PARTICIPANTS

Fabrizio Acanfora is a writer and autistic activist, pianist and harpsichordist. He teaches Autism Spectrum Disorders for the Masters in Music Therapy Program of the University of Barcelona and is part of the scientific committee of the Masters in Academic Tutor Specialized in Inclusive Music Education at the LUMSA University of Rome, where he also coordinates the module on Disability Studies. Since July 2022, he has been responsible for communication and external relations of Specialisterne Italia, an organization dedicated to promoting the inclusion of autistic people in the workplace. He won the first prize at the Giancarlo Dosi National Award for Scientific Disclosure in December 2019, with an autobiographical essay, Eccentrico (effequ, 2028), bringing the first-person narration of autism to obtain official recognition also from the scientific community. His second essay, In altre parole, dizionario minimo di diversità, a minimum dictionary of diversity, was published in March 2022, also by effequ. For Luiss University Press he published in July 2022 Di pari passo, il lavoro oltre l’idea di inclusione (Hand in hand, work beyond the idea of inclusion), an essay on the inclusion of minorities in the labor market. He is a columnist for the magazine La Meraviglia Del Possibile, published by Luiss University Press, where he holds his column Astral weeks, and has collaborated with magazines such as Intersezionale, Jacobin Italia, Valigia Blu, UPPA, and others.

He is interested in the inclusion of diversity (or, as he prefers to say, in the coexistence of differences), an issue that he addresses from a cultural and social perspective, promoting an approach to differences that moves away from a vision that stigmatizes diversity as a condition characterized by deficit. In this context, he regularly holds lectures and conferences at universities and public and private institutions.

A solicitor and former ombudsman specialising in the Equality Act and consumer vulnerability, Reena’s journey began when her eldest son was diagnosed autistic, revealing a stark absence of tailored support for global majority parents in similar circumstances – this inspired the creation of her consultancy. Her younger son has also since been diagnosed. Reena uses evidence-based research to address cultural biases hindering global majority neurodivergent individuals from obtaining diagnoses and support at home, school and work. She explores how race, ethnicity and neurodiversity intersect to shape outcomes for individuals and how to optimise environments for success.

Reena contributes to vital discussions about the impact of health, education and access to work on global majority communities. Her talks engage corporate organisations and NHS Trusts in fostering inclusivity, while her workshops empower parents and communities. She hosts the “Unpacking Autism” podcast, delving into how culture influences the lives of autistic individuals and their families. Beyond consulting, Reena serves on several boards most notably as a Trustee on the Management Committee at the Race Equality Foundation. In 2023, she won the Lord Hastings Integrity Award at the Baton Awards for her advocacy work.

Susanne Paola Antonetta’s latest book is The Terrible Unlikelihood of Our Being Here. Forthcoming in 2025 is The Devil’s Castle: Eugenics, Nazi Euthanasia, and How Psychiatry’s Troubled History Hurts Us Now. She is also the author of Make Me a Mother, Entangled Objects, Body Toxic, A Mind Apart, and four books of poetry. Awards include a Pushcart, a New York Times Notable Book, an American Book Award, an Amazon best memoir of the year award, and others. Her essays and poems have appeared in The New York Times, Ms., The Huffington Post, The UK Independent, The Hill, Orion, Psychology Today and The New Republic and been featured on CNN as well as the CBC Ideas documentary series. She lives in Asheville, North Carolina.

Valeria Aydos is a Professor of Social Anthropology and Disability Studies at the Federal University of Pampa, a university in the border region of the Brazilian and Argentine pampas, in south of Brazil. She holds a PhD in Anthropology from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), with an internship sponsored by professor Nikolas Rose at King’s College London.  She is Co-editor-in-Chief of the international journal “Cahier franco-latino-américains d’études sur le handicap” and coordinates the Brazilian “Group of Studies on Disability, Society and Culture”. Her research experiences include the projects “Living with Disabilities in Brazil” (2019-2022, with University College London, UK), “Disability, Neurodiversity and Intersectionality: the effects of ableism in the educational trajectories of women with disabilities” (2022-2026, with UFSC, Brazil and Western University, Canada), and “Translating oneself: autism in the first person at the Academy” (2021-2024). She also works for the Disability and Accessibility Committee of the Brazilian Anthropology Association (ABA), in addition to being a member of ABRAÇA (Brazilian Association for the Rights of Autistic People). In her latest projects, she has been focusing her interests on emancipatory researches in the co-production of knowledge with autistic black women from lower classes. The study aims at exploring the intersectionality between autism, gender, race, and social class concerning the inclusion of persons with disabilities in the labor market and education systems.

