Autism has been in the news this November for many reasons. Some news about Autism has been positive, but most news is negative and concerning. So here are some feel good news stories that feature autism in the news this November.
Kids’ TV show featuring an autistic lead character
From Disability Scoop, PBS Kids Creating New Series about Characters with Autism, published 17 October 2023.
How cool that there’s a new TV show for kids launching in the US on PBS that features an autistic lead character and his neurodiverse friends. Called ‘Carl the Collector’, it follows Carl, an autistic racoon, as he collects things in Fuzzytown. He is described as energetic, with great attention to detail, but doesn’t respond well when things don’t go as expected. The character Carl has anxiety but is warm-hearted. The show aims to show inclusion, and promote empathy while modelling social skills for kids.
‘Autism power time!’ autistic wrestler
From Fox8, ‘Autism Power Time’ , published 17 November 2023.
When you think about autistic people and what jobs they might hold, you might think computer programmer, train driver, or author. But have you every thought about pro wrestler?
Ricky from North Carolina is autistic and his obsession for many years has been pro wrestling. This obsession includes collecting action figures, autographed memorabilia, championship belts, and now he’s now become a wrestler, under the title Ricky Autism. He fights under the Ricky Autism banner, with an ‘Autism Awareness’ flag. He hopes to raise awareness, show that autistic people can ‘live their dream’.
New book from Temple Grandin
From yahoo!, 3 questions for autism advocate Temple Grandin on her new book and what it means to be a visual thinker published 17 November 2023.
Well known autistic author, scientist and advocate Temple Grandin has a new book releasing at the end of this month titled “Different Kinds of Minds”. The book highlights different ways that the autistic brain can see the world, with particular focus on visual thinking.
This book is important, as Temple says, because much of school is geared towards verbal thinkers. However, there are many people who are visual thinkers and do better with hands-on and applied learning and careers.