Sarah Stup

Sarah Stup (born 1983) is an American writer and advocate. She writes about community inclusion, education, and her experience in the world as an autistic woman. Her work includes the children's book Do-Si-Do with Autism, a set of gift books, the poetry and essay collection Are Your Eyes Listening? Collected Works, and the novel Paul and His Beast.

Early life and education Sarah Stup is from Frederick, Maryland and was born in 1983. According to her mother Judy Stup, at about age 3, her behavior became "hyperactive and impulsive" as well as "regimented and obsessive", and she eventually mostly stopped speaking. At age 8, she began pointing to letters on an alphabet sheet to spell out words. In 2008, she began publishing Sarah's Keepsake Collection, a set of gift books with themes that include life, love, family, and nature,

Do-Si-Do with Autism led to the development of the Taylor the Turtle Fun Pack CD as an interactive component,

In 2015, Stup published the novel Paul and His Beast, for middle school-aged children, where Stup refers to autism as Paul's beast. Kirkus Reviews writes, "Stup, who has autism and types to speak, presents an understandable child's-eye view of the condition, poignantly capturing both Paul's need and hate for the Beast. Her characterization is three-dimensional; for example, Paul's autism doesn't make him saintly, and popular kids aren't always jerks."

Advocacy

In 2004, Stup participated in the self-advocacy group Working Together and The Arc of Frederick County Legislative Committee's letter-writing campaign. The campaign aimed to educate lawmakers on legislative decisions that would impact the lives of people with developmental disabilities and their families. Stup traveled to Maryland's State Capital in Annapolis to give testimony opposing a bill that promoted the use of institutional respite care and services for people with medical needs, rather than providing services in their own communities.

Selected works Do-si-Do with Autism (2006) Are Your Eyes Listening? Collected Works (2007) Heart and Spirit: Words to comfort, share and inspire (2008) Nest Feathers: A celebration of family, home and memories shared (2009) Do-si-Do with Autism Friendship Kit (2014) Paul and His Beast (2015)

Awards and honors In 2004, Stup received both the Self Advocate of the Year award from The Arc of Maryland and the Frances and Lease Bussard Award for Self-Advocacy.