Julia Lee Barclay-Morton, PhD is an award-winning writer/director, whose writing has been produced and published internationally; her first book, a hybrid collection, THE MORTALITY SHOT was published in 2002 by Liquid Cat Books; recent publications include excerpt from memoir-in-progress in Autism in Adulthood, and essays and stories in Oldster,  Prairie Schooner, [PANK], Heavy Feather Review, and, Nomadic Press. She founded Apocryphal Theatre when in London (2003-11), which work was the basis of her fully-funded PhD from University of Northampton (2009); two decades of her experimental stage texts were streamed in 2022, commissioned by Radio Art Zone. She is now working on her researched memoir about being diagnosed autistic very late in life wherein she is attempting an unmasked autistitext, while painting and teaching in NYC where she lives with her husband and cat. More at TheUnadaptedOnes.com.

Michael Bakan is a Professor of Musicology, is Head of the World Music Ensembles Program in the College of Music at Florida State University, where he directs the Omnimusica intercultural ensemble and the Sekaa Gong Hanuman Agung Balinese gamelan. His more than fifty publications include the books World Music: Traditions and Transformations, which has been adopted at over 200 universities and colleges worldwide; Music of Death and New Creation: Experiences in the World of Balinese Gamelan Beleganjur, reviewed in The Times (London) as one of the two “most significant publications on Balinese music in almost half a century”; and the recently published Speaking for Ourselves: Conversations on Life, Music, and Autism, from Oxford University Press (2018). He serves on the Board of Directors of the Society for Ethnomusicology, the Central Fellowships Committee of the American Council of Learned Societies, the International Advisory Board of the British journal Ethnomusicology Forum, and as series editor of the Routledge Focus on World Music book series. Professor Bakan formerly directed the Artism Ensemble, a neurodiverse, National Endowment for the Arts-funded music performance collective dedicated to promoting autism acceptance throughout the United States and internationally. He has taught or been an invited speaker at dozens of institutions, including Harvard, Yale, Indiana, and Columbia universities, the universities of Chicago, Toronto, and Washington, the Berklee College of Music, and the University of Music and the Arts in Graz, Austria. Keynote presentations at conferences such as the British Forum for Ethnomusicology, along with performances and recordings as a drummer and percussionist with artists and organizations including George Clinton, John Cage, Tito Puente, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Omnimusica, and the legendary funk band Parliament, have figured prominently in his professional activities as well. The Omnimusica album Ashrei, featuring six of his original compositions, was a first ballot entry in the world music category for the 2015 GRAMMY Awards.

Michael is enthusiastic about contributing to CASY.

Lor Begent (they/them/theirs) is a neurodivergent, queer artist and mentor based in Salt Lake City, UT, USA. Their journey is a testament to finding accessibility in art, a mission they extend to others navigating neurodivergence, disability, or chronic illness. With a focus on surreal digital illustrations and watercolor paintings, informed by a background in tattoo art, Lor empowers disabled artists through mentorship. Their extensive experience in social support groups, both leading and participating, underscores their commitment to community building.

As a valued member of CASY, Lor provides technical assistance for website operations and zoom meetings, helping to ensure a platform for diverse autistic voices. They eagerly anticipate sharing their non-traditional background while amplifying the voices of fellow autistic individuals.

To view Lor Begent’s artwork or learn more, visit http://www.lor.ink

Lindsey Biel is a long time advocate and ally to the autistic/neuroexpansive community. She is a pediatric occupational therapist with a private practice in Manhattan and she teaches workshops to parents, teachers, therapists, doctors, and other professionals across the country. She is co-author of the award-winning “Raising a Sensory Smart Child: The Definitive Handbook for Helping Your Child with Sensory Processing Issues,” and the author of “Sensory Processing Challenges: Effective Clinical Work with Kids & Teens.” She is also co-creator of the Sensory Processing Master Class DVD program and is frequently published in parenting and professional magazines. She has partnered with the Guggenheim Museum to create sensory-friendly spaces where those with sensory sensitivities can enjoy art, co-authoring the “Guggenheim For All Toolkit.”

