

And now, for a few pictures from the evening!

Linda Walder-Fiddle and me


Marc Sirkin, Chief Community Officer of Autism Speaks, and me


My mom and me speaking to author Jesse Saperstein at his book-signing table.


Me speaking at the benefit. You can't tell here, but Malachy McCourt was in the row right behind where my parents and I were sitting!

Everything in Moderation

So, here we are now on the 13th of May, and I have some wonderful new things to write about!

First of all, on May 1st, I had a first of my own: my first time acting as a moderator for a panel at a conference. AHA-NY (AHANY.org) is a support organization on Long Island for individuals with high-functioning autism and Asperger's Syndrome. My mom happens to be on the board of this organization, and I've known the president, Pat Schissel, for a great many years. I got my start in public speaking at AHA-NY's Spring conference ages ago, as a member of the teen panel when I was 14.

That was when the conference was still held at Roslyn High School, but now it's become bigger and better than ever, and for the past several years, has been held at Adelphi University in Garden City, NY. This year promised to be extra special, as the keynote speaker was John Elder Robison, author of Look Me in the Eye. As it turned out, John was also one of the speakers on the adult panel...the very panel that I was asked to moderate.

The topic of the panel was adults who had received their autism diagnoses in adulthood (in their 20s, 30s, 40s, and beyond) and how it affected their relationships with others and their lives overall. Aside from John, the other panelists were Ryan Oldis, Zosia Zaks, and Branden Plank. I remember standing, waiting, as Pat introduced me to the crowd. I actually spoke on another adult panel at that conference five years ago, with Stephen Shore and another person, and it was also the last AHA Spring conference that I attended. How different...how fitting, to be returning in this new role.

I think I did a fairly decent job, despite not having the effortless smoothness that seasoned moderators possess. I was able to meet John Robison before the panel, and after at the post-conference gathering at Pat's house, which was quite nice. And, funnily enough, I will be seeing him again at GRASP's annual benefit on June 8th in NYC, where he is receiving the DSM (Distinguished Spectrumite Medal) award, and where Michael John Carley has asked me to speak for a few moments about what GRASP has meant to me.

In other news, on April 29th, I defended my Masters thesis for a second time. I spent months revising and reworking my proposal, with the help of my advisor, Ken Reeve, and together we made my study a thing of beauty to behold. I hardly felt nervous at all as I prepared for my defense--and those preparations included making food for the big day to bring to my committee: Quinoa pilaf with spring vegetables (asparagus, orange bell pepper, red bell pepper, zucchini, golden beets); mini-grilled cheese sandwiches with fontina, Parmesan, sage, and prosciutto; and a blueberry cornmeal cake for dessert.

The defense went so smoothly--far more than the first one had back in December. And I am pleased as punch to report that my proposal was accepted with minor revisions! So that means I just have to make a few small changes, and I can then start running my study. I've met with my professor and gone over the changes that need to be made, and if all goes according to schedule and I obtain my participants without too much trouble, I should be up and running by the beginning of June.

The last bit of news that I have to share is that this weekend coming up is very special, because it's my graduation. Sunday is the commencement ceremony, and I'll be decked out in my cap and gown, walking up that aisle and on stage to receive my diploma (holder). I feel like a bit of a phony because I'm not actually going to get my diploma until August (since I'm not finished with my study yet). But the event itself is still important, and I just can't believe it's finally here.

I'm going to get pictures with my professors and my family (my mom, dad, godmother/aunt, and godfather/uncle will be in attendance), and will put them up here on the blog once I have them, so keep your eyes on this space. :)

Thoughts on My First Workshop Presentation

Last month, from October 9-11, I attended and presented a workshop at Autism New Jersey's annual conference in Atlantic City. I have a lot of thoughts on how the presentation went, and so I thought I'd share them here.

Let me preface this by saying that the presentation would not have happened at all had it not been for Dr. Lynda Geller. ANJ initially rejected my presentation proposal, but I was able to get the Executive Director, Linda Meyer (who was also one of my professors last semester) to reconsider, provided I could bring someone else on board who had a bit more in the way of credentials and expertise. Lynda has both of those in spades, and I am and always will be eternally grateful to her for agreeing to present with me.

Our presentation was titled, "Look Out, Here Comes Tomorrow: Strategies for Transitioning Students with Asperger's Disorder to a College Setting." It's probably fairly obvious, but I am the one who came up with the workshop name, since it has a Monkees song title in it. I'm just glad Lynda had enough of a sense of humor and graciousness to go along with it.

When I submitted the workshop proposal way back in February, I had intended myself to be the sole presenter. When Lynda came on board, I knew things were going to be different, for a number of reasons. I'd never presented a workshop before, for one, and I'd never done any sort of presentation in concert with another professional. It's always been me up until now...the Amy Gravino show, if you will, speaking on panels and doing a few keynotes. A co-presentation was a very new thing for me, and so I did not know what to expect.

