Alex Ware is at the University of Michigan studying to become one of the most influential professionals I can think of, a teacher.  Alex has a passion for creating conversations that influence change in the workforce and he shares his Autistic Advocate journey with us today and how his 2 month summer project during the pandemic turned into a huge passion that is still happening almost 2 years later.

Meet Alex…

Social Autie: What is your specialty or focus area of Autism Advocacy?

Alex:  My specialty in Autism Advocacy includes discussing (and hopefully solving) the problem of unemployment for adults with Autism all across the world. On my YouTube channel, I am trying to cover absolutely everything about this very broad condition. That being said, I am aware that certain issues about this condition are more important and urgent than others. For example, there are a lot more videos on my channel on how to improve your mental health than videos about people with Autism having different facial features. It's not that the latter doesn't need to be discussed, it's just that there are more important things to do deal with that are solvable. That being said, I have the most videos about Autism and employment. This is because, due to statistics, this is the area where people on the spectrum experience the most discrimination, not only with finding a job but their experience if they do end up getting one.  

Social Autie: Why did you begin advocating for yourself and others?  What makes this personal to you and Your Big Why? 

Alex:  To be honest, all I thought this channel was at the time of its creation was a personal project I wanted to do over the summer of the pandemic. I figured it would keep me busy and interested for a few months and I would have to let it go when school started (I'm not the best time manager, to put it lightly). However, once I started getting into the content I ended up developing a passion for it and realized how important it was. I decided that I would try my very hardest to keep it up during school in order to continue giving this very important information to my followers. I am now going on 20 months for this project that was supposed to last 2, and I wouldn't have it any other way! Why I do it is simply to provide an extra voice in this large community and provide my own perspective on things so that other people can not only understand me through this condition but me as a person

Social Autie: What is/are the top tip(s) or insight(s) you have discovered for advocating for a) others and b) yourself?

Alex:  I would say one of the biggest tips I've learned in this advocacy journey is that it's so important to be as real as possible. At times it is certainly tempting to put on that fake YouTube energy and pretend that everything is sunshine and rainbows. But if I did that, if I didn't talk about any struggles I'm going through, I would be sugar-coating what this condition is and what it has to offer. And if I did that, what would be the point of having an Autism Acceptance channel? The other thing to keep in mind is to avoid generalizations as much as possible. Just because you have personally experienced something doesn't mean it's not completely different from another person's experience. This is something I have had trouble with myself, but I am working on it. 

Connect with Alex Ware-

Link to my YouTube channel  Alex's Autism Acceptance Channel - YouTube