From Lindsey: “I propose to share information and facilitate discussions about sensory and motor aspects of the autistic experience. Subject areas would include understanding and managing differences in processing of sensory information including sound, vision, touch, interoception (sense of physiological state), proprioceptive (body awareness) and vestibular (movement) input. Additional subjects may include fine and gross motor skills, self-care, and more.

Ariel Cascio obtained a Ph.D. in Anthropology in 2015 from Case Western Reserve University. They are currently Assistant Professor (2019-present) in the Art of Medicine program at Central Michigan University College of Medicine (CMED). Dr. Cascio completed Postdoctoral Research in the Pragmatic Health Ethics Research Unit, Institut de recherches cliniques de Montréal (IRCM) Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, and was a McGill University Lecturer in the Department of Anthropology.

Dr. Cascio has an extensive list of publications, including Making autism research inclusive by attending to intersectionality: A review of the research ethics literature (Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders); Empowerment in Decision-Making for Autistic People in Research (Disability & Society); Person-oriented research ethics to address the needs of participants on the autism spectrum (Ethics & Human Research) to name just a few.

Ariel is interested in hosting “Ethical Hangouts” —  From Ariel: “Ethics refers to the study of good and bad. Key ethics questions include “what is the good life?” “How do we achieve a good life?” “What do we owe one another?” and “What should we do?” To answer these questions, we can think about things like values, preferences, harms, and benefits. There are often no easy answers. In these ethics hangouts, we will chat informally about every day ethical issues that impact autistic people. Attendees can propose a topic, or Ariel can suggest a topic from their research, their colleagues’ research, or published articles. For example, Rodogno, Krause-Jensen, and Ashcroft’s 2016 article “‘Autism and the good life’: a new approach to the study of well-being” asks “What does a good life for an autistic person consist in? Can we assume that his or her well-being is substantively the same as the well-being of non-autistic individuals?” We can make this question more specific by asking things like: do autism-specific settings foster a good life? Does autism screening foster a good life? Does having a job foster a good life?”

Samantha Chipman is a doctoral student and bioethics certificate candidate at Emory University. She is a summa cum laude and honors graduate of Loyola University Chicago, where she was a Provost Fellow and a Ricci Scholar. Her Provost Fellow project, “Autism and Identity: Standing at the Axis of Oppression,” examined health inequities experienced by women and girls with Autism through lenses of epistemic injustice and feminist standpoint theory. Her Ricci project explored “Death and Dying in Italy and Vietnam” through qualitative interviews.

Her Research Experience for Master’s Students project, “Tracking Textual Variants in Dickinson’s Poems,” was a collaboration with Felix Oke and Ria De to document and analyze the behavior of Emily Dickinson’s variants through computational and textual studies methodologies. Her current work focuses on global literatures and poetics since the Early Modern Period to the 19th Century, cognitive literary studies, neurohumanities, epistemic injustice and language-based health inequities, neurodiversity and Autism, disability studies, and archival methodologies. She ultimately hopes to mobilize the intersections between the health humanities, bioethics, and archival methodologies to advance disability justice, narrative ethics, and health equity in healthcare settings.

Mark Dooley is an autistic psychotherapist. He received his Master’s in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University Seattle in 2002, and earned a Master’s in Environmental Studies from The Evergreen State College in 1993. Mark is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (WA license number LH00009203), Child Mental Health Specialist, WA State Approved Clinical Supervisor, WA State Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs Provider, and a Neurodivergent Affirming Clinician. In 2023, he surpassed 28,000 hours of direct psychotherapy, including psychiatric inpatient, intensive outpatient, integrated healthcare, wilderness, in-home, and private practice settings. Mark recently presented his Discovery/Acceptance/Integration/Expression model of Autistic identity to the Cultural Autism Studies at Yale Autistic Ethnography Project.

Since 1986, Mark Dooley has worked and studied in the fields of advocacy, social justice, ecology, and mental health. Along with his clinical training and experience, Mark’s therapy utilizes graduate research on mutually healing relationships with nature, and is informed by mindfulness, travel, friendship, and family.

