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What was your first job? A foundational memory for many of us. My Grandpa Howie remembers his first job – as a messenger working for United Jewish Appeal during the Six-Day War; he learned that [...]

There are three main schools of thought around how we can support people on the Autism Spectrum. One, “curism” dictates that Autism is a disease or serious illness that should be removed and [...]

Recently, the disability community, the Jewish community, the United States and the world suffered a devastating loss when we learned that Judy Heumann Z”L, the “mother of the disability rights [...]

For many Autistic people, there is one form of sensory input that is calming, focusing or perhaps invigorating. For me, this is water.   I had not spent a lot of time thinking about the [...]

Recently, I took part in two events that pushed me outside of my comfort zone, and I think truly represent the culmination of my transition to High School. On May 6th, I took a huge step when I [...]

This spring I traveled to Israel with my grade. I want to share with you my experience and what I learned about myself. My first trip to Israel was in 2016 with my grandfather, cousin, and a [...]

Following an incident in school, Rafi (age 15) posted his thoughts on Facebook. Rafi has granted permission to Matan to reprint this post. I’d like to talk about something I have noticed when it [...]

Like any freshman, my first few months of high school have been both exciting and stressful. My friendships have grown stronger, my classes are in full swing and I have begun many extracurricular [...]

My name is Rafi. I’m 14 and a freshman at the Leffell School in Westchester, New York. As a teenager on the Autistic spectrum, I view and experience the world differently than other people. I [...]