Speaking

Jen Malia speaks to parents, educators, librarians, administrators, community leaders, writers, and students about autism and neurodiversity.

As a freelance journalist, she is a go-to expert in this area who has written personal essays, reported essays, op-eds, and book reviews for outlets such as the New York Times, the Washington Post, New York Magazine, Woman’s Day, Glamour, and others. Her children’s books Too Sticky! Sensory Issues with Autism and The Infinity Rainbow Club series draw on her experiences with and research on neurodivergence. She is an autistic mom of three neurodivergent children who have different combinations of autism, ADHD, OCD, dyslexia, and dysgraphia. She has more than twenty years of teaching experience and is currently Associate Professor of English and Creative Writing Coordinator at Norfolk State University.

As Seen On:

Radio, TV, and Video Interviews

NPR’s With Good Reason

Listen to Jen’s NPR interview on With Good Reason for the episode, “Parenting on the Spectrum.” Jen talks about her book Too Sticky! and how her research led her to get her and her daughter diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.

Listen

Parents Magazine

Watch Jen in “Raising Autistic Children as an Autistic Parent,” a docu-style video from Parents magazine. A film crew visited Jen’s home to interview her and feature her family in their Parenting Against All Odds video series.

Watch

NBC/CNYCentral

Watch Jen’s NBC interview for “Mother, Child Diagnosed with Autism on the Same Day.” This interview came after her popular reported essay in the New York Times, “My Daughter and I Were Diagnosed with Autism on the Same Day.”

Watch

ABC/WVEC 13 News Now

Watch Jen’s ABC interview in “Gender Gap in Diagnosing Girls with Autism.” In the news story, Jen is featured with her daughter Holly.

Watch

Z-IGTV

Watch Jen’s interview with Zibby Owens on her Instagram channel. Jen talks about her book Too Sticky! and her autism diagnosis as an adult.

Watch

Podcast Interviews

Conference Appearances

  • National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)
  • American Library Association (ALA)
  • Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) Mid-Atlantic
  • Modern Language Association (MLA)
  • College English Association (CEA)
  • Popular Culture Association (PCA)
  • Virginia Association of School Librarians (VAASL)
  • South Carolina Association of School Librarians (SCASL)
  • New Jersey Association of School Librarians (NJASL)
  • Missouri Association of School Librarians (MASL)
  • American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA)
  • Southwest Washington Autism Conference
  • Parenting Journalists Conference
  • Insights into Autism Conference

Other Appearances

  • Virtual Fay B. Kaigler Children’s Book Festival
  • The Chicago Public Schools
  • DePaul University’s Honors Program
  • Tidewater Autism Society
  • The Writer’s Center
  • The Writing Barn
  • The Muse Writers Center
  • Hampton Roads Writers
  • Lincoln Park Public Library
  • Ericson Public Library
  • nErDCamp Connecticut
  • nErDCamp Pennsylvania
  • nErDCamp Kansas