From Mark: “I’m very excited to workshop my emerging model of Autistic Identity with CASY! Discovery, Acceptance, Integration, Expression, or DAIE, which happens to be the archaic spelling of day. Which speaks to me of the dawn of day and light of day, every new day every day. For each overlapping stage of Autistic identity, I suggest an inquiry and an answer. As I believe our stories help develop and define our identity, individual and cultural, I propose we explore DAIE by telling and hearing our personal stories as they apply to each phase of Autistic identity. Implicit in this process is the understanding that, even as the model begins with Discovery and expands to Expression, whenever and however each of our Autism was “discovered,” we had been expressing it already, all along.”

Jacki Edry is neurodivergent and is also the parent of neurodivergent children.  She is a survivor of complex brain surgery, which greatly affected her sensory and perceptual abilities.  Sharing the insights she gained from her lived experience has been the driving force behind her work.  Shepublished her first book “Moving Forward: Reflections on Autism, Neurodiversity, Brain Surgery, and Faith” and launched her blog in 2021.  She lectures about neurodiversity, sensory processing, and education to a wide range of audiences.  She has been exploring the world of autism and neurodiversity for over thirty-five years. Jacki has spent many years advocating for inclusion and educational reform.  In 2023, she was chosen as one of the top 50 Neurodiversity Evangelists by ND by design. Jacki was born and raised in NY, and upon completion of her studies at Hampshire College, she made Aliyah to Israel, where she still resides.

 Jacki would like to lead regular sessions in the areas of sensory processing, education, and a neuro-affirming mindset, “different- not lesser.”

Sam Farmer is an information technology consultant, neurodiversity community self-advocate, writer/author, public speaker and adviser for Floreo, a company that leverages virtual reality technology in teaching life skills for neurodiverse individuals. Diagnosed later in life as autistic, he writes blogs and articles, records podcasts and presents at libraries, conferences and for corporations and autism community organizations, sharing stories and thoughts as to how one can achieve greater happiness and success in the face of challenge and adversity. A Long Walk Down a Winding Road – Small Steps, Challenges, & Triumphs Through an Autistic Lens is his first book. To learn more, visit www.samfarmerauthor.com.

Elizabeth Fein received her Ph.D. from the Department of Comparative Human Development at the University of Chicago. Now a Associate Professor and Chair at Duquesne University, she brings together approaches and insights from psychology, anthropology, and science and technology studies to better understand how people make sense of the world around them, and how these sense-making activities transform the world in turn. She focuses particularly on psychiatric and neurodevelopmental diagnoses and the people who inhabit and shape these categorizations. her recent research explores the lived experience of Asperger’s Syndrome and related autism spectrum conditions among youth and young adults in the United States. My most recent book, Living on the Spectrum: Autism and Youth in Community (NYU Press, 2020), examines how individuals affected by autism spectrum conditions draw on broader discourses about biomedicine, identity and technology to make sense of this complex and contested diagnostic category. The volume Autism in Translation: An Intercultural Conversation on Autism Spectrum Conditions (2019, Palgrave Macmillan, through the Culture, Mind and Society series of the Society for Psychological Anthropology), co-edited with Clarice Rios, examines autism in its cultural, historical, political and economic contexts.

My current project, Social Connection through Creative Community: An Ethnographic Study of Participation in the Furry Fandom Among Youth on the Autism Spectrum, is an ethnographic study of autism and other neurodevelopmental differences within a creative subculture.  She has spent the past fifteen years exploring spaces that have been deeply shaped by neurodiverse participants, including a LARPing community, science fiction conventions and the furry fandom. Her research methods are primarily ethnographic, though she also draws on other forms of qualitative and arts-based research and inquiry.

Elizabeth would like to give interactive presentations in the area of creative subcultures and to hold a discussion group on the topic of creative communities and how to find, join, and negotiate them. She looks forward to asking questions like “Where have we experienced our deepest engagements with culture and community? What past experiences and what dreams and hopes for the future can we draw on as we work to build spaces of culture and community that are inclusive, supportive and satisfying?” In this set of two workshops, she hopes to present some of my own observations from spending time in creative communities shaped by strong and robust autistic presence and participation, and then learn from others present about their own experiences and hopes.

