Eric Michael Garcia on What It Means to Be #ActuallyAutistic

Eric Michael Garcia is an autistic journalist whose new book is We’re Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation.
Garcia is the senior Washington correspondent for The Independent, following editorial roles at the Washington Post and The Hill. He’s also been a correspondent for National Journal, MarketWatch, and Roll Call, and has written for The Daily Beast, The New Republic, and Salon.com.

As a child, he was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, which is now diagnosed under the broader ASD (autism spectrum disorder). We talked about the history of the autism diagnosis, how it has evolved, how the language around it has changed, and how autistic people are using social media (like the #ActuallyAutistic hashtag on Twitter) to speak out in a media ecosystem that historically marginalized or ignored them.
Related links:

• We're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation
• I'm Not Broken (National Journal / The Atlantic, 2015)
• Eric Garcia on Twitter
• You're Wrong About podcast: The anti-vaccine movement (2021)
• #ActuallyAutistic on Twitter
• Lauren Melissa (@autienelle) on Twitter

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