It seemed like we did not really collaborate on the presentation at all, at least up until the last week before the conference. Lynda's incredibly busy schedule made it difficult reach her by phone or e-mail, and as the date of the conference grew nearer, my anxiety (understandably) heightened. I knew she would be absolutely good to go no matter what, but, while I've done tons of presentations on my own, this was the first with someone else, and I felt like it would be helpful to me if knew what she had planned and where I came in.

Had I been the sole presenter, I certainly would have designed my own Powerpoint presentation months ago. Lynda, however, having done a presentation of her own at countless conferences, brought a Powerpoint with her, so that was helpful in solving that issue, as I didn't have to worry about creating my own. The only problem was that I felt a bit out of place because it was she who presented for the bulk of the workshop. My contribution ended up being around 20 to 25 minutes' worth of personal anecdotes, as a means of supplementing the Powerpoint. I didn't mind doing this, although all I had to work from were a few notes hastily scribbled onto a wrinkled piece of paper, but it just wasn't exactly what I'd dreamed of when I thought of what my first workshop would be like.

Another issue is that we only had eight people in attendance at our workshop. Two were my parents, and another was my thesis chair. I know he could have gone to any other workshop, but he was kind enough to come to mine, and it meant a lot to me. As Lynda and I were setting up, I had asked the Autism New Jersey volunteer how many people signed up. "Fifteen," she said. I was disheartened by this; even more so when only eight showed up.

Part of the reason perhaps why the turnout was so low was that it was the last workshop of the day. Many people become exhausted by then, after a full day of conferencing, and so they just take off. Given that the location of this conference was Atlantic City, people have even more reason to leave early. Still, it bothered me. Almost all of the workshops that I attended at the conference dealt with issues faced by adults on the spectrum...and all of them had low numbers of attendees.

I attended a workshop on Saturday that was somewhat similar to mine, as it was about transitioning students with autism spectrum disorders from high school to college. The man who presented it was named Vincent Varrassi, and he used to work at Fairleigh Dickinson University, but now practices privately. I remembered him because I had e-mailed him some months ago about college coaching for people with Asperger's, and he provided some very thoughtful and helpful advice in his response.

I was, therefore, delighted when I discovered that he'd be presenting a workshop at the conference. He'd brought with him two young men with Asperger's with whom he works as clients. They chimed in periodically with anecdotal stories to supplement Mr. Varrassi's Powerpoint. The number of attendees there was even smaller than in my workshop, but in this case, the intimate group allowed for a great back-and-forth dialogue between all of us. In particular, I found myself chiming in on the issues that the guys were talking about, offering insights based on my own experiences. Strangely enough, I felt more comfortable speaking there than I had felt in my own workshop.

After the workshop ended, I went up to Mr. Varrassi to speak with him, and he remembered who I was from the e-mails. He said that just from listening to me speak there in the audience, that I was a "natural," and he wanted to know if I would like to join him and the guys ("our merry band of travelers" was how he put it, I think) when they go speaking at various conferences. Of course, I agreed. He said he wanted to keep in touch with me, so we exchanged business cards as we continued chatting on the way to the escalators.

To get back to the issue of low attendance at these workshops, I know that right now, parents of children on the autism spectrum are faced with an overwhelming number of problems, which is why conferences like this even exist in the first place. But one day those children won't be children anymore. They will turn 18, and what will happen to them? In terms of services and supports, they will drop right off the proverbial cliff. There is nothing, or almost nothing, out there for adults with autism and Asperger's syndrome.

Yet they do exist. These people are not some fantastic myth spun out of the webs of time--they are very real individuals whose lives have been put on hold because they do not have the tools necessary to be successful in society. Many still live at home with their parents and are support by them--but what happens when these parents die? What will happen to the children on the spectrum when their parents die? As many questions and concerns as there are floating around right now, that should be first and foremost in these people's minds, always knowing that one day, their 5-year-old will be 25, and will need to have a way to survive on their own.

So the lack of attendance at these workshops, while not entirely unexpected, still left me wondering when everyone else is going to wake up and catch sight of the tsunami of adolescents on the spectrum who are heading straight for the shores of adulthood and will surely crash and collapse without the assistance and support that they need.

But finally, perhaps the reason I had so few people attend my workshop is that it's simply a rite of passage. Like how someone who is nominated for an Emmy for the first time never wins. If it is just a one-time thing, then I am not so perturbed by it, and I have faith that the turnout next year will be better. I just hope that I don't become the Susan Lucci of autism conferences. Yikes.

So, even though things didn't go quite how I'd hoped, I'm still glad that I presented at Autism New Jersey's annual conference. I'm now focused on presenting again next year, and what I anticipate presenting is my finished thesis study and the data gleaned therein. I think it will be very interesting and I want to share it with the world because of the social significance of such a study, as no one has ever taught dating skills to adults with Asperger's before using the principles of applied behavior analysis. Look out, here comes tomorrow...