Becca Hector was diagnosed on the autism spectrum as an adult and has since become a dedicated autism and neurodiversity advocate, researcher, consultant, speaker, and author. With a focus on living an active, positive life, her work includes autism & neurodiversity consulting, autistic quality of life research, public speaking engagements, as well as, teaching her course, “Self Defined Living: A Path to a Quality Autistic Life,” and her related seminars. Becca has published multiple articles and books about life on the autism spectrum with the goal of spreading acceptance, building understanding, and encouraging self-advocacy. She spent four years supporting the autism community in the non-profit sector in her work for grass-roots organizations that provide resources and services directly to individuals on the autism spectrum, leaving only to open her autism and neurodiversity consulting business. An animal lover with a special affinity for cats, Becca spends most of her free time with her many animals, her husband Antonio, and their Emotional Support Animal (ESA), Sir Walter Underfoot.

Becca is interested in offering the sessions below, along with others.

Autism, Neurodiversity & Belonging

This workshop aims to look at the concept of belonging and how it fits into the Autistic experience. We will discuss the importance of belonging, why it can be so difficult for Neurodivergents to experience true belonging and ways that we can begin to increase the sense of belonging for ourselves and in our world.

Autism, Neurodiversity, & Workplace Wellness

This workshop aims to discuss autism and neurodiversity and the concept of workplace wellness. We will cover topics like workplace well-being, psychological safety, recognizing toxic workplaces, workplace ableism and discrimination, setting healthy workplace boundaries, maximizing your strengths, and managing conflict.

Autism, Neurodiversity & Belonging

This workshop aims to look at the concept of belonging and how it fits into the Autistic experience. We will discuss the importance of belonging, why it can be so difficult for Neurodivergents to experience true belonging and ways that we can begin to increase the sense of belonging for ourselves and in our world.

Autism, Neurodiversity, & Workplace Wellness

This workshop aims to discuss autism and neurodiversity and the concept of workplace wellness. We will cover topics like workplace well-being, psychological safety, recognizing toxic workplaces, workplace ableism and discrimination, setting healthy workplace boundaries, maximizing your strengths, and managing conflict.

Dr. Roger Jou MD, MPH, PhD is a psychiatrist and researcher at the Yale Child Study Center. Dr. Jou began his career in the field of autism as a medical student at the University of Pittsburgh (1999-2004) where he used neuroimaging to study differences in brain structure. He came to Yale School of Medicine to complete his training in adult (2004-2008) and child/adolescent psychiatry (2008-2011) with an emphasis on autism spectrum disorders across the lifespan. During his training, he spent several years evaluating children through the Child Study Center’s Developmental Disabilities Clinic. During his training at Yale, he expanded his interest in neuroimaging to include diffusion tensor imaging and functional magnetic resonance imaging. This ultimately led to his matriculation into Yale Graduate School’s Investigative Medicine Program leading to a PhD at Yale University (2012). He has garnered awards from the International Meeting for Autism Research (IMFAR) (Neurobiological Dissertation Award); the International Society of Autism Research; the Hilibrand Autism Fellowship in Adolescence and Adulthood, and Research Partners Program Young Investigator Award (Foster Bam Investigator). For the past 20 years has focused on autism across the lifespan.  Dr. Jou’s background in psychiatry, public health, and medical science has shaped his non-traditional approach to improving quality of life using diverse simultaneous strategies.  To this end, he founded Community Autism Socials at Yale (CASY) in 2014, providing free social-recreation, education, and support for American autism communities – now rebranded Cultural Autism Studies at Yale.

Based in Ghana, John has been working with Mary Diop and CHIP International in Ghana and Senegal to provide awareness and training regarding autism and special needs since 2011. It has been challenging and rewarding; much progress has been made and there is infinitely much more left to do. John shares, “Our work has given us contacts in the field across the continent and we have encountered incredible people who are persevering and have triumphed in various ways against all odds. It is my hope that through CASY a stronger light will be shed on autism and special needs in Ghana and Africa, and that stories of autism from the continent will expand the discussion to the benefit of all.”

