The fourth and final season of Netflix’s Atypical presented a valuable opportunity to assess both how far we’ve progressed when it comes to autistic representation in pop culture, and how far we still have to go.
Sarah wrote about why in an essay for TIME Magazine.
International pop star Sia made a movie called Music that was, in theory, about autistic representation.
When Sarah reviewed the film for TIME her chief concerns where that the film could potentially be “patronizing, exploitive and genuinely harmful.” What she found out was that, in addition to arguably being many of those things, it was also simply bad art.
Pop culture has been particularly uneven when it comes to fair and credible autistic representation.
So it was with a healthy dose of cautious concern that Sarah was tasked with reviewing the new Netflix dating series Love On The Spectrum, featuring autistic people navigating dating, sex, romance and relationships.
The verdict? The autistic representation on Love On The Spectrum is probably better than most previous examples in television and film. But don’t treat that as a ringing endorsement. It’s a low bar to leap.
To read the review head over to TIME by going here.
Mass murderer Alek Minassian is currently on trial in Toronto for a van attack he conducted in 2018 that killed 10 people and injured 16. He’s facing 10 counts of first-degree murder and 16 counts of attempted murder.
Meanwhile, his defense is arguing he should not be found not criminally responsible owing to the fact he’s autistic. It’s a defense that’s dangerous, short-sighted and could have tremendous negative impacts on the autistic community.
Sarah wrote about the reasons why in a piece for Flare.
I Overcame My Autism And All I Got Was This Lousy Anxiety Disorder: A Memoir
Sarah’s first book I Overcame My Autism And All I Got Was This Lousy Anxiety Disorder: A Memoir (Douglas & McIntyre) is officially available in Canada.
The U.S. and international release is September 22, 2020.
Despite the state of the world being what it is, there are a number of ways interested readers can get this worthy piece of work.
Below is a handy list of links to purchase I Overcame My Autism And All I Got Was This Lousy Anxiety Disorder: A Memoir (we’ll update with further options whenever we have them):
Your Independent Canadian Bookstore (We can’t guarantee these stores have the book, but you should call them and ask. Many indies are doing book delivery drops right now).
Sarah will be doing a Facebook virtual launch event for the book on Monday, April 20 at 7 pm ET. Tune in to hear her do a reading, answer questions and (probably) swerve the conversation to inappropriate and bizarre places.