Here also is a video of my presentation from the conference. The first four minutes are the remainder of Lynda's portion of the presentation, and the rest is mine:

My Day In Court: Testifying in Favor of an Autism Insurance Bill

I would like to apologize to all of you. I meant to write about this months ago, but it seems that time got away from me. Better late than never, though, right?

On May 14th, 2009, just days before I began my first class of the summer, something downright remarkable happened. I received an e-mail from Leslie Long, who works for Autism New Jersey, an autism advocacy organization here in NJ. She told me that there was an Autism Insurance Bill (A2238) up for approval in the New Jersey State Assembly Appropriations Committee and Senate. The purpose of the bill was to have insurance companies pay for medically necessary evidence-based treatments for autism (such as ABA) and other related services that most families pay for out-of-pocket right now, and many have even gone bankrupt because of trying to pay for these services (many of which can cost upward of $50,000 a year). The hearings were to take place the following Monday, the 18th of May, and she wanted to know if I would be willing to testify in favor of it!

This, of course, seemed like a very worthy endeavor to me, even though the bill only covered individuals aged 21 and under. So, I agreed to testify. Dan (my roommate) and I got up bright and early that Monday morning, and together we drove down to Ewing, a town right next to Trenton, which was where the state annex was located. I left my car at Autism New Jersey's headquarters, and the two of us, along with Barbara Wells (who also works for ANJ) headed to Trenton in Barbara's car.

I was struck by the atmosphere as I walked into the courthouse, signing my name in the guestbook and affixing a temporary "Visitor" badge to my lapel. More members of our group began to filter in--whom I recognized immediately because we were all dressed in varying shades of red, the chosen color for the cause and ANJ--and we stood outside the Senate hearing room chatting and mingling. One woman from Autism Speaks was handing out "Vote YES on A2238" buttons for people to wear, and both Dan and I took one and proudly pinned them to our jackets.

A few more minutes passed, and after Leslie Long couldn't get ahold of an unavailable senator to whom she had wanted to introduce me, we all went up to the Assembly Appropriations Committee hearing room. The doors to the room were the first thing that I noticed--they were tall, black, and heavy, and somewhat resembled the doors to the kitchen in the movie Ratatouille. The red patterned carpet also caught my attention, so bright and busy that it was like being inside a casino. I made my way up to the front row, along with Suzanne Buchanan, with whom I would be testifying.

When Leslie contacted me, the first thing I asked was, "What should I say?" After all, nothing would be more valuable than the words I chose for my testimony, and whatever I said needed to be concise, as there would be only a brief time for me to speak. I remembered my Letter to My Younger Self, and I decided that that would be the perfect thing to read as my testimony. I sent it to Leslie, as I was sure we would need to modify or abridge it somehow due to the time constraints. She read it aloud as we were on the phone, and said to me, "You know what? I can't think of a thing to change. Leave it just as it is."

So, I did, and only shortened the introduction that I'd written to the letter. I sat there in that courtroom, clutching it in my hand, and was so nervous, unsure as to whether it would win the Assembly over. I felt especially anxious as I cast a glance over at Suzanne's testimony, all neatly spaced and professional-looking on a crisp page of paper bearing the Autism New Jersey logo and letterhead. I crossed my fingers, hoping that I would be taken seriously, even though I didn't have custom stationery or the credibility that comes with it.

Another bill went up for debate first, just to bide time until everyone related to the A2238 bill had arrived. The first person to testify was Bob Wright, co-founder of Autism Speaks. The Speaker of the Assembly, Joseph Roberts, had asked Mr. Wright there to deliver testimony of his own, based on his experiences with his grandson. After him was Assemblywoman Joan Voss, who has an adult son with Asperger's syndrome. Ironically, I am a member of the Asperger's Syndrome Advisory Board for the Daniel Jordan Fiddle (DJF) Foundation, and her son is also on the board.

After Assemblywoman Voss finished speaking, Suzanne and I were up. Suzanne went first, and I listened carefully as she recited her prepared speech. Once she was done, the Chairwoman asked if I had anything to add. Her phrasing momentarily gave me pause, as it sounded like I was merely meant to be a follow-up to Suzanne's testimony, rather than giving my own separately. I disregarded the thought, however, and began to read my Letter.

I did not realize this at the time, as I was intently focused on quickly reading the letter, but Dan later told me that the room was completely quiet when I read. When others had given testimony, people were still talking--assistants to the committee members were walking back and forth from the table, things like that. But there was not a word spoken by any of them as I read. Dan also said that he saw people crying softly during my testimony, so moved were they by my words that it brought them to tears. I was floored when he told me all of this, amazed but in a very happy way.

The one distinct memory that I do have, however, is when the Chairwoman interrupted me about three-quarters of the way through the letter, saying that testimonies needed to be short due to time constraints and that, while she appreciated what I had to say quite a lot, that (more or less) I needed to hurry up and finish. So, I skipped one paragraph in the letter, which enabled me to reach the end more quickly.

