Eric Garcia Interview Transcript

Zoe: It’s been a few years since We’re Not Broken was published. What did you learn, or what surprised you, about the process of writing this book?

Eric: Man, a lot of things have surprised me. I think when I was first writing the book, I still was very much operating in the high-functioning versus low-functioning mindset for autistic people. I thought there were people who were high-functioning, and they didn't need as many supports or services. I think I was still operating from that mindset, and I think that what I didn't realize was just how I was almost underselling. I was almost selling autistic people with higher support needs short. When I started doing this, that really forced me to look at my own biases. Why did I think some people were high-functioning and low-functioning? And then what it also did is it made me think about – the flip side of that is, there are people with “low support needs” but their needs are no less important than anyone else.

I think the other one that surprised me the most that I learned was learning about the history of SSI, Supplemental Security Income. And how—I touch on this a little bit in the book, but I didn't get to go all in—essentially, people can't get married if they are on Supplemental Security Income. And it's one of those programs that we just haven't updated. So those are some big ones.

Liz: Thank you for speaking to the importance of hearing the voices of autistic people. I wonder if you would want to reflect a little on what was the process of incorporating those voices into the book?

Eric: When I started writing the book, I think initially some people wanted it to be another memoir. And I had nothing against autism memoirs. If you read the book, I cite a lot of autism memoirs. I think a lot of them are fantastic.

I think that one of the things that was always interesting is anytime I would talk about my own personal experiences, or I would start writing about my personal experiences, I would read and research something, I'd be like, “is this a thing? Is this an autism thing, or is this just a ‘me thing?’” And then what I started to do is I would go on what was then Twitter, now X and I would ask, “is this a thing?” And then, a lot of times, more often than not, the answer was “yes, this is a thing.” That kind of made me think. I thought, “okay, there are these things that are common experiences of autistic people.”

But then that got the gears turning, and then I thought to myself, “well, whoa, wait, there's got to be stuff that other autistic people experience, but I don't.” I wanted to be incredibly deliberate about including those experiences. So, I did whatever I could.

Social media was a great tool for this. I would say the first book I relied on Twitter/X. The second book relies heavily on Bluesky and Facebook. I spent a lot of time going through Facebook groups led by autistic people, led by parents, and saying, “do you want to talk?”—spending time building trust.

Zoe: We recently held a reading group with ASU students and community members, and they really praised the conversational aspect of the book. Was that an intentional choice?

Eric: It was. If you ask me how I view myself, I view myself as a journalist, and more than that, I see myself as a newspaper journalist. I've been working for newspapers or news outlets since I was 21, since I was working for my college newspaper. So, I've been doing this for a while and the thing that I always thought—and I still see—is that a lot of portrayals around autism and discussions around autism, the subject and the viewpoint and the focal point are from the parents, or the loved ones, or the caregivers, or the teachers, and what I really wanted to do is change the locus. I wanted to give people the perspective and put them in the shoes of autistic people, because I think when you look at the world through the eyes of autistic people, that forces you to think about all of the obstacles around them.

As a person who is both a consumer of news, somebody who works in the news business, and somebody who observes the business of news, I really do think that one of the mistakes we do is we don't consider autistic people or people with disabilities as newsreaders or news consumers. And when you think about them as consumers of news, or consumers of words, or consumers of books, or readers as a whole, that changes how you write about them. Because if you are writing about them as people who are going to read this, that forces you to write about them in a more humane way.

If there is one thing that I can do that I say, and I talk about this, if I'm successful at one thing as a journalist, it's this mission to portray the humanity and the dignity of autistic people. I think that Studs Turkel did a great job of portraying working people in his work. I think that we've seen so many great writers portraying the humanity of people of color. There are so many journalists who do a great job of portraying women, and if there was something that I could do…

I don't see myself as an advocate. I don't. But I do see myself as a storyteller. And as a storyteller, I think that when you tell stories, it means it's impossible to ignore a group of people. Because once you know their stories, even if there are sometimes disputes about the actual minutiae of the facts, you can't ignore someone's narrative. Narratives are powerful. Narratives can move people. They can change people, and they can sometimes change the world.
 

Jordan: Specifically with[in] a university setting and [with] the students here, what is our role in helping to make sure that these voices are elevated?

Eric: There are multiple roles for universities. Universities are the places that not only educate people who will work with people with disabilities and autistic people, they are hopefully educating autistic people and people with disabilities. They should be more welcoming, both in terms of the research and in whom the students they're educating are.

I think all of those things are important. I think one of the most important things with universities is that featuring autistic voices can give an imprimatur of credibility, and that's one of the things that a lot of autistic people lack is credibility. A lot of them aren't able to go to college, a lot of them are poor, a lot of them struggle to get through college, have intellectual disabilities, but having them speak at a place like ASU gives them credibility. It allows them to make their voices heard and to be taken seriously. And I think that's one of the best things you can do.
 

Jordan: In the beginning of the book, you mentioned that there's been an over-investment in finding a cure and an under investment in finding necessary support services. Currently, the conversation around autism is still about the cure or the “crisis.” How do we shift this thinking, and what would it look like to change this conversation?

Eric: I think it's gotten worse, man. Look, let's be honest. We have not only a Secretary of Health and Human Services who believes in a cure and believes that autism destroys families, we have a President of the United States. And without being too pessimistic, there's really not much we can do.

Look, I cover politics in my day job. Elections have consequences. We're gonna have to live with that for the next 4 years, or as long as Donald Trump is in the White House. Even afterward, because there are a lot of people who love Donald Trump. I know, I went to events with people in Arizona who love Donald Trump. And who believe the stuff that RFK Jr. believes. RFK Jr. endorsed Donald Trump in Arizona at the Desert Diamond Arena. And then on top of that, you have the steroid that is the algorithm and the “For You” page. Look, I don't want to be a doomer, but those are significant obstacles.

Because we can have these kinds of conversations, and they're really important. I don't want to dismiss them. But we can't compete with technology corporations that feed off of sensationalism and disinformation coming out from the White House. It's just impossible to counteract that. I'm sorry. I wish I could give you a more optimistic answer, but I really think that it's going to be very difficult to do it in the coming years. I'm sorry.

This is what I've been saying for a long time, which is “we're screwed, but we're not doomed.” We are screwed. I don't want to make any buts about it. But that doesn't mean we're doomed. 
 

Jordan: Do you feel like there's been any sort of research that actually has been helpful to the autistic community?

Eric: Yeah, there's been a lot of great research in mortality. There was actually a really great research study that I saw earlier this week about autism and eating disorders. There are ones about perceptions among parents. I talk with researchers a lot, a lot of researchers right now. Their research money is being frozen because of DOGE.

Jordan: Is there any type of research that you feel like still needs to happen?

Eric: Yeah, better diagnostic data for race. I would love to see more for gender. I would love to see more for what are the best transition services for autistic people as they get ready to ensure adulthood. I think that is really important.


Zoe: You mentioned earlier that you wanted this book to be an introductory book, are you leaving the door open to write another book?

Eric: I'm already working on another book about autism in young men, and how to help autistic young men have a healthy version of masculinity. God help me, it's due at the end of the year.