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Autism Is Genetic. It’s Time Society Caught up With the Evidence
For decades autistic people have had to listen to other people debate what supposedly made us autistic. Vaccines have probably been one of the most persistent claims, despite this question being researched repeatedly over many years. I really hope we are finally reaching a point where this...
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The Unfinished Business of the ADA: Financial Security for People With Disabilities
On July 26, 2026, the 36th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the National Council on Disability (NCD) announced the "Plan for Disability Middle Class Framework." The NCD is the independent federal agency that first recommended the creation of an ADA and wrote the initial...
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Scams, Spending, and Special Interests: One Autistic Adult’s Guide to Financial Independence
I will begin by making a few important disclaimers. First of all, I have no formal education or background in financial matters. Anything that I discuss is strictly from the perspective of my own personal experiences and an appreciation of the concerns and challenges presented by living on the...
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Life Through an Autistic Lens: My Fear of Growing Old Without Financial Stability
I deeply feel time speeding by. The years speeding by. And it viscerally terrifies me. Because with each passing day, my fear over my future grows. It gets increasingly real. At the heart of my fear is this one question: Will I have enough money to be able to live independently for as...
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Financial Awareness for Autistic Individuals: A Practical Guide to Safer Digital Participation
Shortly before Christmas 2022, I needed extra cash. I owned a varsity football jacket that I seldom wore and posted it for sale on Facebook Marketplace. My ad received little attention, until December 24th when someone inquired about it. He needed a last-minute gift for a friend he was going...
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Don’t Give Up: Lessons From My Decade on Social Security Disability
My name is Katherine and I am 37 years old. I have been receiving Social Security Disability and Medicare for the past ten years. I have a learning disorder, autism, mental health issues, and a host of physical conditions making it impossible to work outside the home. It was not an easy...
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Beyond Money Math: Using THINK to Teach Financial Literacy to Autistic Teens
Managing money well is an essential skill that influences independence and quality of life. As financial expert Dave Ramsey said, "You must gain control over your money or the lack of it will forever control you." Money management is essentially mathematical skills combined with self-control and...
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Autistic Personal Philosophy: Regarding Equity and Equality
Both of these terms are of critical importance to the establishment and enforcement of those rules, regulations, and laws of ours with social justice implications, though one of them often wins out when the other should. The consequences, particularly for members of marginalized segments of the...
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Adulthood Isn’t a Birthday: The Systems That Make Financial Autonomy Possible for Autistic Adults
I became a legal adult on a birthday. Financial autonomy took longer. Those two things are constantly treated as though they happen at the same moment. At eighteen, the law can recognize a person as capable of signing contracts, opening accounts, consenting to services, travelling, working,...
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Life Through an Autistic Lens: No Turning Back
There is an order to all things I do. To how things must be done. I start at the beginning and end at the end. I move in one direction. For instance, when you go somewhere, you must go straight there. Backtracking is not permitted. Detours are not permitted. They break the law. If you...