I made my way back to my seat afterwards, and several people turned to me, their hushed voices warmly saying how much they'd enjoyed what I said. To my surprise, the Assembly voted on the bill right then and there! They went around the table asking each assemblyperson for his or her vote ('yes' or 'no'). When one woman gave her vote, she stopped to say, "And I'd just like to say to Amy, thank you so much for what you said. Your letter was beautiful." I got a personal shout-out during the vote, which was completely unexpected, but so nice.

Once the votes were tallied, we were all thrilled to discover that the bill had passed! Victory was ours! What a feeling indeed. We all hugged and embraced one another, delighted and relieved that all of our hard work had paid off.

It was, however, a somewhat bittersweet moment for me, because I knew in the back of my mind that this battle is far from over. Adults with autism and autism spectrum disorders still don't have insurance coverage--even if they did, there really aren't any services for the insurance to cover in the first place. I am proud to have been a part of this moment in history, to have contributed in the way that I did, but I know what lies ahead, and I hope that we adults will have just as many people fighting on our side as the children did.

I often feel as though many government offices and social services departments seem to think that autism and Asperger's syndrome are "childhood disorders." As if these individuals will somehow magically grow out of autism when they turn 18. But we all know that this is not the case. The fact of the matter is, autistic children are one day going to become autistic adults, and what will happen to them then? Many end up in group residences, or live at home with aging parents who will one day not be able to take care of them. Something has to be done about this.

What will the government do when millions of autistic children turn 18? Act as if they don't exist? The one true kernel of wisdom in passing this bill is that it seems as if people are starting to realize that it is better and far more sensible to pay for services now, so that these individuals can grow up to be productive, contributing members of society, than to wait until they are adults and pay then...pay for them to stay at home, without jobs, without anything, draining away their family's money.

This, of course, does not do much to help the adults who are here right now, who are struggling to find and maintain employment, to make and keep friends and develop romantic relationships. I have found myself become a voice for adults on the spectrum, especially now that I am starting my Master's thesis, in which I have to design and run a study using the principles of applied behavior analysis to teach a skill.

I think about adults on the spectrum all the time, about all the challenges they (we!) are facing, and what I can do to make things better. Testifying in favor of this bill was one step in that direction. I know that if I continue my work, write my book, (eventually) become a college coach for individuals with Asperger's syndrome, those will all be big steps in that very same direction. Having been a part of this democratic process and seeing it in action has inspired me to keep up that good fight. And I hope you all will, too.

So this is what an epiphany feels like...

Tuesday, April 28, 2009 was a day that I both anticipated and dreaded. I knew it was going to be a long day, because I had three speaking gigs scheduled--two at a school district in Bedford, NY, and one later that day in Stamford, CT. In Bedford, I was to speak to two groups of middle schoolers--8th graders in the morning assembly, and 6th graders in the afternoon. Nicole Turon-Diaz (my friend/business manager) and I arrived at the school around 9:20am, and there we met up with Joanne McMahon, with whom Nicole and I had coordinated to arrange the day's events. We all chatted for awhile and became familiar with each other, and then in we went to set up for the assembly. The campus had both the middle and high schools on it, and was quite beautiful indeed--never before have I seen such perfectly landscaped grass. The auditorium facility in the high school, which is where the assemblies took place, was also quite lovely.

First came the 8th graders, at 10:00am. I'd forgotten the utter volume at which 14-year-olds operate, and when they began to file into the auditorium, what started as a slight clamor soon escalated into a dull roar of tympanic cavity-throbbing teenage tones (damn you, Micky Dolenz, for renewing my obsession with alliteration). The school principal quieted them down soon enough, though, and then introduced the middle school's Autism Speaks club, which was the sponsor of my appearance. Now, I have said before that I have multiple issues with the Autism Speaks organization, and I did indeed raise an eyebrow upon hearing the name of the club, but I tried to put my animosity aside and just be grateful that a middle school even has an autism club. Anyway...one of the club members proceeded to introduce Joanne McMahon, who then introduced me.

I was unsure about how things would go. Nervous, even. Middle schoolers are a notoriously challenging audience, as I remember from the days of my own misspent youth, and I feared I would not be able to "reach" them.

I could not have been happier to be so wrong.

They were, without question, the most enthusiastic, open junior high kids I've ever encountered. I never knew that junior high kids like that could exist, and it gave me a faint glimmer of promise for the future. It instilled in me the fevered hope that the next generation won't all be made up of sadistic little miscreants, like the ones with whom I matriculated for ten excruciating years.

In both assemblies, I decided to read the Letter to My Younger Self at the start of my speeches, to "bring them in" to the talk. When I finished reading it, they applauded and cheered. They "woo"ed me! The 8th and 6th graders alike had this reaction, and I was simply stunned, because I've never gotten that sort of response before. And when it came time for the Q&A part at the end, they asked the most insightful, awesome questions. One girl asked me if I forgive the people who made fun of me in school. I was not expecting that kind of a question, but I loved it. I tried my best to answer everything they asked me, and they seemed almost disappointed when one of the teachers called the assembly to an end! Nicole and I talked with Joanne about perhaps using my blog as a vehicle to answer more of their questions. We might even do a podcast, so they'll send me their questions and I will answer them on camera. So we'll see what happens with that.

