May is Mental Health Awareness Month, an opportunity to raise
awareness for those living with mental health issues and help reduce
the stigma that so many experience. In this issue of E-Speaks, we
share the stories of Sam, an autistic young adult who openly discusses
her autism and other diagnoses, and Luke, an 8-year-old whose family
is working to help him overcome sensory and emotional challenges. You
will also read about the Autism Speaks-supported Autism Care
Network's advances in treatments and programs to address the
mental health crisis, and gain access to our free resources to help
autistic adults reduce stress and manage their daily challenges.

In my own words: Finding my true self in honesty

Meet Sam P., a Division III swimmer at Marywood University. Sam openly
shared her bipolar 1 diagnosis, ADHD and struggles with anxiety with
her friends and teammates, but when it came to her autism, she was
hesitant to be fully transparent. The 19-year-old worried she'd
be judged and treated differently because of her autism diagnosis.
Learn how Sam overcame her fear to find her true self: [link removed]

Finding inspiration in Mental Health Awareness Month

In this blog, you'll meet 8-year-old Luke. Luke was diagnosed
with autism when he was 2 and faces a variety of sensory and emotional
challenges on a daily basis. Thanks to years of therapy and guidance
in the classroom, his mom, Roxy, says her son continues to work
towards reaching his full potential. Learn how Mental Health Awareness
Month inspires Luke's family to be vocal about their son's diagnosis in hopes of helping
other autism families: [link removed]

Learn about emotional regulation and self-soothing in autism

Sometimes, people with autism have a hard time regulating their
emotions. They may rely on unique self-soothing strategies to deal
with intense emotions, and seek out or avoid sensory stimuli like
bright lights, loud sounds, touch and intense smells. In this Q&A,
Arianna Esposito, BCBA and vice president of services and supports and
life span programs at Autism Speaks, discusses emotional regulation
strategies. Learn more: [link removed]

Achieve balance and empowerment in your life

Autistic adults can face many challenges in their everyday lives that
impact their daily functioning. Sometimes, the small things can build
up and become overwhelming, making it hard to manage other parts of
life. Our Roadmap to Self-Empowerment for Autistic Adults
helps autistic adults identify their challenges, assess what triggers
them and develop strategies to assist them in difficult situations: [link removed]

The Autism Care Network works to improve mental health in the autism
community

Research shows that people with autism are more likely to have other
mental health conditions that affect their overall health and
well-being. The Autism Speaks-supported Autism Care Network
([link removed] ) is working to address the mental health crisis among autistic youth by innovating treatments for the three most commonly co-occurring
mental health issues: ADHD, anxiety and irritability ([link removed] ). Additionally, the Network's ECHO Autism: Mental Health program
, created in partnership with the University of Missouri, is improving
clinicians' knowledge of autism and enhancing community access
to quality care: [link removed]



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