Canadian Journal of Autism Equity

Foreword

David Nicholas — 2025-04-12

Embracing Neurodivergence

MissNatasha Connects — 2025-04-12

Growing up, the awareness of my neurodivergent identity was a gradual revelation, marked by moments of confusion and confrontation with societal expectations. Initially blissful in my ignorance, I became aware of my differences when I overheard my parents discussing my behavior as peculiar.

An Intersection of Race and Disability:

Safia Abdulle — 2025-04-12

Black children face racial inequities when it comes to autism and neurodevelopmental disability diagnoses. As we know, autism and related neurodevelopmental disabilities have historically been pathologized, stigmatized, and discriminated against. As a result, Autistic self-advocates created the neurodiversity movement, as a direct oppositional force to this historical, and present-day, harm. However, even within the context of this civil rights movement, Black, and other minoritized people have consistently been left at the margins. This marginalization is evident throughout the diagnosis process, where Black children and youth who meet the diagnostic criteria for autism and related neurodevelopmental disabilities face, on average, diagnostic inequities. This includes incorrect diagnoses, later diagnoses, and receiving no diagnoses at all. It is critical to analyze and examine the harmful mechanisms which facilitate the marginalization and inequitable treatment of Black Autistic, neurodevelopmentally disabled youth from a young age.

What's in a name?

McKenna Hart — 2025-04-12

Abstract: This essay reflects on my mental health journey that began when I first received a diagnosis of bipolar II disorder at age 18. After countless ineffective treatments and conflicting diagnoses over the course of my young adult years, by the time I was 23, I feared that my condition would never improve. However, a family members’ autism diagnosis prompted me to pursue an assessment myself. After two years on a waitlist, I received a diagnosis of Level 1 Autism Spectrum Disorder, which changed my perception of myself and led to a massively improved quality of life. This transformative experience showed me the importance of informed and compassionate care, and the need for a more nuanced understanding of mental health conditions and the language used to describe them.

It Begins with a Diagnosis:

Emi Linds — 2025-04-12

This narrative shares the story of a family’s journey into understanding and supporting their child, beginning with the transformative moment of an autism diagnosis. The diagnosis helped them step into his beautiful universe filled with things that spin. The essay explores the role that Canada’s Autism Strategy plays in shaping a brighter future for families like theirs. Focusing on the Strategy’s priorities—screening and diagnosis, public awareness and acceptance, and tools and resources—it reflects on how these initiatives promise a more equitable and inclusive future. This is a story of love, discovery, and advocacy, grounded in the belief that change begins with understanding, and that every journey begins with a diagnosis.

The Curious Intersectionality of Being an Autistic Chinese Canadian

Joy Lu — 2025-04-12

In this piece, I aim to explore the complex intersectionality of being both autistic and Chinese Canadian, a topic that is rarely discussed. As someone who is multiply marginalized, my cultural background and traditional Chinese upbringing played a significant role in delaying my autism diagnosis until adulthood. I want to shed light on the unique challenges East Asians face in relation to autism, especially since, despite Canada’s rich diversity and large Asian population, autistic Asians remain significantly underrepresented and underdiagnosed. By sharing my personal journey, I hope to bridge that gap. The narrative begins with a personal reflection on my past misunderstandings about autism and how those misconceptions were shaped by my cultural context. It then delves into a broader analysis of why autism awareness is generally lacking in Chinese communities. Finally, I will demonstrate how I’ve taken on the role of advocating for greater autism awareness, particularly within these communities, while striving to educate others. Through my story, I aim not only to raise awareness but also to foster a deeper understanding and acceptance of autism, helping to create a more inclusive and supportive environment for people of all cultural backgrounds.

The Bastard

Winston Roberts — 2025-04-12

This poem reflects on my journey as an undiagnosed Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)/Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) foster child growing up in rural Newfoundland. It highlights the abusive and neglectful developmental years and how that lack of guidance drove me to a directionless life, regardless of the paths I tried to walk.
It attempts to highlight the paths I have taken, the frustrations felt, the mistakes made, and the meeting of my wife. I am still "licking old wounds" in her shade.
Life has been incredibly complex due to the multitude of masks I was forced to wear in order to survive, alone, without any evidence as to who, or what I am. I still do not fit, but at least I now know why. That’s a great starting point.

The Vestiges of Disability

Jan A. Wozniak — 2025-04-12

This collection of poetry consists of two parts, marking a chronological transition from disability to empowerment. The first, ‘Big Yellow Buses’ and ‘The Dead of Winter’, address the consequences of growing up without an autism diagnosis, including themes of bullying, isolation, and despair. The second, ‘Autistic Bunker’ and ‘Atlas Unbound’, focus on life after receiving a diagnosis, including its effect on authenticity, purpose, and change. The temporal progression from the confusion and hardship of undiagnosed childhood and adolescence to the self-awareness and community integration of adulthood indicates a profound transformation in personal identity. By evoking the visceral and cognitive dimensions of autistic experiences across lifespan development, these poems reiterate the importance of awareness, acceptance, and community connectedness, which remain tantamount to supporting the health and wellbeing of autistic individuals currently and in the years to come.

Autism-Informed Mindfulness

Jan A. Wozniak — 2025-04-12

Within Canada, there remains a continuing need for neurodiversity-affirming and community-informed programs and interventions for autistic adults. Over the past year, we—a late-diagnosed autistic adult practicing mindfulness and a mindfulness teacher interested in autism with extensive involvement in the autism community—have co-delivered mindfulness sessions to autistic adults, including self-diagnosed and formally diagnosed persons, using a synchronous virtual format. The manualized intervention outlined in this paper was initially designed and implemented by Lunsky and colleagues (2022). In this experiential commentary, we reflect on our experiences delivering this program and why collaborative partnerships like this are important for those intending to work with autistic individuals in clinical and therapeutic settings. Specifically, we highlight the tools and strategies we implemented within our formal and informal mindfulness practices to ensure that participants had their social and sensory needs met throughout the duration of our six-week program. Additionally, we discuss what we learned while co-facilitating autism-informed mindfulness and our recommendations for fellow practitioners moving forward.