The #ActuallyAutistic Guide to Advocacy

Step-by-Step Advice on How to Ally and Speak Up with Autistic People and the Autism Community

By: Jenna Gensic, Jennifer Brunton

Narrated by: Lucie McNeil

The #ActuallyAutistic Guide to Advocacy takes an in-depth look at the key elements of effective, respectful, inclusive advocacy and allyship. Every topic was chosen, shaped and informed by #ActuallyAutistic perspectives.

The step-by-step guide discusses various aspects of how autism is perceived, explores how best to speak up for individual needs and introduces advocacy for the wider autistic community. Each step outlines one vital aspect of advocacy and allyship, such as emphasizing acceptance, avoiding assumptions and assuming competence. The advice and strategies laid out in this guide center the wisdom and experiences of autistic people and enable the listener to confidently speak up with insight and understanding.

©2022 Jennifer Brunton PhD and Jenna Gensic (P)2022 Jessica Kinglsey Publishers

This book is changing lives

I’m an autistic clinician who works with neurodiverse kids, who has only neurodiverse friends, and who has autistic and neurodiverse partners.

My entire community is unheard in most of the world, everyone I care about is talked over, and talked about.

This book changes that. Our voices are centered, really centered and not just tokenized. The piece about how all the quotes used are from autistic people, unless otherwise stated, caused me to pause and cry for a little while.

Jennifer and Jenna have done something so needed by our community, and I appreciate it so much. They don’t make us an afterthought, or minimize our ways of being in the world. I knew I would love this book when I watched Jennifer be the key note speaker at a conference, but I didn’t think I’d finish listening to it while also crying (RIP my glasses-cleaning-cloth).

I can’t wait til their new book is released on audio so I can experience it, too!