I told the kids that they could come up to me after the assembly, and several of them did! Particularly in the 6th grade assembly. One girl came up to me and said that she knew what it felt like to be made fun of because she had alopecia in 3rd or 4th grade and her hair had fallen out and the kids teased her because of it. A whole gaggle of girls came up to me, and one said that I was "fabulous," and another said she loved my dress and shoes. Suffice it to say, I now (sort of) know what it feels like to be a boy band member. They were all just so inquisitive and shared their feelings and thoughts with me, and I was amazed. The last time I was among that many junior high schoolers, they didn't give me the time of day and I was as good as invisible...but now, I was someone they respected and felt comfortable talking to. What a difference. I definitely, definitely want to speak at more schools in the future. I can see now how much this sort of thing is needed, and how open the kids are (or can be) to it, and so I've got to keep doing it.

By far, however, the most incredible thing occurred after the first morning assembly, with the eighth graders. Joanne and Peter Faustino, the school psychologist, brought Nicole and me to a conference room in the middle school building for lunch. After we finished eating, the four of us went on a walking tour of the campus. As we traversed through the halls and outside past the buildings, the eighth graders actually waved to me from their classroom windows! When we were in the hallways, they'd call out to me: "Hey, Amy!" / "Great job today, Amy!" / "You did an awesome job, Amy!" / "I really liked your speech!" It was beyond surreal. Maybe eighth grade was just a long time ago and my memory is faulty, but I can't remember us kids paying a lot of attention to assemblies when they were going on, let alone giving them a second thought afterwards. So this was above and beyond anything I could've ever imagined. Joanne also asked me to come back again for more gigs, including speaking to the high school students, and I can't wait to do so.

Later that evening, I had another speaking gig, this one at a meeting sponsored by a parent group called Stamford Education 4 Autism, and based (obviously) in Stamford, Connecticut. Robin Portanova, the woman who'd contacted me and Nicole, had also invited my parents to attend, and asked my mother to say a few words, too. In addition, she'd told us that she planned to treat us to dinner! So, we all met up at a restaurant called The 19th Hole, which was just down the street from the school where the meeting was taking place. I had rigatoni with mild and hot sausages in a marsala sauce. I hadn't been sure whether to order that or the pasta primavera, but as soon as I took one bite, I knew I'd made the right choice. The bread on the table was also delicious and made a terrific accompaniment.

The meeting itself began shortly after 7:00pm. Robin spoke first, and after the school principal said a few words, Robin then introduced my mother. My mom spoke for ten minutes, and then it was my turn. Once again, I read the Letter to my Younger Self, and again, I received a round of applause at its conclusion...but I also noticed that there was nary a dry eye in the house. At the conclusion of my speech, Robin gave me a bouquet of flowers wrapped in purple(!) tissue paper, and she gave flowers to my mom and Nicole as well. We finally departed around 9:30, and I got back to Jersey about an hour and ten minutes later. I was dead exhausted upon returning home (having been up since 6 that morning), but it was well worth it. I had honestly expected to just be tired at the end of the day, but I was so jazzed from the school assemblies that the high those kids' reactions had given me carried me through the rest of the day (which only got better at the parent meeting).

Happily, I brought my videocamera with me, and Nicole videotaped the entire 8th grade assembly (including the Q&A), and the parent group speech (including my mother's portion). Once this week ends and my semester is over (and I actually have the time to fiddle with it), I will try to get those uploaded soon and I'll share them with you all here on my blog.

So keep your peepers peeled for that, and please--if you work in a school district, or know someone who works for a district, or are a parent, strongly consider having me come to speak at your school, either to the faculty and staff or the students (or both!). I don't mean to toot my own horn here, but the reactions I got from students, staff, and parents alike last Tuesday galvanized me in a way that I never have felt before. I believe that I can make a difference, and I want to help in any way possible. And if you're worried about budgets or money, don't fret--my fee is negotiable based on the needs and ability of each organization/district. Our kids and adults with autism and Asperger's syndrome need us now, people. We need better trained paraprofessionals and teachers, and a student body that is aware of the youths with autism among them, because they are being so mainstreamed now.

When I spoke in Edison, NJ on April 23rd, during the Q&A, a woman asked me a question. She said that she has a daughter with autism who is about 7 years old, and that she's tried to talk to her school principal about educating the other kids about autism, because they've already begun to bully her daughter. The principal didn't think that the kids were ready to know--he thought that they were too young and that finding out that this woman's daughter had autism could backfire and make things worse. She asked me if I agreed with what her principal said, and my exact words were, "It's a load of horse pucky." Why? Because if kids are old enough to bully, they're old enough to learn. If they're old enough to recognize that someone is "different," than they're old enough to know why. Plain and simple.

This is why I believe so strongly in speaking at the schools, to the students. They're ready for it. Heck, they're more than ready for it--they need it. And kids know from a mile away if you're trying to b.s. them, which is why I believe the students in Bedford responded so strongly to me--because they knew I was speaking from the heart. So I just hope that more districts will give me a chance to come in and keep doing this, because I know that I have the ability to do great good. Autism doesn't last for just one month; "awareness" is always needed, all year round.

Edison School District - "No Parent Left Behind" night

So, as most of us know, April is Autism Awareness Month, and it's the month of the year in which I seem to receive the most business, public speaking gig-wise. This coming Tuesday, for example, I have two(!) speaking gigs: one in Bedford, NY with middle- and high-schoolers, and one in Stamford, CT with a parent group. Last Thursday, I spoke at Edison High School in Edison, NJ as part of their "No Parent Left Behind III" night. There, I delivered the keynote address, and a short Q&A session followed. My business manager, Nicole, was kind enough to film the talk for me, and I uploaded the video yesterday. So, here it is, my keynote address at Edison School District's "No Parent Left Behind III" night on April 23, 2009 (click to open in a separate window if you can't see it full-size here):



If you'd like to pass it on, the URL is http://www.megavideo.com/?v=3143Z11X (I had to use Megavideo because it's too big for Youtube). Thanks, and please be sure to let me know what you think!

Controversial Conferences, An Interview, and a Really Big Move

My last update came over a month ago, and now Thanksgiving has already come and gone. Unbelievable! And so much has happened since I last posted here. In just the week after the Herstory 12th Anniversary Gala reading, I spoke at two more events: the Special Day for Special Kids at the West Hills Day Camp in Huntington, NY on October 26th, and the New Jersey State Federation of Women's Clubs Annual Fall Conference at the Bridgewater Marriott in Bridgewater, NJ on October 27th. In the weeks that followed, I spoke at a social skills group for adults on the spectrum at the JCC in Manhattan, and then at an Asperger Girls' group at the Faye J. Lindner Autism Center in Bethpage, NY.

Conference-wise, I spoke on the "Transitions to Independence in ASD" panel at Kean University's "Autism: Putting the Pieces Together" conference on November 21st. I had never even heard of the university or the conference until my business manager Nicole told me about it. She had initially asked if I wanted to vendor a table with her, as she was going to reserve a vendor table for her company, Learning By Design, LLC. I readily accepted her offer, and that was when she told me that she'd spoken to the woman running the conference and had told her about me, and now there was a possibility that I'd get to speak on one of the panels. We waited a little longer, and after not hearing back from that woman for a few weeks, I took the reins and sent her an e-mail myself, expressing my interest. She responded, saying that she'd love to have me speak at the conference on the "Transition" panel. The rest, as they say, is history.

Now, this conference was different from ones I'd attended in the past, in that the keynote speaker was a proponent of DIR/Floortime, an autism therapy created by Dr. Stanley Greenspan. In fact, the speaker was his own son, Jake Greenspan. I knew from my classes at school that there is no scientific evidence that validates the claims made by Greenspan. Indeed, there is not one empirically validated research study attesting to DIR/Floortime's effectiveness. But, I felt it best to go into the conference with an open mind, and I had not been shy about mentioning my affiliation with Caldwell College and the ABA program when asking to speak on the panel, so the fact that they wanted me to speak there had to mean that they were willing to welcome other disciplines and those who subscribe to them. That did make me feel more comfortable with being there.

My comfort level slowly started to decrease, however, when in his speech, Mr. Greenspan took a few shots at the methods and practices of ABA. Of course, he made a (thinly-veiled) attempt to disguise the fact that it was ABA about which he was speaking, but Nicole and I knew the truth. Now, I'm not one to take pot shots back at someone, but the whole time I was sitting there, all I could think was, "This guy is saying things, and at the same time, not saying anything at all!" It was baffling. I'd been surprised enough when he first came out onstage; I was expecting an older, bespectacled, somewhat nerdy fellow, perhaps one who wore a brown corduroy blazer. But, Jake Greenspan was, in fact, a hunky piece of man-beef to the nth degree. I was stunned. What was this could-be GQ model doing delivering a keynote speech at an autism conference? It didn't take me very long to catch on, though. He was a figurehead, a puppet for his father sent to represent him and his creation, DIR/Floortime. After all, who better to have standing onstage before an audience than a dashing young man who could easily woo and sway the masses? A very clever ploy, indeed.

Let's get one thing straight, though: this is not about finger-pointing or feuding. There are too many families, too many children and adults with autism spectrum disorders who need help and answers, to engage in petty, childish rivalry. That's what really grated my cheese about Mr. Greenspan's comments; instead of encouraging a partnership, instead of urging differing schools of therapy to work together and cooperate, he furthered an agenda of division and animosity. It's really just sad, because it's individuals on the spectrum who are losing out in the end. I'm not a saint by any stretch of the imagination, but I intend to do my absolute best to rise above trading jabs at conferences and vying for professional or personal glory. That's not what I care about. My interest lies solely with doing everything I can to raise autism and Asperger's syndrome awareness, and to help the people who are here now, fighting to survive in this world. That's what matters most.

