Rudy Simone

Rudy Simone is the author of five books on Asperger's Syndrome, a performing singer, songwriter, and comedian.

Rudy promotes a “cultural exchange” between the non-autistic and autistic communities, stating that most autistic differences are not deficits, just different ways of receiving, processing and communicating information received. She also promotes self-advocacy and management of the challenges inherent in Asperger Syndrome. She coined the term “Aspergirls” to denote what she believes are the under-served, under-acknowledged females on the autism spectrum, and the “glass wall phenomenon” to describe the difficulties people have on the spectrum communicating and connecting with others, which causes social isolation and workplace difficulties.

She has been interviewed by the New York Times, TIME and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and was one of the speakers at the 2012 World Knowledge Forum in Seoul, Korea.

Rudy has lectured at autism and Asperger conferences in Britain, the United States, and Australia.

Her books have been translated into several languages.

• 22 Things a Woman Must Know if She loves a Man with Asperger's Syndrome (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2009) ISBN 978-1-84905-803-2
• 22 Things A Woman with Asperger's Wants her Partner to Know (Jessica Kingsley Publisher, 2012) ISBN 978-1-84905-883-4
• Asperger's on the Job Must-have Advice for People with Asperger's or High Functioning Autism, and their Employers, Educators, and Advocates (Future Horizons Publishing, 2010) ISBN 1935274090
• Aspergirls: Empowering Females with Asperger's Syndrome (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2010) ISBN 978-1-84905-826-1
• Orsath, an epic fantasy (2013)
• The A-Z of ASDs: Aunt Aspie’s Guide to Life (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2016)

She has also penned the forewords to Asperger's in Pink and The Aspie Teen Survival Guide.

Rudy has also written and produced the albums 'Gothic Blues' (2013), ‘Thief of Dreams’ (2014) and Penny Dredful (2016).

In 2011 Simone Told Time Magazine that she initially self diagnosed herself with Aspergers after failing to find a doctor with 500 miles of where she lived who would believe her. She had her self-diagnosis confirmed. In a December 2014 blog Simone wrote that between her writing and treatment as well as dietary changes, her symptoms had diminished to the point she did not feel she qualified as a person on the spectrum. However, she later realized that she remains a person with Asperger's, and most recently has been working in France to reform the treatment of people with autism in that country.

Aspergirls won a Gold Award from the Independent Publishers Group in 2011, and Asperger's on the Job won Honorable Mention in ForeWord magazine's 2010 Book of the Year Awards.