Autistic Revolution – A Magazine by Autistic Folk
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Autistic Revolution – A Magazine by Autistic Folk

Autistic Revolution celebrates the publishing of its first issue that is developed exclusively by autistic people.



The magazine showcases and celebrates autistic identity and culture to empower, validate neurodivergent affirming content. We have an exclusive interview with some of the creators of Autistic Revolution and get to know what the magazine is all about, where to find it and what to look forward to!


We talked to:

Jenny Loughran (She/Her) Editor in Chief & Writer on ‘Reframing Families’

Scott Neilson (He/They) Writer on ‘Passions and Dedicated Interests’

Katie Munday (They/Them) Writer on ‘LGBTQIA+ Section’


Firstly, we asked Editor in Chief, Jenny Loughran, about what inspired her to make the magazine.


Jenny said:

“That's such a big question. Firstly, I don't consider myself as the person who has created Autistic Revolution (AR) as it's a massive community initiative. I posted a little call out on Facebook to see if other folk would be interested. Callum Brazzo aka Autistic Lincs - Empowerment, collaboration, and Community was the first to respond.


“Then we contacted Katie Munday, who we both had links with already through our social media pages. Also, Laura Hellfeld and Jennifer Huffman my associate editors, have been instrumental in developing and delivering AR and it's evolved from there.

“Anyone who knows me well, knows I don't do short answers, but for this article, I shall try my best to answer. I have been an unidentified, unrealized, white, British autistic female who has the privilege of using mouth words up until the last 5 years of my life. That's a heck of a time to not realize you are autistic!

“I also have the privilege of parenting two neurodivergent boys. 16 and 19 years of age. I owe my neurodivergent awakening to my kiddos. I see myself through them. Everything that has happened before now professionally and personally has brought me to this very moment. Every interaction, connection, battle, inspiration, loneliness, motivation, injustice, and relationship I have built with my autistic community has led to the inspiration behind AR.


“However, this is not about one singular person. This is about accepting that, as a human race, we are all uniquely different from one another, that there's no such thing as "Normal" and that, as community members, we should be embracing our differences and not measuring ourselves against an ideology that isn't based on facts.

“The Autistic Revolution is about re-educating all of our communities so we can all live alongside each other, authentically, to enhance well-being and creativity.”

We asked Writers, Katie Munday and Scott Neilson, who were involved in the production and development of the project.


Katie said:

“It started as a conversation between Jenny and Callum Brazzo, as they both wanted to do something for Autistic people in their area. Callum then reached out to me to see if I would be interested.

It was the three of us for a few months just talking, organising, theorising and getting on with life as well!

“Then Jenny started to reach out to some other amazing people who are now contributors, editors or help Autistic Revolution in other ways.”


Scott added:

“Various Autistic Educators and Advocates were involved in its production. Many of us have met through social media, particularly on Facebook, with some of us collaborating on projects together. Jenny has created such a welcoming space for us all to contribute to this magazine. It has been very easy to communicate with them, as well as the other contributors that I have interacted with so far.


“I run the section on Passions & Interests, which is often a key aspect of Autistic people's lives that helps us recharge our energy levels or allows us to explore and learn new subjects.”

The magazine looks to have been a great success in production with the first magazine releasing on 18th November 2023.


We then asked about how the autistic community have interacted with it.


Scott said:

“The feedback has been incredible. It has been shared widely within our community and had a real impact on readers.

"Several more Autistics from various backgrounds and professions are contributing to future issues, which is really exciting. There has been representation of Autistics from the LGBTQ+ community in our first issue. We aim to have more representation of the wider community in the magazine by sharing the work and insight from Autistics of black and ethnic minority groups and those who are nonspeaking.”


Katie added:

“The feedback has been brilliant! Lots of people have said the first issue is brilliant and that it is nice to see something for us by us. There have been a few teething issues with accessibility, which can be ironed out in future issues. The whole point of the magazine is it also to include its readers and what they want and need too.”


Jenny said:

“The response has been quite overwhelming, actually. Within the first 24 hours, we had 600 views of the Digital publication itself with up to more recently 2,750 uploads. We weren't surprised at the talent and creativity being submitted but there's always an element of ‘Oh my gosh what are we doing?’ when you’re putting yourself out there.


“The feedback has honestly made the preparation for the launch all worthwhile. The AR email box has been full of the most amazing comments!


Here are some of their favourite messages:

"I have just seen your fantastic digital magazine. It’s amazing and really helpful and will help so many people. Well done. I wanted to be added to your mailing list for when the next one is launched, as I don’t want to miss it!"


"Thank you so much for putting together this amazing magazine and thank you again for the opportunity to put forward a submission for it. All the very, very best of luck with Autistic Revolution. I really hope to hear from you."


"Really enjoyed the complete edition of AR, inhaled it all at once - love at first sight!"

 

With the feedback being so positive, we asked how the creators and the wider team felt about it.


Jenny said:

“I felt relief and felt immensely proud of us both as a community and as a collective team. When someone agrees to place their trust in you and hand over their experiences and creativity it's an absolute privilege. Despite what is historically documented about autisitc folk, we do feel connected to others and we do feel emotions deeply, so the feedback has been fantastic!

“We had a lot of responses from folk who identify as neurotypical, especially from professionals who work with autistic people who appreciate our content.

"A teacher gave their feedback and said our magazine was ‘Refreshing, and educational.’ and that they ‘Will be sharing this with [their] team.’


"A nurse practitioner also commented: ‘As a professional within the NHS, we often only hear about autistic people in terms of a deficit model. It does feel revolutionary. I feel inspired as a practitioner again. Thank you for upskilling my knowledge.’"


Scott added:

“It felt very wholesome. Finding the Autistic community has been instrumental to my mental health, and I believe many of the other people involved in this magazine would feel the same way. I have become friends with several wonderful people in the community within the past year, and it is very fitting that the next issue is centred around community and belonging.


“Finding a sense of belonging is essential for the overall well-being of Autistic people. I also hope anything we produce will help to change the narrative around Autistics in society and demonstrate why we need to be involved with any service, policy or decision making that influences our lives.”


Katie said:

“[I felt] vindicated. A lot of time and effort has gone into this issue and the magazine itself. Jenny has been a rock throughout some serious teething issues, mostly logistics and technological issues. All of us have very busy, and sometimes difficult, lives. To be able to see people enjoying, reading and sharing is amazing.”


The Autistic Revolution Magazine is “100% autistic led” and hosts “a variety of media on display in this magazine through written articles, graphics, book reviews, as well as pre-recorded discussions.”


Where to find the Autistic Revolution Magazine?


You can find Autistic Revolution at:

or


Autistic Revolution also have a just giving page:

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