Keven Lee is a Postdoctoral Fellow and Lecturer at the Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry, McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. He holds a Ph.D. in Rehabilitation Science, an M.Sc. in Rehabilitation Science (McGill University), and a B.Sc. in Occupational Therapy (Université de Montréal). He currently researches in the areas of Autism Spectrum Disorders, Connectedness, Movement, Experience, Anthropology, Ethnography, Phenomenology, Embodiment, Ethics, Aesthetics. Keven will partner with Melissa Park in facilitating the expansion of the ethnography into Quebec and adding French -speaking participants

Dr. Dawn-joy Leong Dawn-joy is proudly Autistic. She has a Masters of Philosophy in music composition, and a PhD in Autism, Neurodiversity and Multi-Art Praxis, for which she was conferred the 2016 Dean’s Award for Excellence in Postgraduate Research from UNSW Art & Design, Australia — an honor given to only one top candidate per year. Dawn-joy was also awarded the Arts in Society International Excellence Award in 2013, for her paper, “Art in a Hidden World – creative process and invisible anomaly”. She has published, performed and exhibited her transdisciplinary work in the USA, United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Australia, South Korea, Japan and Singapore; and has been interviewed by and featured in multiple media networks in Australia and Singapore, including SBS Australia, ABC Australia, The Conversation, Artlink, and the Straits Times, Channel News Asia, threesixzero films, Pets Magazine, Cleo, Tatler Singapore, and True Colors Festival.  is a researcher, multi-artist, TEDx speaker; she co-founded K9 Assistance (Ltd), Singapore’s first and currently only charity organization promoting the benefits of assistance dogs for the disabled; and is a board member of the Disabled People’s Association, Singapore. Dawn-joy is a specialist consultant in the Arts and Disability, Disability Leadership, Autism, Neurodiversity, and Multi-Art applications.

Her most recent arts related publication is the report commissioned by the British Council, The Arts and Disability in Singapore: a journey of dynamic partnership between the United Kingdom and Singapore through the British Council.  Autistic artist-researcher presenting autism as parallel embodiment, with sensory-cognitive idiosyncrasy as the nucleus of research, and an artistic practice of immersive mind-body experiences via music, visual art, photography, narrative, poetry and performance. With Lucy Like-a-Charm, a rescued former racing Greyhound, my beautiful creative muse, research assistant and faithful companion, we traverse blended, multidimensional terrains of wonderment: flipping pages of imagination, dancing around pandiatonic-chromatic-polyrhythmic mental fires, making splotches, humming in and out of tune, flying and falling, meandering in and out of discombobulation, gazing at pulchritude, picking up sound waves, celebrating symbiotic connectivity, and finding new ways to sense the world and Be.

Almost all her projects – helmed and collaborative – have been ground-breaking ‘firsts’ in Singapore. The first Disabled-Led residency at the library@orchard, “Designing Clement Space”, exploring theory, practice and expression of creating conducive spaces for wellbeing through the combined perspectives of Neurodivergence. Dr. Leong was also the first and only local Autistic person to be invited to sit in both the organizing and scientific committees for the Asia Pacific Autism Conference 2019. In 2020, Dawn-joy Leong became the first Autistic artist in Singapore to be commissioned by a major visual arts institution, the National Gallery Singapore, to hold a solo exhibition, Clement Space, a new, playful and whimsical iteration of Dawn-joy’s signature concept and practice of the same name, promoting mental wellbeing from within the natural Autistic paradigm.

Dr. Leong is interested in working with CASY to offer workshops in storytelling from an artistic point of view. From Dawn-joy: “I believe every person has their own ‘language’ as unique as their stories, [I hope that I can facilitate from my own] storytelling project…which is multisensory, and includes spoken word, music, visual images etc. We could then discuss the various ways in which autistic people tell their stories, the thematic material that we may have in common…”

Her most recent arts related publication is the report commissioned by the British Council, The Arts and Disability in Singapore: a journey of dynamic partnership between the United Kingdom and Singapore through the British Council.  Autistic artist-researcher presenting autism as parallel embodiment, with sensory-cognitive idiosyncrasy as the nucleus of research, and an artistic practice of immersive mind-body experiences via music, visual art, photography, narrative, poetry and performance. With Lucy Like-a-Charm, a rescued former racing Greyhound, my beautiful creative muse, research assistant and faithful companion, we traverse blended, multidimensional terrains of wonderment: flipping pages of imagination, dancing around pandiatonic-chromatic-polyrhythmic mental fires, making splotches, humming in and out of tune, flying and falling, meandering in and out of discombobulation, gazing at pulchritude, picking up sound waves, celebrating symbiotic connectivity, and finding new ways to sense the world and Be.

