Autism & The Re:Spectrum of Human Emotions/Perfect Mix Tape Segue #6: Autism & Intellectually Understanding Empathy
by Joe Biel Author
Recommended for anyone who is or knows someone on the autism spectrum (or suspects they might!), this zine looks at the socializing disabilities of living on the spectrum. It doubles as a split zine with the sixth volume of Joe Biel's personal zine, where he writes about the biggest revelation to come in the six years since volume 5: being diagnosed with Asperger's, an autism spectrum disorder. This diagnosis gave him a roadmap to create a better future, and put a lot of things about his past in perspective, and he writes about it all here: Relationships, recursion, maladaption, abuse, accountability, restorative justice, empathy, where we come from, and how we help each other and the next generation do it better.
You can read this on its own or as a follow-up to Joe's book Good Trouble.
by Joe Biel Author
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Comments & Reviews
"I found this entire zine fascinating and disturbing, and I might read it again."
"I found myself needing to stop purely reacting to what he was saying and actually think about it. The reaction to hurt is to punish, so the thought that vengeance and punishment alone can be lacking for both sides wasn’t something I could just take in stride at first read. A lot of what he wrote does make sense, but it did take some breathing through my emotions/immediate reactions to actually understand where he’s coming from.
It was interesting to read about someone who desired to make peace with both sides of himself: someone who had been abused and someone who has been abusive...takes it to the next step of sharing thoughts on resolution and why he thinks punishment doesn’t stop the abuse....I am grateful to someone who is willing to document their experiences, and I’m glad I read this zine."