Autism Warrior - A Voice for Inclusion

By Sharon Longo, BA

One writer promotes inclusion and AAC awareness.

Meet Navneet Kulkarni, a non-speaking autistic individual who uses augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). He is a self-published, award-winning author, poet, blogger, nature enthusiast, and autism advocate.

He states that he is a neurodivergent person who sees the world from a different angle, and his “words of wisdom” or “life mantra,” as he refers to it, is “Like me or hate me, it is none of my business.”

Impact on autism families

Navneet, who uses AAC for communication, is spreading awareness of this technology through his writings. He states, “I am making people change their mindset towards special needs. Anyone can be neurotypical, but it takes someone special to be neurodivergent.”

He continues. “I have created my own letter board, with the support of my parents, reaching out to many nonspeaking autistic families,” and he provides letter boards, customizing them according to the children’s needs.

He has also written many articles and stories on mental health, why today’s generation is facing depression and anxiety, and how to overcome mental illness.

“I try to help people through my perception. Through my articles, I try to share about sensory processing disorder based on my lived experience.”