Almost all her projects – helmed and collaborative – have been ground-breaking ‘firsts’ in Singapore. The first Disabled-Led residency at the library@orchard, “Designing Clement Space”, exploring theory, practice and expression of creating conducive spaces for wellbeing through the combined perspectives of Neurodivergence. Dr. Leong was also the first and only local Autistic person to be invited to sit in both the organizing and scientific committees for the Asia Pacific Autism Conference 2019. In 2020, Dawn-joy Leong became the first Autistic artist in Singapore to be commissioned by a major visual arts institution, the National Gallery Singapore, to hold a solo exhibition, Clement Space, a new, playful and whimsical iteration of Dawn-joy’s signature concept and practice of the same name, promoting mental wellbeing from within the natural Autistic paradigm.

Dr. Leong is interested in working with CASY to offer workshops in storytelling from an artistic point of view. From Dawn-joy: “I believe every person has their own ‘language’ as unique as their stories, [I hope that I can facilitate from my own] storytelling project…which is multisensory, and includes spoken word, music, visual images etc. We could then discuss the various ways in which autistic people tell their stories, the thematic material that we may have in common…”

Melissa Park obtained a BA in History of Art, Yale University, an MA in Occupational Therapy, University of Southern California, and a PhD in Occupational Science, University of Southern California. She was a Postdoctoral Fellow, Division of Occupational Therapy, Karolinska Institutet, in Stockholm, Sweden, a Postdoctoral Associate at the National Institute of Mental Health: MHSA System Transformation & Clinical Care Study, and a Postdoctoral Associate, National Institute of Health: Boundary Crossings: Re-situating Cultural Competence. Her areas of teaching are: Narrative rehabilitation, professional reasoning and body-based approaches in mental health, Critical & narrative-phenomenological methods for responsive social engagement, and Child & Youth Mental Health. Her current research includes “Sensing differently, creating inclusive atmospheres as sensory friendly zones and their evaluation with immersive sound technologies” through the Social Science and Humanities Research Council. With Kevel Lee, she will be facilitating the expansion of the Ethnography Project.

Morgan Patterson is a postgraduate research fellow working with Dr. Roger Jou at Yale University. She has a Bachelor of Science degree from Washington & Lee University, where she majored in psychology and neuroscience. Additionally, she received a graduate certificate in Autism Spectrum Disorders from James Madison University. Morgan feels a strong connection to autistic culture through her brother and is dedicated to supporting the autistic community as well as the broader neurodiversity movement. She will soon attend the University of South Alabama to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical and Counseling Psychology.

Anna Pietraszczyk is a neurodivergent educator, a post-war rebel, and an emigrant. She is a critical theory enthusiast, podcaster, and writer, and is interested in dialogism, cultural hybridity, decoloniality and critical animal studies. She earned a BA in Tourism Management from Manchester Metropolitan University, followed by an MA in Education for Sustainable Development from the University of Gothenburg. She has traveled globally and is fluent in four languages. In January 2024, she launched “Tending to Talks,” a podcast series aimed at fostering thoughtful reflection with scholars and writers, delving into the pressing issues confronting our world today. Anna currently lives in Portugal.

Anna would like to host sessions around the areas of education. She would also like to do a specific session on the skill of concealment within neurodivergent families during wartime.

Dawn Prince-Hughes immersed herself in learning from gorillas early in her career, and became passionate about exploring and sharing her discoveries about non-speaking animal cultures. She became involved with the Jane Goodall institute after presenting a paper about gorilla tool use, and Jane wrote the foreword for her book Gorillas among Us. Dawn went on to get a PhD and interdisciplinary anthropology, and when she was identified as neuro expansive later in life turned her attention to the anthropology of autism. She wrote several academic papers on the subject as well as the best selling book Song of the Gorilla Nation about her experiences as a super sensing person interacting with other super sensitive persons. The book is now being made into a feature-length film by Academy Award-nominated producer/director Lydia Dean Pilcher. She established the Autism Ethnography Project in the CASY program with the support of Dr. Rodger Jou and a grant from the CCDD. She partnered again with Rodger in the expansion of CASY into what is now the Cultural Autism Studies at Yale program.

