Whitney Ellenby
TALK
The Two Hours That Can Open an Autistic Person’s World
Almost every parent of an autistic child has experienced the humiliation of being ejected from venues for disruptive behavior and endured withering stares from bystanders. Often, this drives the family from public places and shrinks the child’s world. Whitney, who exchanged a legal career for advocacy, shows how just a few hours of dedicated access to those spaces can expand the world for children with autism — and make society more empathetic in the process.
ABOUT
Whitney Ellenby is a former US DOJ Disability Rights Attorney and author of the award-winning nonfiction book, Autism Uncensored: Pulling Back the Curtain (2018). She’s the proud mother of a 23-year-old son with autism and an autism expert who’s contributed to numerous media outlets including The Washington Post, Newsweek, The Boston Globe, and PBS NewsHour. Ellenby is also the founder of “Autism Ambassadors,” a philanthropic venture through which she provides exclusive recreational events for over 1,000 families in the DMV area. Ellenby was honored with a “Community Leader” award for her advocacy for the autism community of Maryland and was featured as a “Local Hero” by her MD Congressman.