Autistics Aloud is a print and digital grassroots publication based in Nova Scotia, Canada
Autistics Aloud has been supported by Autism Nova Scotia since it began in 2005 as a quarterly published Newsletter. It was started by Danny Melvin, who saw a need for Autistic led perspectives. Danny ran the newsletter from 2005-2016 and published Volumes 1-9.
In April 2017, Disability Rights activist, poet/creative, Patricia George-Zwicker, came on board as Editor. Patricia decided to build on the history of the newsletter and try Autistics Aloud as a magazine format. It was a big change after 11 years, but they kept the original values of the magazine, Nothing About Us Without Us.
On June 23, 2017 Autistics Aloud published the first of the Seasons Series as a Magazine for the first time. It was 18 pages long. The Autumn edition that followed doubled to 36 pages. The Winter edition was a whopping 48 pages. Those first editions shared 31 unique first-person perspectives with content ranging from poetry, reviews, cartoons, original art, and articles on topics like autism and addiction and autistic identity. We signal-boosted organizations that promote autism-friendly events and gave space to anyone on the autism spectrum who has a business they'd like to promote.
Autistics Aloud, Seasons Series holds the distinction of making it into Question Period at the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in April 2018 after Patricia presented a copy to then MP, Bernadette Jordan. Copies were also personally presented to Members of Parliament, Senators & Leaders in various stakeholders involved in autism communities all throughout Canada.
Autistics Aloud then moved to the creation and publishing of the LifeSpans Series. It’s goal was to share the first-person perspectives of Autistics in Canada by exploring a wide variety of topics. Edition 1, "What is Autism?" was recognised in the Nova Scotia Legislature in 2019 and in early 2020 was placed in the Isabel and Roy Jodrey Memorial Library in Hansport, Nova Scotia.