I’m Jolene I’m a writer, I’m married with two kids, I have a degree and a job. I’m also tangata whaitakiwātanga, autistic.
I was always autistic, I just didn’t know until I was an adult. My diagnosis came way too late to change the direction of my life, but perfectly timed to change the way I saw it.
I went public with my diagnosis with a TEDx Talk. The talk was my “coming out,” a way to avoid having a million awkward one-on-one conversations. It was supposed to be an ending, but it became a beginning – the opportunity to tell my story, and to connect with the autistic community. And now? I’m excited to share what I know.
Actually? You deserve to be happy. You deserve to live in the perfect world for you. It starts now, with the way you see autism, and the way you see yourself.
It’s time for autistic world domination!
We’re 1 in 30.
Estimates put the autistic population at 1 in 30, but that is still low. Like me, an entire generation of autistics are diagnosed later in life – and working to understand what the diagnosis means for us.
We grow up.
We kick ass.
Reprinted with permission from the publisher from Jolene Stockman, Autistic World Domination, 2023, Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
“The word domination oozes power and control. However, the word actually comes from the Latin dominus meaning master of a household. So, we’re not here to boot out the neurotypicals, colonize the system, or gobble up the resources for ourselves (although finding some middle ground would be ideal).
We’re here to master ourselves, our spaces, and to make the world our home. And maybe for me that means cutting back on social interactions and shopping online. And maybe for you it means putting yourself out there and building independence. But for all of us it means letting go of trying to be like anyone else, trying to exist for or as anyone else.
We belong in this world, and we deserve joy, peace, and success – however that looks for us.”
Reprinted with permission from the publisher from Jolene Stockman, Autistic World Domination, 2023, Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
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