Neurodivergent Media, 2013 —

Since 2013, I have taught experimental video to autistic teens and adults both in groups and one-on-one, developing a pedagogy I call Neurodivergent Media. My students sense, process, and exchange information according to distinctive protocols that run counter to dominant societal norms, responding to their environment in astonishingly sophisticated and complex ways. Many think of themselves as running a different “operating system.” They acknowledge the personhood of nonhuman entities, enjoy seemingly superhuman sense perception, and many are drawn to mythological structures describing cycles and epicycles of time that reflect their own physical and psychic rhythms. Their ways of knowing inform how my methodology, our projects, and even class structures develop; by constantly innovating techniques and exploiting my interdisciplinary skills, we translate their visions into cinematic reality together.