Michael John Carley

Michael John Carley is an author, school and business consultant, and former Executive Director in the autism, neurodiversity, mental health, disability, and DEI worlds. He received his B.A. from Hampshire College and his M.F.A. from Columbia University.

Between 2003 and 2013, as the Founder and first Executive Director of the Global and Regional Asperger Syndrome Partnership (GRASP), at the time the largest membership organization in the world that is comprised of adults on the autism spectrum, he spoke at over 100 conferences, hospitals, universities, and health care organizations. As the Executive Director of the Asperger Syndrome Training & Employment Partnership (ASTEP, now “Integrate”) from 2011-2014, he spoke at conferences focusing on Human Resources, Corporate Diversity & Inclusion, and he conducted numerous trainings and webinars for individual Fortune 1000 companies. From 2004-2016, he consulted for the New York City Public Schools, and he now not only consults for school districts nationwide, he also now consults in higher education.

Currently he is the Facilitator of New York University’s Connections Program for Global Students on the Autism Spectrum. Among his many other posts, he serves closely as:

• The Editor-in-Chief of Neurodiversity Press

• The Neurodiversity and Leadership Advisor for The League School for Autism

• The Board Advisor for EPIC Players (disability theatre company)

• The Special Advisor for Neurodiversity to The Ed Factory

• A Core Faculty member of LEND (Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities) at Stonybrook University

• The neurodiversity representative of the Best Practices Working Group at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens

• A member of the Leadership Committee for the ALICE (United Way) Initiative on Disabilities

• A Reviewer for JADD, the Journal of Autism and other Developmental Disorders.

He has frequently appeared in the media, most notably in the New York Times, Washington Post, NY Newsday, the London Times, HuffPost Live, NEWSWEEK OnAir, ABCNews, BBC News, FOX News Network, the Chronicle of Philanthropy, the Chronicle of Higher Education, Psychology Today, Exceptional Parent Magazine, and on radio with Terry Gross’ Fresh Air and The Infinite Mind. NPR News also aired a 12-minute story in June of 2006 that featured him and GRASP. Carley was also featured in the documentaries, On the Spectrum, and Off the Rails.

In 2012, he was one of two people on the spectrum to address the United States Congress in their first-ever hearings on autism. He has addressed the United Nations, taken part in Dr. Amy Laurents’ TED talk, and his articles have been published in over a dozen publications—magazines such as Autism Spectrum News, Autism Spectrum Quarterly, and Autism/Asperger Digest; the Organization for Autism Research; and he also had a regular column called Autism Without Fear that existed for four years and more than 30 articles in the Huffington Post. He also regularly writes for Sinkhole, Exceptional Parent Magazine, and the blog of Neurodiversity Press.

His first book, Asperger’s From the Inside Out: A Supportive and Practical Guide for Anyone with Asperger’s Syndrome, was released in April, 2008 by Penguin/Perigee. His second book, Unemployed on the Autism Spectrum, was released in early 2016 by Jessica Kingsley Publishers. His latest book is The Book of Happy, Positive, and Confident Sex for Adults on the Autism Spectrum…and Beyond! and was the inaugural publication of Neurodiversity Press in 2021. All three continue to receive rave reviews.

As a peer mentor, he currently works with individuals at regularly scheduled times.

He was the inaugural FAR Fund Fellow in 2003, and he has since received NYFAC’s Ben Kramer Award (2008), the BCID Award for Service (2009), Columbia University’s Herbert M. Cohen Lecture (2011), and Eden II’s Peter McGowan & John Potterfield Achievement Award (2011).

Until 2001, Mr. Carley was the United Nations Representative of Veterans for Peace, Inc. In that time, he was known primarily for his work in Bosnia, and in Iraq as the Project Director of the internationally acclaimed Iraq Water Project. Prior to 2001, he was also a playwright who enjoyed 15 productions and 10 readings of his plays in New York.

Along with his (then) 4-year old son, he was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome in November of 2000. Reevaluated in 2014 under DSM-5, he was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder.