Andrew Coltrin

A series of thematically linked vignettes about ability, disability, autism, mental health, and gender. Mostly writing and a few comics delve into topics like "emerging" as an alternative to "curing", using the Autistic Union identifier as a nonbinary autistic pronoun, thoughts on what it means to succeed in life when you aren't succeeding at being "normal", various types of neurodiversity, when to disclose your neurodivergence, the trouble with social skills education and so much more. Andrew's zines are always super thoughtful, engaging, affirming, and worth your time to check out!

Anecdotal skillshares to understand the lives of autistics and the nonsensical world we all share The R-word has been used against us as hate speech for decades. Neurotypicals have tried to dictate our motives, experiences, and words without stepping back to look at how taking the word away does nothing to take away their attitudes behind it. While leftist culture has abandoned the word "retarded," we are still treated with the same hatefulness and discrimination implicit in that word. It's time to own this word for ourselves. Queer punks were told that they would be accepted as soon as they acted like straight people. Autism now occupies a similar place in the public consciousness at this moment: no one understands it and The Borg demand our assimilation! Don't Be Retarded offers exposition on neurotypicals' neurophobia and the frequent claim that they are supportive of #ActuallyAutistic people...as long as we act like they do. These stories of overcoming and disputing myths will become the roots of the new autistic pride movement and the people who have suffered under the R-word should own it. Featuring work by Temple Grandin and others. One Good Trouble reviewer mentioned that she couldn't believe that there wasn't a radical zine community on the forefront of Autistic theory...so I decided to start one! The inspiration for the title lies in the homocore roots of punk and Don't Be Gay in the 1980s.

The first time that I met my favorite autistic mentee, she walked right up to me, declaring “You don’t look like prey!” We discussed at length how we are both consistently perceived as vulnerable from our appearances, body language, and mannerisms. I had never thought about this as a trait of autism until I began to research the relationships of crime statistics and autism to find that we are frequently victims. When I looked up the meaning of “getting taken advantage of,” I had a startling discovery. The phrase has two components, someone using you unfairly for their own benefit and you being complicit and accepting in this dynamic. According to this definition, being robbed on the street is not being “taken advantage of.” While everyone experiences these types of encounters, it seems that so many neurodiverse people are taken advantage of because they are easily fooled into being complicit in these exchanges. This zine is a forum of advice and stories to explain the neurodiverse experience so that we can be seen as real, whole people. One theme that kept coming up in conversations with neurodiverse people as "being taken advantage of." Every neurodiverse person seems to be a survivor of abuse, whether that be emotional, financial, sexual, physical, or mental. These stories humanize those experiences and provide context, humor, and real solutions for how to overcome them. Ultimately, living in our society it becomes difficult not to internalize ableism and see ourselves as lesser, rather than just different.

Neurodiversity occupies a similar place in the public consciousness as gay rights did in the 1970s: most people on the outside don't understand it and The Borg demand our assimilation! A necessary contribution to the dialogue around neurology, this zine features advice and exploratory narratives about how to accept the neurodiverse experience. Even the less divergent can understand us and see us as real, whole people. Featuring comics, narrative, advice, and origin stories that all teach how to better interact/collaborate/interface with us, this zine is the beginning of a social movement towards a future where people can be treated like, well, people. We find neuroatypical people inspiring and we think you could learn from our stories too!

A handy pocket guide to understanding autism For those following my saga of the past decade, it will not be surprising when I say that I feel like this zine was made for me. One of the reviews of my book Good Trouble pleaded with the notion that there must be a radical autism zine community. Not that I know of. So when this zine’s author disclosed to me that he was autistic, I pleaded with him to make this zine. The result is a dictionary about autism and related experiences and conditions. It’s about love, struggle, pain, and difficulties. And perhaps as a result of being “one of us,” Andrew has simple and clear explanations and definitions of the many nervous, mental, and emotional conditions that affect all of us to varying degrees. I learned a TON from reading this, even if it wasn’t new knowledge, I really benefitted from his unique perspective, depictions, clarifications, and personal experiences. Knowing there are others like us makes everyone less lonely. Now we must build a movement. -Joe

Larry doesn't know he's a time traveler, but that doesn't stop him. Stumbling through time and space, under the power of special tacos and sheer chutzpah, Larry's pretty sure there's a great party right around the next corner. What's in front of him is another story. From high seas kidnapping, to gangs of velociraptor time smugglers, to the robotic legions of the Grand Cyberian Imperium, Larry takes it all in stride. He knows that other dude he keeps running into has got his back. That other dude, call him Ishmael, is a seasoned time traveler and expert in the subtle art of chronochaching. Ishmael knows how delicate the balance of the continuum truly is and what kind of consequences are in store for those who tip it. When he meets Larry in that waterfront saloon in 1885, he knows he should walk away, but he can't. Larry just might be dumb enough to accidently destroy the universe. Inexorably bound to the clueless grunge-head from 1994, Ishmael must steer Larry clear of the sorts of cosmological close calls that keep theoretical physicists up at night. Larry, on the other hand, is just looking for a beer, a taco and a hot chick to share it with.

In this new zine from Partly Robot Industries, author Andrew Coltrin dives into the world of economics and explains the fundamentals for the layperson. Coltrin points out that economics are, no matter how much we might wish otherwise, something we all have to interact with on an everyday basis. Gaining a basic knowledge of this field of inquiry can help anyone manage their day to day lives and resources better, from time management, to finances, to energy. Coltrin is autistic, and so this zine offers a unique perspective and is accessible to both neurotypical and neurodivergent individuals alike.

The power of autistic pride in a neurophobic world The life expectancy of autistic people is 36 years old. The most likely cause of this is suicide. Autistic people are being killed in massive numbers by the disability of how society treats us. This zine collects stories of people who have defied these odds and lived past 36. It shares wisdom for how we did it and offers narrative about both what that process was like as well as tips and important things to understand if you care about one of us. More importantly and perhaps surprisingly, the most effective way to reduce suicide is to talk about it. This way people who are having suicidal feelings can normalize talking about it with you instead of the fear of bringing it up. Talking about suicide does not increase risk or efforts. It's the one true way to save lives.