The Extra-Special Autistic
An exceptionalist narrative might, at first glance, seem like a positive or even empowering one. But, as it always goes when it comes to depictions of disability, the situation is much more complicated than that-
Author s.e. smith
Author bio
s.e. smith
s.e. smith is a writer, agitator, and commentator based in Northern California, with a journalistic focus on social issues, particularly gender, prison reform, disability rights, environmental justice, queerness, class, and the intersections thereof, with a special interest in rural subjects. International publication credits include work for the Sydney Morning Herald, The Guardian, and AlterNet, among many other news outlets and magazines. smith's writing on representations of disability in science fiction and fantasy was recently featured in The WisCon Chronicles, Volume 7. Assisted by cats Loki and Leila, smith lives in Fort Bragg, California.
Their posts
Review: Say What You Will by Cammie McGovern
Although the book was fun and interesting in places, the disability aspect was very much a freak-show presentation of disability and the disabled experience.
Discussion: Intersectionality and Disability
Diversity in children’s literature is often represented as an either/or, without intersectionality; characters can either be autistic or gay, for example, or a wheelchair user or Black, but rarely both. Why is that?
Discussion: Warning Flags and Turn-Offs
Clichés, ableist language … what kinds of words, phrases, or situations used in book or character descriptions send up warning flags for our contributors?
Interview with Hilary T. Smith about Wild Awake
s.e. smith’s rave review of Wild Awake was one of the very first posts on this blog. We invited s.e. and author Hilary T. Smith to discuss books, mental illness, and everything in between.
Discussion: If We Could Tell an Author One Thing …
If our contributors could tell an author writing a character with their disability one thing–besides “do your research”–what would it be?
Interview with Shaunta Grimes about Viral Nation
Shaunta Grimes’s Viral Nation is the rare YA dystopian novel with an autistic protagonist; we were keen to sit down with the author to discuss the book, its sequel Rebel Nation, and its protagonist Clover Donovan.
Discussion: Is ANY representation better than NO representation?
Is any representation better than no representation? That argument frequently comes up in response to criticism, but is it valid?
Review: Viral Nation by Shaunta Grimes
The description for this book uses the phrase “brilliant but autistic” to describe its main character, and that’s where our conflicted feelings about Viral Nation start.
“Don’t Worry, It’s Fine When It Happens to Crazy People!”
When we see institutions in YA, we usually see them in one of two contexts: a “sane” person wrongly incarcerated in one, or a spooky (often old, sometimes abandoned but haunted by ghosts) asylum filled with “crazy people.”