The Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism (the website and the book) exists to help people with autism and their families make sense of the bewildering array of available autism treatments and options, and determine which are worth their time, money, and energy. We also want to encourage respectful attitudes towards autistics and people with autism.
Why We Are Doing This
The Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism (TPGA) is the book and website we wish had been available when our loved ones with autism were first diagnosed.
Autism misinformation clouds and is perpetuated by the Internet. We want to make accurate information about autism causation and therapies visible, accessible, and centralized.
We also want to help new autism community members develop a positive yet realistic attitude, to appreciate the strengths while supporting the struggles of our loved ones with autism.
Our attitude is cautionary yet loving—we are interested in strong opinions, but not in negativity. Our families need their energies for evidence-based optimism!
How We See Ourselves
Think of us as a little bit of Snopes for the autism community—trusted, accurate, and friendly. Our essays will cover informed approaches to autism and autism treatments, as well as the personal experiences of people with autism and their families. Our authors are parents, professionals, and people with autism.
Our writers have defined opinions, and may not always agree with each other. That is both acceptable, and realistic, because autism means something different for every person with a diagnosis. We are not here to tell you what to do; we are here to give you tools and information so you can make informed decisions for yourself, your child, or your family.
Process and Submissions
We’d like TPGA to be a transparent, community-based effort. It helps that our community contains so many prominent and experienced voices.
Feel free to pitch us an essay topic. We also don’t mind if you submit an essay you’ve previously published. We want TPGA be comprehensive, not proprietary.
Please review our submission guidelines before sending in your essay.
You can also help us improve our Autism Resources page by leaving a comment about useful autism websites, books, movies, communities, and organizations.
Timelines
The submission deadline for our book was August 16. We’ll continue publishing essays online. The book will be published in Winter, 2010 through Deadwood City Publishing, and will be sold through Amazon.com.
Seriously, a blog well worth following. Professional, good content, broad spectrum of ideas. An excellent voice.
If you aren’t following this blog yet, you really should consider it. The Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism is a group blog, and a big and diverse group it is. Some of my old favorite bloggers are there (e.g. Corina Lynn Becker , Kristina Chew , Clay , Emily Willingham , Liz Ditz ...) and many people I haven’t read before the TPGTA.
Kev wrote about the blog last June when it was fairly new. They are definitely living up to the hope that Kev expressed then.
The blog allows submissions and has a book coming out as well.
The mission statement lays it all out:
Seriously, a blog well worth following. Professional, good content, broad spectrum of ideas. An excellent voice.
Dear Sullivan, Two points: Thanks so much for the props to me and to Emily Willingham, but we are only a minority of the editorial team. The majority: Shannon des Roches Rosa -- you can read more at and . Shan is also arguably the foremost proponent. Jennifer Bede Myers -- you can read more at and Carol Greenburg -- you can read more at . She is the East Coast Regional Director of Autism Women's Network and her professional site, . The Thinking Person's Guide to Autism doesn't just "allow" submissions, we are actively seeking submissions from people with autism, parents of people with autism, and professionals assisting people with autism to live the fullest, most rewarding life possible.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Kev and Shannon Rosa, TPG to Autism. TPG to Autism said: Thx! @kevleitch: The Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism: If you aren’t following this blog yet, you really should con... http://bit.ly/gH6ax8 [...]
One of the first blogs I happened across in my search for information soon after my sons recent dx. It was and remains a source of wisdom and comfort for me.
Thanks for featuring TPGA and our mission. We're big fans of LBRB, for breaking autism news -- and breaking down autism BS. We see ourselves as an evidence-based autism information and perspectives nexus, and work very hard to include a variety of voices from autistics, professionals, and parents of kids with autism. We especially value the conversations that emerge. One update: The book is coming out in 2011. Again, thanks.
Diverse? I don't think so. Not if you are talking about Autism generally. If you are talking about the Neurodiversity segment of the autism "community" maybe. A lot of autism bloggers are parents who recognize autism disorders as what they are ... disorders. That is not the perspective of many of the bloggers your list above most of whom subscribe to the "joy of autism" Neurodiversity ideology.
Write a quick comment | View 3 more comment(s).