Team TransLash celebrates that neurodivergence is something we can smile about. It’s a part of what makes this world a better and more beautiful place. On April 2nd, World Autism Awareness Day, we’re sharing love for all of our TGNC siblings on the spectrum. This day also kicks off a month-long campaign toward greater acceptance and appreciation of neurodiversity.
People who do not identify with the sex they were assigned at birth are three to six more times as likely to be neurodivergent as cisgender people, according to the largest study yet to examine the connection.
Team TransLash is in solidarity with all people who decry the organization Autism Speaks. Here’s why.
This compendium of resources is for folks who are still learning about neurodivergence, and for people who are on the spectrum. Diagnosed or not, you are valid––and we celebrate you today and every day!
General Overviews
The word ‘neurodiversity‘ was created as a term to describe a movement towards neurological diversity being accepted and respected in society. Neurodivergence includes those who live with Dyslexia, Autism, ADHD, Dyspraxia and other neurological realities.
“On the spectrum” usually refers to the specific set of behavioral and developmental realities associated with autism spectrum disorder. A diagnosis of ASD means that a person’s communication, social, and play skills are affected in ways that aren’t coded as neurotypical.
- Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Asperger/Autism by the Asperger/Autism Network
- Statement by Autistic Self-Advocacy Network, National Centre for Transgender Equality, and LGBTQ Task Force on the Rights of Transgender and Gender Non-conforming Autistic People (2016)
Medical Resources
- Children’s National Medical Center Gender Development Program, Rockville, MD – The Gender Development Program is dedicated to supporting youth with gender and autism (or related conditions) through evaluations, consultation and a specialized ongoing support program.
- Working with LGBTQ Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Developmental Disabilities – If you’re a doctor looking to better understand ways to approach discussing gender with patients on the spectrum, the Children’s Hospital of Colorado offers these tips and tools.
Personal Experience Essays, Advice and Articles
- Eve on Special Interests and Finding Your Place by Anonymous
- Gendervague: At the Intersection of Autistic and Trans Experiences by Lydia X. Z. Brown
- Growing up queer with Asperger’s by Austin Houck
- How Our Society Harms Trans People Who Are Also Autistic by Katelyn Burns
- “I feel right at home within the autistic LGBTQ+ community, and I wouldn’t change a thing.” by Anonymous
- I’m Autistic and I’m Sick of Feeling Excluded from Queer Spaces by Chrysanthe Tan
- “There are a lot of false assumptions made about autistic people, when it comes to sexuality and relationships.” by George Morl
- Why I’m Proud To Be Queer and Autistic by Y Rai Jayne Powell
Scientific Studies
- Autism and transgender identity: Implications for depression and anxiety, ScienceDirect
- Autism Traits in Treatment-Seeking Transgender Adults, Autism Research Center
- Elevated rates of autism, other neurodevelopmental and psychiatric diagnoses, and autistic traits in transgender and gender-diverse individuals, Nature Communications
- Largest study to date confirms overlap between autism and gender diversity, Spectrum News
- Living between genders, Spectrum News
- The Link Between Autism and Trans Identity, The Atlantic
Trans and Queer People on the Spectrum to Follow
- Alistair H | artist and activist: Website (fr), YouTube (fr)
- Asharah Saraswati/Art Twink | artist: Facebook, Instagram
- ChrisTiana ObeySumner | consultant, writer, activist: Website, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter
- Chrysanthe Tan | composer, violinist, songwriter: Website, Instagram, Twitter
- George Morl | artist, writer: Website, Instagram
- Lydia X. Z. Brown | advocate, organizer, writer: Website, Facebook, Twitter
- s.e Smith | writer, editor: Website, Instagram, Twitter
- Seranine Elliot | musician, model, and activist: Bandcamp, Facebook
- Shain Neumeier | attorney, advocate: Website, Twitter
More Resources
- Apply for financial aid through the Autistic People of Color Fund
- Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization with a mission to provide community, support and resources for Autistic women, girls, transfeminine and transmasculine nonbinary and genderqueer people, trans people of all genders, Two Spirit people, and all others of marginalized genders. Go to their website for more information on their scholarship, their community support, and more.
Submit any useful trans/non-binary/intersex/two-spirit Autism Awareness Day resource links that we may have missed here.
[Image Description: An infinity symbol in the trans flag colors is intertwined with the text “World Autism Day” and beneath that it says “Celebrating our Neurodiversity”]
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