A native of Harrisburg, PA, Joey moved to Pittsburgh in 1992 after earning her bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from the University of Scranton. While her only plan was to become a rock star, her appetite for learning how to do things led her many places. Dividing her time between performing and working for a living, she learned accounting, auto body repair, carpentry, basic machining, early-era web design, sales and marketing. Her restlessness and inability to settle on one career finally made sense, when, at the age of 42, she was diagnosed with Aspergers, or ASD level one. Since completing her Master’s of Fine Arts at the University of Pittsburgh in 2016, she has worked as a freelance writer and an adjunct professor at the University of Pittsburgh. What she likes best is helping young people make sense of the world as they grow into adults, and using her writing skills to advocate for autism awareness for older women.
On the eve of Pride 2024, I find myself reflecting on just how lucky I am to have lived to see awareness and some acceptance of both the LGBTQ and autism communities seep into mass culture. An Australian survey recently estimated that the overlap between LGBTQ identities and autism may be as high as 25%,…
