Quincy Hansen - Shake It Up!: How To Be Young, Autistic, and Make an Impact

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I absolutely loved this book. It is just wonderful to have autistic young people advocating, writing, and changing the world. Thank you so much Quincy and the contributors. As an older advocate, I am always delighted to see younger advocates doing great work. This book will make a huge difference for neurodivergent young people.

Yenn Purkis, autistic advocate and author

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Quincy Hansens Shake It Up! is an essential resource for any autistic teen or young adult seeking to make a positive difference in their community and beyond. In this practical guidebook, Hansen leads aspiring advocates through the steps towards meaningful, effective advocacy, starting with building confidence in ones self-advocacy, right through to the triumphs and pitfalls of platform advocacy. Along the way, Hansen shares many valuable insights from his own experience and the experiences of the eleven diverse young autistic advocates interviewed in the book. We recommend this empowering book to any young autistic person looking to shake things up!

Ginny Grant, communications manager, Reframing Autism

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SHAKE
IT UP!

How to Be Young, Autistic,
and Make an Impact

Quincy Hansen

First published in Great Britain in 2022 by Jessica Kingsley Publishers

An imprint of Hodder & Stoughton Ltd

An Hachette Company

Copyright Quincy Hansen 2022

The right of Quincy Hansen to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Front cover image source: VectorStock. The cover image is for illustrative purposes only, and any person featuring is a model.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library and the Library of Congress

ISBN 978 1 78775 979 4

e ISBN 978 1 78775 980 0

Jessica Kingsley Publishers policy is to use papers that are natural, renewable and recyclable products and made from wood grown in sustainable forests. The logging and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin.

Jessica Kingsley Publishers

Carmelite House

50 Victoria Embankment

London EC4Y 0DZ

www.jkp.com

This book is the fruit of a multi-year labor which could not have been reaped without the help and support of countless family members, friends, and supporters, many of whom have lent me help from across literal oceans. I would like to thank everyone who has in any way supported me during the writing process; I truly could not have done it without you. I would also like to specifically thank the 11 young autistic advocates who agreed to be interviewed for this project: Shadia, Chloe, Clay, Tom, Madi, Jordyn, Siena, Charlie, Alfie, Kat, and Emily. This could never have been completed without you, and it was a pleasure to interact with each of you. In addition, I would like to thank the broader community of autistic advocates who have supported me throughout the years and taught me many of the things that will be written in this book. Ultimately, this was hard; it has sapped my energy, and I could not be more grateful for the support and opportunities provided to me to make this book a reality.

T heres a specific feeling that may run through your body when you see an injustice in your community, a problem that isnt being addressed, or a circumstance that needs to be changed. A knot ties up in your stomach, your chest tightens as if it were caught in a vice grip, and your head becomes light and airy. Deep within your soul a fire is lit, quenchable only by waters called justice, change, or fairness. Do you recognize these feelings? Do you have a burning passion to take action or to witness change within your own life, your community, or the world? If so, you may have the makings of an advocate.

A popular quote, echoing the words of Mahatma Gandhi, says be the change you wish to see in the world. If one were to sum up what it means to be an advocate in one sentence, this quote would probably do a pretty good job. An advocate is a person who supports, advances, and argues for a specific cause or set of ideas with the purpose of changing the world to be a better place.

An advocate is a dreamer, a thinker, and a visionary. An advocate is someone who sees the world not as it is, but how it could be or should be. An advocate is a person who burns with passion for a particular cause. An advocate is not content to simply sit back and wait for someone else to take action but instead gets up every morning with a mission to make their vision for their community come true. Advocates are those who seek justice for the oppressed and who give voices to the unheard. Advocates are those who rake up the muck that nobody wants to think about and who shine a light on the darkest places within their community in the hope that their light will inspire others to make permanent and positive change.

If the thought of changing the world excites you, then you might just have the makings of an advocate. If theres a particular cause or idea that fills you with drive and a fiery passion, then youre exactly the kind of person needed to make a real difference in the world.

You have probably noticed from the front cover that this is a book about making change as a person whos young and autistic. So, if youre a teen or young adult who identifies as autistic and you desire to make real change in your community, then congratulations! This is the book for you. However, you may be wondering to yourself: what does all this talk about being an advocate and making change have to do with autism? To answer this question, I first need to introduce myself.

My name is Quincy, Im 19 years old at the time of writing this sentence, and Im from the beautiful state of Colorado in the USA. Pleasure to meet you! Im also autistic, and over the past few years Ive found that part of my purpose in life is to be an autism advocate, fighting for the acceptance of autism and neurodiversity as well as for the rights of myself and my fellow autistic people. I am the author of the blog Speaking of Autism (the ellipsis is part of the title). I am also a public speaker, consultant, and freelance writer, and I continue to be amazed at the impact that just a few words of mine written online or spoken at a conference can have on people, both autistic and non-autistic alike, from across the world. One day I hope to see a world in which people are more understanding and accepting of autism and other neurological conditions and in which we autistic people feel free to be ourselves without fear of discrimination or prejudice.