We’re Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation - Eric Garcia Audiobook

Written by Eric Garcia
Read by Eric Garcia
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

Publisher: HarperAudio
Release date: August 3, 2021
Duration: 07:53:01

“This book is a message from autistic people to their parents, friends, teachers, coworkers and doctors showing what life is like on the spectrum. It’s also my love letter to autistic people. For too long, we have been forced to navigate a world where all the road signs are written in another language.”

With a reporter’s eye and an insider’s perspective, Eric Garcia shows what it’s like to be autistic across America.

Garcia began writing about autism because he was frustrated by the media’s coverage of it; the myths that the disorder is caused by vaccines, the narrow portrayals of autistic people as white men working in Silicon Valley. His own life as an autistic person didn’t look anything like that. He is Latino, a graduate of the University of North Carolina, and works as a journalist covering politics in Washington D.C. Garcia realized he needed to put into writing what so many autistic people have been saying for years; autism is a part of their identity, they don’t need to be fixed.

In We’re Not Broken, Garcia uses his own life as a springboard to discuss the social and policy gaps that exist in supporting those on the spectrum. From education to healthcare, he explores how autistic people wrestle with systems that were not built with them in mind. At the same time, he shares the experiences of all types of autistic people, from those with higher support needs, to autistic people of color, to those in the LGBTQ community. In doing so, Garcia gives his community a platform to articulate their own needs, rather than having others speak for them, which has been the standard for far too long.

“Political journalist Eric Garcia, who is on the autism spectrum, interviewed others with this condition so he could join them in speaking for themselves instead of passively tolerating the judgments and misunderstandings of typical media coverage. He delivers what could be called a manifesto with sincerity that is pleasing enough to make his limited phrasing range a non-issue. His commitment to changing our culture’s view of autism is audible. Garcia points out that autism’s pattern of communication deficits and restricted social interactivity is now recognized as a developmental disability, not a mental illness. His powerful message is that people with autism do not need fixing and are not less deserving of respect than others. They merely need support to ensure that their needs are met within social and administrative systems that were not designed for them.”… � AudioFile