I have been serving on The Musical Autist Board of Directors for the past eight years. Serving has taught me a lot about being a leader. A leader should be able to have patience, be flexible, and learn how to be professional with other people. The board has been going through some changes recently, which allowed me to take on more of a leadership role. I really enjoy being apart of the organization because we need more autistic people to be leaders. These changes have caused me to evaluate my responsibilities as co-founder of the organization. I learned that being a leader means you have to take action and set an example for your peers. I am also the chairwoman on the Empowerment Jam Session Committee. This position gives me an opportunity to use my leadership skills by coordinating the meetings and facilitating each event.
Individuals on the spectrum are often seen as incapable of being leaders. I want to help young autistic people to realize that they are capable of being leaders. I would like to mentor anyone who shows signs of leadership qualities to advocate for themselves and others. I personally know that autistic leaders can show the world that we have the ability to make decisions in ground breaking organizations.
Here are some suggestions that I would give to other autistic people who want to become leaders: Be kind, practice humility, don’t yell, accept and give feedback, and have patience. Remember as I said previously, being a leader takes patience, flexibility, and professionalism. Because I am in a leadership role, I am continuously working on my social skills so that I can set an example for others. A leader always carries an important message and shares it with others. They are also true to their mission and vision of their organization. They also mentor others to become leaders as their organization grows.
It is my desire that all people with autism explore their options of becoming an effective leader to help the disabled community. I believe big changes would be made if people on the spectrum contributed their leadership skills in autism organizations.
Are you an autistic advocate?
This year, I’m inviting people to write guest blog posts for The Musical Autist website. We are also looking for new board members and mentor musicians to join our organization. If you are interested in either of these, please contact me at themusicalautist@gmail.com. Thank you for supporting The Musical Autist!
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