This direction brings together projects where the first-person experience of autistic people is central: self-advocacy, naming one’s own needs, and speaking about sensitivity, adaptation, family, stress and quality of life without an outside “corrective” lens.
Project “Autism Through Autistic Eyes”
An educational video series by Alena Akulova with Ivan Yaroslavtsev about life with ASD, sensory sensitivity, adaptation, family, stress, support and the lived experience of an autistic person. The project materials are currently available in Russian.
Project Participants
- Alena Akulova — psychologist, psychotherapist and initiator of TDP Space; in the project, she facilitates the conversation and connects a professional frame with respect for lived experience.
- Ivan Yaroslavtsev — project participant who shares his lived experience as an autistic person, including adult diagnosis, sensitivity, adaptation and everyday support strategies.
Topics Covered
- adult diagnosis and personal story;
- sensory sensitivity, hypersensitivity and hyposensitivity;
- stress, digestion, sleep and self-care;
- family, school, socialization and adaptation;
- aggression, overload, rocking and supportive responses;
- why the word “normal” can hurt;
- autism, science and myths.