Dissatisfied with the lack of information available on autism in adults, in 2018, Dr. Natalie Engelbrecht and Martin Silvertant founded Embrace ASD, intended as a platform to distribute research and experience-based information on autism.
Although we are based near Toronto, Canada, we’re active on a global scale, with a diverse team of autistic people from Canada, the US, Australia, the Netherlands, Estonia, and more to come!
We are passionate about helping autistic people,
but we are not alone in our mission.
Meet our fantastic team of autistic people:
Our core mission is to help autistic people understand who they are and acknowledge their worth, and for their family, friends, teachers, potential employers, etc. to better understand autism, and its often-overlooked benefits.
Because autism doesn’t just come with challenges to overcome; once you dig deeper, an amazing and intriguing world will be revealed!
In pursuit of our mission, we focus on the following areas:
We advocate for positive representation of autism, with resources that benefit autistic individuals and the autistic community at large.
We provide education & training to autistic people, families, first responders, and service professionals.
We offer autism-friendly autism assessments, and have contributed to improving the diagnostic process for autistic women.
We promote, communicate, and conduct research that focuses on the needs of autistic people, with a focus on self-actualization and growth.
We provide resources for self-growth, and extensive documentation on various autism tests and other psychometrics.
We provide inspiration, hope, and empowerment through research-based information, positive messaging, and community support.
The road to self-discovery can be long and arduous for anyone; but for autistics, answers can be particularly difficult to find. The realization that we’re autistic is often buried from sight within a confusing maze of myths, fears, and fundamentally bad information.
When the epiphany finally hits us, and we discover that we’re autistic, many of us go through a period of mourning and deep self-evaluation, based primarily on an outdated notion that autism is bad.
In our view, this opinion is caused by a lack of understanding, education, and—ultimately—a flawed set of beliefs about what it means to be a successful human being.
In fact, the more we delve into the specific neurology that underlies autism, the more we realize it can be a true gift. Not just for celebrated geniuses such as Cavendish, Mozart, Einstein, Wittgenstein, or Dirac (all of whom are thought to have been autistic), but for all of us.
Those quirks and eccentricities you’ve probably spent your life trying to hide are part of your specialized, unique, neurology. You might not only come to acknowledge that fact, but indeed embrace it. We would love to help you come to that place!
To learn more about why we chose the name
Embrace ASD for ourselves, read the post below:
We at Embrace ASD pledge to work tirelessly on behalf of fellow autistic people, as advocates, educators, and researchers; towards creating a community of neurodiverse acceptance, understanding, and pride.
Martin Silvertant (coming soon)
Natalie Engelbrecht
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