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About
Rae is an autistic self-advocate leading peer support groups for adults to process and discuss what it’s like to be autistic in the world. He loves animals, the outdoors, and all forms of creative expression. Rae is passionate about filling support gaps for autistic adults to live long, happy lives.
Experience
Rae holds graduate degrees in psychology and creative writing and is currently a doctoral scholar in Autism Studies at Towson University. His published works include poetry, lyric essay, personal essay, and academic writing.
Education
PhD Student in Autism Studies, Towson University (Current)
MFA in Creative Writing, University of Wyoming (2023)
MA in Psychology, San Diego State University (2021)
BA in Psychology, University of Montana (2016)
Autism and Empathy: Bridging the Gap in Understanding Neurodivergent Perspectives
We often make assumptions about others’ internal states based on their external behaviors. For example, if I see that you’re shivering, I might make a good guess that you’re cold. I might be correct most of the time, but these assumptions are not always accurate. It’s also possible that someone can be shivering but not cold, or cold but not shivering.
Autistic behaviors are commonly misunderstood because autistic people have social and communication differences. This means that when someone guesses an autistic person's internal state based on what they see externally, they are less likely to guess correctly because the state may differ from what they expect. An autistic person may feel one way but appear differently to another person. One clear example of this is the assumption that some have made that autistic people must lack empathy.
The question “Do autistic people have empathy?” prevails in blog posts and articles online––and the persistence of this question exemplifies the harmful myth that autistic people lack empathy. Autistic people do have empathy––and in fact, many have heightened empathy––even if the expression of this empathy appears differently.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder marked by social and communication differences and a preference for sameness and repetition. In the past, some researchers pursued the idea that a lack of empathy is a defining feature of the autism spectrum ––but this view has been challenged by other researchers who point out the flaws in these assumptions.
While autistic traits undoubtedly include social and communication differences compared to allistic (non-autistic) people, these differences do not equate autism to a lack of empathy.
Read on to learn more about different types of empathy, factors influencing autistic empathy and more.
Advocating for Inclusion: The Role of the Social Model in Disability Empowerment
Most people know someone who has a disability––or they have a disability themselves. According to the census, 13.4% of the total population in the U.S. is disabled. This means 44.1 million people live with various challenges, from ambulatory to cognitive to visual.
Disabilities can be visible or invisible, such as autism or mental health conditions. In addition to the great variations in disability, there’s also more than one way to view the concept of being disabled.
Many autistic folks have engaged in discussion at one point or another about whether being autistic is a difference or a disability. This answer can change depending on which model through which we see autism. In the medical model, autism itself is the cause of a disability, but in the social model, autism is a difference, and it is the environment that disables us.
Read on to explore the differences between the medical and social models of disability.
What Are The Levels of Autism Support
Autism is a condition that can be characterized by social and communication differences and a preference for sameness and repetition. There’s a common saying that “if you’ve met one autistic person, you’ve met one autistic person” because there is tremendous variability in how autistic traits present. The level of support each autistic person needs can also vary greatly. Each person diagnosed with autism will also be assigned a ‘level’ meant to reflect their support needs, but what exactly does this mean?
These support levels are outlined by the DSM, or The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. This is the U.S. handbook for mental health diagnoses. The DSM is updated every few decades, and the DSM-5, released in 2013, marked a big shift in the classification and description of autism.
The DSM-5 combined the older diagnoses of Asperger’s syndrome, pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS) and autistic disorder into one: autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
