Neurodiversity Researcher, Consultant, & Advocate.
But first and foremost, proudly Autistic.
Hello there! My name is Thomas, and I’m an autistic researcher, independent consultant, speaker, and advocate for my community.
I have been studying autism through neurological, developmental, social, and political lenses for the past decade. My ultimate goal is to be an empowering voice for autistic people, to help us navigate complex systems and emotions, and to change the culture positively regarding how we understand autism and individual differences in general across all systems and domains.
In 2023, I participated as an advocacy fellow at the University of Rochester Medical Center’s Leadership and Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) program. Between 2020 and 2022, I studied at the University of Rochester’s Warner School of Education in the Human Development program focusing on Developmental Differences, primarily autism spectrum disorder. Before my Human Development degree, I studied in several different fields relating to autism. I got my Bachelor of Arts in Psychology as well as Brain and Cognitive Sciences at the University of Rochester (2016-2020). My undergraduate thesis explored camouflaging autistic traits and shined a spotlight on autistic people’s experiences in order to see how this phenomenon ultimately impacted our mental health.
From a cognitive standpoint, I have focused on language development in autistic infants and how our social processing affects the ways in which we acquire language. Additionally, I have a background in moral and political philosophy that connects the fields of virtue ethics, bioethics, and disability studies together.
Furthermore, I have conducted presentations regarding autism and disability advocacy and have worked alongside autism researchers in both the clinical and community-based worlds. Lastly, before switching to advocacy, I began my Master’s in School Counseling at the Warner School of Education in 2020 to gain an understanding of both the educational system as well as how to counsel individuals with and without disabilities. By combining these disciplines together, I hope to be able to learn from as many angles as possible how my community experiences the world, what we need the most, and help give us a sense of hope that is real, tangible, and instills in us the most joy and quality of life possible.
If you would like to see further information on my education and the projects and teams I have been involved in, you can take a look at my curriculum vitae here.