What was your first job as a journalist?
Writing up event descriptions for Community Events at UCLA.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes.
How is social media changing news?
Not thrilled about how social media leads to "both sidesing" of issues that are rights- or oppression-based.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Liz Imbrie from High Society.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
To be fair yet compassionate even when it hurts.
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Email, always email.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
How listening to autistic adults helped me understand and support my son, at the Washington Post.
What's your favorite social network?
Twitter, with carefully applied muting and blocking.
Who do you wish followed you?
I don't worry about who follows me. I worry about whether the people I engage with listen to me.
Why did you become a journalist?
Because too few people who aren't autistic or disabled pay attention to those issues from rights, policy, and quality of life perspectives.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
No.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
When's the best time to pitch you?
Any time, as long at it's via email.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
Asking me what I've learned about how to be the parent my autistic son deserves and needs.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
Asking me to endorse Applied Behavioral Analysis therapy for autistic kids (I am publicly outspoken about opposing ABA).
What's your favorite drink?
Black coffee.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Reading, cooking, or doing endless laundry.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
I truly mourn io9.com.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That all parents of autistic kids want to cure autism, and resent their kids.
