Why Can't You Understand Me?

April is Neurodiversity Awareness Month! To celebrate, we are excited to welcome Taylor Sweeting, an autistic self-advocate whose speaking presentations aim to bring awareness and educate people on many different aspects of autism and being autistic.

This presentation contains both evidence-based research information on autism as well as personal accounts of living with autism from the presenter’s point of view. It includes individual accounts of sensory input, demonstration exercises, brain pattern thinking examples, and personal account examples from Taylor's experiences in life living with autism. This program is open to everyone and anyone interested in learning more about neurodiversity. 

About the Presenter 

Taylor Sweeting is an autism/Marfan self-advocate living in the Springfield, IL. He began his journey as an advocate at age twelve when he realized he saw the world in a different perspective than most others. Taylor was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome at age 3 and quickly realized the originality of his perspective after he came to understand his diagnosis later in life. Since age twelve Taylor has dedicated his life to advocating for autism, being an autistic culture enthusiast, and traveling nationwide presenting on autism and how it has affected his life. At age 34 Taylor was diagnosed with Marfan Syndrome (a condition he has lived with his whole life but was just diagnosed) and quickly realized the concurrence of autism and hypermobility and flexibility conditions. Since then, Taylor has also become an advocate for Marfan Syndrome as well as incorporating Marfan as part of his autism advocacy as a comorbidity and concurring condition.  

Taylor will be presenting from Zoom, please join us virtually or in-person.