A large part of the reason I haven't updated in so long is because on November 5th, I moved from my old apartment in Caldwell to a new one in Upper Montclair. I'm now living with one of my best friends, Dan, who is from Long Island. I feel that where I am now is a major upgrade from where I used to live, both physically and psychologically. Before, I was just renting a room in a house; now, the whole space (a third floor of a house) is mine (and Dan's). It's so relieving to be able to stretch my wings at last, and to be rid of the stressors that plagued me over the last few months. I'm still settling in and getting used to things, and the fact that this move was in the middle of the semester made things really hard, but it's becoming easier, bit by bit. I think this place is going to help me be much more productive, in terms of both writing my book and carving out a career as an autism liaison.

Finally, I have one more thing to share with you all: I'm in print again! I was interviewed by Liane Willey for the Winter 2008 issue of Autism Spectrum Quarterly magazine. Diane Twachtman-Cullen, the magazine's Editor-in-Chief, accepted for publication an article that I wrote (it'll be in the February 2009 issue), and asked if I would want to be interviewed by Liane for the "C.E.O." (Celebrations of Excellence and Originality) column, as a lead-in piece. I readily agreed, and the issue is now finally in print. I haven't received my hard copy yet, but my parents got theirs a few days ago, and I had my dad scan the article so that I could disseminate it around the Interwebs (and I will do the same when the February 2009 issue comes out). So, here it is! (Click on the images to make them bigger.) If the thumbnails don't work, click here and here to read the article.

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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):

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!


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~*~

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.

Hire Me As a Motivational Speaker - Part II

Hello all--I've created this flyer advertising my services as an "Autism Liaison" (click to see it bigger). Feel free to pass it on to whomever you feel may benefit from this information. The flyer is also available in .pdf format, for those who are interested. Please leave a comment if you do want it in .pdf format and I will get it to you as soon as possible. Thanks!

Articles, Workshops, and More Book News

On July 31st, I heard back from two literary agents who were reading over my book proposal. Now, I didn't actually mention one of them on here because I didn't want to jump the gun, and it's a good thing that I didn't. At the beginning of July, I received an e-mail from Christopher Schelling, who is the literary agent of John Elder Robison, author of Look Me In The Eye, and of his brother, Augusten Burroughs. I was stunned to hear back from Mr. Schelling--I thought for sure that I was going to get a rejection flat-out. But instead, he asked to read my book proposal. Flabbergasted, I emailed him a copy immediately, and he finally wrote back to me last Wednesday night.

Unfortunately, it wasn't with good news. He said that from the title of my book and the description, he was expecting more of a humor book instead of a memoir, and he didn't have enough material dealing directly with the subject of Asperger's and sexuality to understand what I am trying to do with the book. He also said that he wasn't sure if he could find an editor who could market it correctly, and so he's stepping aside to let another agent have a try with it. Naturally, I was depressed after I read his message. I thought, "Oh my God, I'm marketing my book completely wrong. How incompetent and idiotic am I? Nobody's ever going to want to take me on." I mean, the book is supposed to have humor in it--it deals with serious issues in a humorous light, so as not to make everything all doom-and-gloom. My writing has been described as Ernest Hemingway crossed with Erma Bombeck--that's where the serious-stuff-made-seriously-funny thing comes into play. But, it seems that Mr. Schelling didn't quite pick up on that, which is okay, and I'm still very grateful that he did get back to me and offered some great advice and suggestions. So I'll be writing back to him soon with a few words of thanks.

What pulled me out of the funk induced by his e-mail, however, was another e-mail that I received just half an hour later, this one from Liza Dawson, the literary agent with whom I met in the city on July 1st. First of all, I could not believe that both of them got back to me on the same night, within forty minutes of each other, no less. I swear, it's as if these people have some kind of mind-melding, telepathy thing going on or something. Anyway, Liza said that she liked my first chapter, but wasn't 100% sure that the structure I'd laid out for the book was right for it. She asked if I had some additional material that I could send to her, and said that she looked forward to hearing from me soon. So, I consider that a pretty good sign, if I may say so myself. She didn't say, "Oh my God, I loved it, I want to take you on right now!" but she didn't flat-out reject me, either. That's the only frustrating part, is that I'm not sure if she definitely does want to take me on, or isn't planning on having a final decision until she has more of my material in hand. It's nerve-wracking, to say the least. But, luckily, my summer class has ended, and Liza's going to be away until tomorrow, so I'm working on something that I hope to get to her by the time she returns. In the meantime, I'll keep my fingers and toes crossed that this might mean that we've moved on to the next step of the process.

In other news, I recently submitted an article to the newsletter for ASCEND, the Asperger Syndrome Alliance for Greater Philadelphia. I met Deirdre Wright, the founder of ASCEND, at COSAC's annual conference in May in Atlantic City, and she expressed an immediate interest in me speaking at their spring conference next year. We exchanged contact information, and a short time after the conference ended, she e-mailed me to ask if I would be interested in being paid to write an article for their Fall newsletter. I readily agreed, and also wrote a sidebar to accompany the article. The article itself deals with relationships and dating from the perspective of a woman with Asperger's syndrome, and the newsletter will be out in approximately a month, at which time I will post a link to it here and the full text of my article.

I also received a phone call from Charlene Schermer, who was referred to me by the Gersh Academy, where I gave my keynote address in June. Ms. Schermer is the Executive Director of the Custom Education Foundation, and is coordinating an event in October called "Special Day for Special Kids," which is being held at the West Hills Day Camp in Huntington, NY. It's an event where children with autism, Asperger's, Tourette's syndrome, and other neurobiological disorders can engage in fun, safe activities while their parents sign up for and attend informative workshops. Ms. Schermer asked me if I would be interested in running one of the workshops, and I accepted. I'll be running a 45-minute workshop on Asperger's and transition: Life in college. My presentation will run for half an hour, and I plan to allot 15 minutes for questions. It's unpaid, but the level of exposure is sure to be high, and I'm just plain excited to be running my first-ever workshop. If I can truly help even one person who attends, then I feel that I will have done my job. I'm really looking forward to it.

In addition, I've just completed a summer course in Developmental Disabilities, which adds three more credits to my Masters degree that I am working to obtain at Caldwell College. I received an 'A' in the class, but even better than that, earned 19.5 out of 20 points on a group presentation that I did in class on Asperger's Syndrome and Social Skills. My group partner, a lovely young woman who is a special education teacher, was speaking to a speech therapist friend of hers about our presentation, and the woman asked her right out if we would be interested in presenting our presentation at her school as part of a professional development workshop for the faculty. My groupmate called me to tell me the good news, and asked if I would be interested, and I responded with an enthusiastic affirmation. So, we will see what happens with that over the coming months.

Finally, I received two other public speaking offers. One came from a woman in my summer class, who told me that she spoke to her supervisor about me and showed her my business card, and her supervisor is now interested in having me come to speak at their school as part of a professional development workshop. The other offer came from a woman that I know from high school, who works in a program affiliated with Catholic Health Services, and she, too, asked if I would be interested in speaking to some of the staff at one or two of their locations on Long Island as part of a professional development workshop.

So many things are in the works right now, and I must say that I almost feel a bit overwhelmed. I'm beyond excited that things are picking up, though, and as I mentioned in my previous entry, please don't hesitate to contact me about a potential public speaking engagement or workshop. My services are slowly starting to become more in-demand, so book me for your event while I still have some free space on my calendar! :)

Hire Me as a Motivational Speaker!

Hello, Everyone!

Those of you reading this are no doubt somehow involved in the world of autism and Asperger's syndrome--either you're parents of autistic/Asperger's children, teachers or paraprofessionals working with autistic/Asperger's individuals, or a person who is on the spectrum themselves. And odds are that you know a little bit about me already, but the purpose of this entry is to tell you about why I would make a great public speaker for your autism/Asperger's organization, group, or school.

My name is Amy Gravino. I'm a 25-year-old woman diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. I'm also a writer, and am currently working on a book about my experiences with relationships and dating as a woman on the spectrum. The title of the book is The Naughty Autie: Not Your (Neuro)typical Dating Guide, and I am hoping to sell it to a publisher sometime in the next few months. I am also a graduate student, and am about to start my second year in the Masters program in Applied Behavior Analysis at Caldwell College in Caldwell, NJ.

My business manager and I have decided to put together a press packet to send to school districts here in New Jersey, in the hope that they will want to hire me as a speaker, either at an assembly for students, or as part of a professional development workshop for faculty and staff.

Having spoken publicly since the age of 14 at autism conferences all around the country, most recently at COSAC's annual conference in Atlantic City, New Jersey, I feel that I am an intelligent, articulate, and qualified individual who is ready and willing to speak at any event that will enable me to help people and improve the lives of children, adults, and families in the autism and Asperger's community.

I am trying to reach out to those of you who either work in or have children in public schools, and who think that these schools might benefit from or be interested in having me speak there. Due to my school schedule, as well as financial constraints, I would prefer to keep the locales at which I speak strictly in the tri-state area (New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and possibly also Pennsylvania). My rates for speaking vary by the length of the speech expected and the budget within which the organization or school can work. I would be willing to travel outside of the Northeast for speaking engagements if travel expenses can be covered by the organization seeking my services (this also can be negotiated depending on circumstances, however).

Anyone wishing to obtain more information can feel free to leave a comment on here with your e-mail address and I will contact you, or you can go to my User Profile and find my e-mail address there and contact me. I have a curriculum vitae (C.V.) and a brief biography that I will gladly send to those who are interested. For more booking information, please feel free to e-mail my business manager, Nicole Turon-Diaz, at learningbydesign@verizon.net.

Thank you very much, and I hope to hear from you soon!