Eric Garcia > Quotes

“I would not change my son for the world, so I will change the world for my son.”
― Eric Garcia, We're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation

“Sinclair’s lecture served as a spark for the neurodiversity movement, the concept that autism and other disabilities, like dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD, and so on, are normal variations in the human population and do not require a cure but rather accommodation and acceptance.”
― Eric Garcia, We're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation

“often, if disabled people somehow succeed, either our disabilities or our accommodations are questioned.”
― Eric Garcia, We're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation

“There are two dominant myths surrounding autistic people in the workforce. First, autistic people are often the victims of what former George W. Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson called the “soft bigotry of low expectations,” meaning they are expected to be unable to work or only able to work jobs that pay subminimum wage. The second myth is the inverse of the first: people view autistic people as being hypercompetent in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, as if we should all be coders in Silicon Valley.”
― Eric Garcia, We're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation

“argued that society should stop trying to cure autistic people and instead help autistic people live fulfilling lives.”
― Eric Garcia, We're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation

“Because for all people, success rests on a lot of failed attempts. And because disability typically involves uncertain abilities, we usually need to make a lot more failed attempts than nondisabled people as we figure it out.”
― Eric Garcia, We're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation

“The Bellevue program is modeled on the “social model” of disability, a response to the “medical model” that sees disability as something that needs to be fixed. By contrast, the social model of disability argues that the biggest obstacle to disability is a world around disabled people that does not accommodate them.”
― Eric Garcia, We're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation

“What’s even more disturbing than these treatments themselves is the logic at their core — that it is better to gamble with children’s health by giving them pseudoscientific treatments than to let them be autistic.”
― Eric Garcia, We're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation

“Whether one supports or opposes defunding the police, it is likely that finding alternatives to police could benefit mentally ill, autistic, or otherwise disabled people.”
― Eric Garcia, We're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation

“In reality, there is no evidence to indicate a connection between autism and violent behavior. This harmful stereotype is fueled solely by speculation and misunderstanding. Though we may never fully comprehend the twisted motivations behind mass shooters, autism alone is never the cause.”
― Eric Garcia, We're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation

“Anti-vaccine quackery infected our politics — ironically — and wrought havoc on America’s body politic. And like any other illness, the group with the least amount of protections — in this case, autistic people, who had few allies and little political capital — was the hardest hit.”
― Eric Garcia, We're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation

“I have on occasion just wondered whether it was worth it to keep going when pain and despair felt insurmountable.”
― Eric Garcia, We're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation

“Autism Speaks organization. For the nonprofit’s first ten years, none of its board members were openly autistic, and at the same time, many autistic people vocalized that they did not want to be cured. Similarly, in 2009, the organization put out an ad directed by Academy Award–winning director Alfonso Cuarón titled “I Am Autism,” which depicted autism as a menacing force. “I know where you live and guess what? I live there too,” the voice-over said, adding that it worked faster than deadly diseases like pediatric AIDS, cancer, and diabetes combined. “And if you are happily married, I will make sure that your marriage fails,” the voice went on, pledging to bankrupt families (there is some irony, of course, that a millionaire executive’s charity would put out such an ad). The ad ultimately faced massive pushback, and it was removed from its website.”
― Eric Garcia, We're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation

“It would behoove the United States, a nation that leads the world in research funding, to focus on what autistic people really need: to get a job if they are able and not to live in poverty if they can’t find one; to avoid discrimination; to receive an adequate education; to live within the community they choose; to have access to adequate health care; and, finally, to be free to pursue fulfilling personal lives.”
― Eric Garcia, We're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation

“Autistic students are about twice as likely to enroll in a community college than in a university, according to a May 2014 study in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, which found that 81 percent of college students with ASD were enrolled in community college at some point after secondary school. But the authors also found that students who studied science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) were twice as likely to transfer to a four-year university than those who studied non-STEM subjects.”
― Eric Garcia, We're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation

“Conversely, many autistic self-advocates see being a part of a community — whether it is living with friends, parents, a home-care worker, a roommate, or simply by oneself — as being part of the social fabric. It means our fate and our health are tied to others and we can’t be relegated to seclusion.”
― Eric Garcia, We're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation

“For instance, having “special interests” is a hallmark characteristic of autism, but the common examples given of these special interests are cars and trains — things typically associated with boys. They”
― Eric Garcia, We're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation

“kismet,”
― Eric Garcia, We're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation

“occasionally I am reminded of what President Lyndon Johnson said on the topic: giving a speech about economics is like pissing down your leg — it feels hot to you but not to anyone else.”
― Eric Garcia, We're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation

“Like in so many different arenas, autistic people at work are constantly adjusting ourselves not to our own expectations but to the expectations of the outside world.”
― Eric Garcia, We're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation

“The year before, in 2015, Autism Speaks announced the first two autistic members appointed to its board of directors, Stephen Shore and Valerie Paradiz, who is now a vice president of the organization. In 2020, Autism Speaks replaced its blue puzzle-piece logo with a multicolored piece, which was said to reflect the variety within the autism spectrum. But for many autistic people, those actions came too late and did not undo the damage done.”
― Eric Garcia, We're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation

“Many survivors of abuse can feel conflicted emotions about their abusers and Nebeker is no different.”
― Eric Garcia, We're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation

“The Combating Autism Act was reauthorized in 2011, but when it was up for reauthorization again in 2014, autistic self-advocates began an aggressive campaign to rename the law, using the Twitter hashtag #StopCombatingMe. The legislation was reauthorized as the Autism CARES (Collaboration, Accountability, Research, Education, and Support) Act.”
― Eric Garcia, We're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation

“Much later, I learned that McCarthy’s claims were false, but she had been given a major platform, not just on CNN but also on Oprah Winfrey’s show. And somehow, decades later, the myths and falsifications about vaccines and autism persist.”
― Eric Garcia, We're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation

“I eventually did well enough to get into the honors program at Chaffey, which allowed me to take accelerated classes and put me on a fast track to a four-year university. Ironically, when I called to enroll in the honors program, they said they didn’t know how to handle my disability services because they couldn’t recall ever having a student with accommodations in the program before. So often, if disabled people somehow succeed, either our disabilities or our accommodations are questioned.”
― Eric Garcia, We're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation

“Furthermore, the fact that many people see vaccinations as a conspiracy means they are unconvinced by logic and the reasoning of experts. They perceive the autism/vaccine debate as an attempt to silence them for telling the truth.”
― Eric Garcia, We're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation

“If I am going to write about myself, I am taking as many autistic people as I can along with me.”
― Eric Garcia, We're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation

“By contrast, the social model of disability argues that the biggest obstacle to disability is a world around disabled people that does not accommodate them.”
― Eric Garcia, We're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation

“Sheldon perpetuates the stereotype of a geek savant whose eccentric behaviors and rudeness toward other people — particularly women — are either a source of comedy or excused by his genius.)”
― Eric Garcia, We're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation

“This, of course, would become commonplace once Trump was elected: Trump would say something outrageous that Republicans knew was not true, but they felt they had to defend him, and they sacrificed their own credibility to do”
― Eric Garcia, We're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation