EP 76: Changing the Conversation on Autism with Eric Garcia

The Unburdened Leader

What does it mean to you to be broken? To be normal? And who gets to decide what it means to be broken or whole?

We live in a culture obsessed with fixing anything deemed broken - from stuff to people.

We need to create spaces where we do not see difference as broken.

And we do this by not settling for our current ways of navigating our discomfort with difference while pushing back on the burdened definition of what is normal and what is broken.

But inclusion is inconvenient. It is also uncomfortable. And awkward.

Facing your discomfort with difference and neurodivergence means facing your ableism.

Which is why I was so excited and honored to talk with today’s guest. His book is a beautiful testament to so those with neurodivergence and other intersectional identities that have been marginalized. It is written beautifully and is now my number one recommend when people ask for a book to read about autism.

Eric Garcia is the senior Washington correspondent for the Independent and the author of the book We're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation. He is also a columnist for MSNBC. He previously worked as an assistant editor at the Washington Post’s Outlook section and an associate editor at The Hill, as well as a correspondent for National Journal, MarketWatch, and Roll Call. He has also written for the Daily Beast, the New Republic, and Salon.com. Garcia is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Listen to the full episode to hear:

• How Eric connected the dots between bad or debunked ideas about autism and bad public policy around autism and neurodivergence
• Why Eric maintained a journalist’s approach to his book, rather than writing a personal memoir
• How a chance conversation led to Eric’s wrestling with his fear of being “outed” and internalized ableism
• How Eric navigated consent and inspiration or pity “porn” when sharing other autistic people’s stories
• How Eric has recontextualized the asterisks on his successes and taken ownership of his accomplishments

Learn more about Eric Garcia:

• Website
• Twitter: @EricMGarcia
• We're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation

Learn more about Rebecca:

• rebeccaching.com
• Work With Rebecca
• Sign up for the weekly Unburdened Leader Email

Resources:

• Electable: Why America Hasn't Put a Woman in the White House . . . Yet, Ali Vitale
• The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York, Robert A Caro
• The Bear
• Andor
• Glass Onion