Olga Solomon is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at the Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California. She received her Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics, at University of California, Los Angeles. She has an M.A. in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University, and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Northwestern Polytechnic Institute (Russia). She has been at the forefront of support animals for autistic people and has published extensively. She was named one of the Top 30 autism researchers in the world.

Olga would like to support CASY in whatever ways possible.

Enrico Valtellina, PhD is trained in philosophy, works on Disability Studies and Critical Autism studies. He is a lecturer at the Master in Critical Theory of Society. At Bicocca University in Milan and at the Master in Academic Tutor Specialized in Inclusive Music Education at the LUMSA University of Rome.

Enrico says that “He has published more than one should,” including: Quale disabilità? (Which Disability? Con Roberto Medeghini, 2006) prima presentazione in Italia dei Disability Studies,

Tipi umani particolarmente strani: La sindrome di Asperger come oggetto culturale (Singularly Strange Human Kinds: Asperger’s Syndrome as a Cultural Object, 2016) a kind of “Foucaultian” reading of AS. Recently he translated and introduced Michael Oliver’s The Politics of Disablement (Le politiche della disabilitazione, 2023). He continues to do field work, “tracking the cultural evolution of the theme.” He thinks that is important to develop a collective public discourse among activists and so promoted two collective books, the first is Almanacco TUPS 2022, published last year and now is working with other autistics on La triade delll’autismo: Etica, Epistemoogia, Attivismo (The Autism Triad: Ethics, Epistemology, Activism). Enrico lives in Italy.

Enrico is interested in continuing discussions about culture and autism. He would like to help us (along with Nick Walker) to get a book together of CASY’s work.

David Varela-Trejo holds a Ph.D. in Anthropology from the National Autonomous University of Mexico and is a professor at the National School of Anthropology and History. He is a researcher at the Center for Research and Training in Transdisciplinary Critical Studies and is about to start a postdoctoral research project at the Institute of Geography-National Autonomous University of Mexico. He focuses on critical animal and multispecies studies. He will be regularly contributing with Berenice Vargas-Garcia.

Berenice Vargas-García holds a Ph.D. in Anthropology from the National Autonomous University of Mexico and is a professor at the National School of Anthropology and History and at the Metropolitan Autonomous University-Iztapalapa. She is a member of Afroindoamérica. Red Global Antirracista and the Critical Disability Studies Working Group of CLACSO. Her research focuses on embodied affectivity, autistic anthropology, and the analysis of the interconnection of oppressions.

Drs. Varela-Trejo and Vargas-García are co-authors of articles such as “Multispecies Futures: A Manifesto from the South in the Face of the Capitalist Anthropocene” (2024) and “Silent Speciesism and Affectivity: Images of the Carnism Happiness Project” (2022). They have an academic-activist-memepolitical project called “Symbionts Without Humans” (“Simbiontes Sinhumanes”).  They propose to bring to CASY workshops on autism and music, multidimensional studies of autism, considering the experience of the Global South, colonialism, and racism, and, also, approaches to autism from critical animal studies and affectivity.

Michelle M. Baughman is a late-in-life diagnosed adult on the autism spectrum, an educator, a parent of a twice-exceptional child, and a trauma-informed AANE Certified AsperCoach who provides intensive, highly individualized coaching to individuals with Asperger Syndrome (AS) and related conditions. Michelle ascribes to the Neurodiversity paradigm and writes to help debunk the general misconceptions surrounding this condition to help autistics live their best lives and to change the negative cultural narrative.

Nick Walker is a queer autistic professor of psychology, a cofounder of the worker-owned publishing house Autonomous Press, a longtime participant in autistic culture whose ideas have influenced the emergent fields of neurodiversity studies and critical autism theory, and a transdisciplinary scholar whose work explores the intersections of neurodiversity, embodiment, queer theory, and transformative practice.

Nick would be interested in hosting a shifting set of sessions with a series of organic foci in response to the evolution of the project, the audience, and their own thinking, and whatever questions and ideas emerged within the workshops themselves. Nick also has anthology-editing experience, and is Managing Editor of their publishing company and has offered to contribute expertise to an anthology based on CASY as we gather material.