Sophia Mendonça

Sophia Silva de Mendonça (born February 6, 1997) is a Brazilian author and journalist. Considered one of the main voices on autism in women in Brazil, Sophia wrote the young adult chick lit novel Danielle, Asperger, the journalistic book Neurodivergentes (2019) and hosts the channel Mundo Autista (Autistic World, 2015–present) on YouTube. In 2025, she returned to chick lit with The Influencer and The Critic, a romantic comedy.

She is also active as an author of biographies, having written the book "Ikeda, um Século de Humanismo (Ikeda, a Century of Humanism, 2020), which chronicles the trajectory of Japanese Soka Gakkai Buddhist leader Daisaku Ikeda. In 2024, Mendonça created the series of reports Courtney Love e o Autismo (Courtney Love and Autism, 2024), which tells the life of singer and actress Courtney Love from the autism's point of view.

Her critically acclaimed book Metamorfoses (Metamorphoses, 2023), the result of her research at the Federal University of Minas Gerais, addresses the experience of being autistic and trans and how this affects communication and sociability between individuals and groups. In 2023, she appeared on Max and Discovery reality series Transgender Twins.

During her years in university studying for a degree in communication, she wrote a blog named Tudo Bem Ser Different (It's Okay To Be Different) and was the host on the University Center of Belo Horizonte weekly radio program Mundo Asperger.

Career In her first year at college, Mendonça wrote her first book over the course of six months titled Outro Olhar – Reflexões de Um Autista (Another Look – Reflections of an Autistic). Outro Olhar recounts facts from the author's past and shows how mundane situations become complex due to her condition.

In 2019, she released the book-report Neurodivergentes. The work argues that autism is not a disease, but rather a "variation of brain connectivity". The book is structured in three chapters: "Intelligence and Neurodiversity", "Autism in the Feminine" and "Means of Communication". It later became a newsgroup of the same name in partnership with the UAI news portal.

She completed the master's degree at Federal University of Minas Gerais in March 2022, with her thesis being titled "A interseccionalidade entre autismo e transgeneridade: diálogos afetivos no Twitter" ("The intersectionality between autism and transgenderity: affective dialogues on Twitter"). The thesis gave rise to the book Metamorfoses, which was defined as "an important compilation on autism, gender diversity and affections".

She continued to conduct journalism work in similar topic areas, founding alongside her mother first the YouTube channel Mundo Autista and then other social media, before creating the newsgroup of the same name in partnership with the news portal UAI. In 2022, she directed and hosted the podcast episode Amores (a)Típicos, which featured actresses Isabela Garcia and Ju Colombo portraying autistic characters addressing their romantic relationships.

Film criticism Mendonça debuted as a content creator in 2009, publishing film reviews on the website Cineplayers!.

In 2025, she and Selma Sueli Silva launched a newsletter on Substack, titled Filmes Para Sempre, a guide to films and series, marking her return to the territory of cultural criticism.

In 2026, Sophia Mendonça served on the jury of the literary contest that resulted in the book s main objective was to encourage the creative output of young writers aged 14 to 21 from the capital of Minas Gerais, drawing inspiration from the legacy and work of author Bartolomeu Campos de Queirós. Alongside other literature experts, Mendonça was part of the curatorial team responsible for evaluating and selecting the 50 standout short stories included in the published collection.

Reception

Neurodiversity and Identity Construction Much of the critical reception of Mendonça's work focuses on her authentic portrayal of neurodivergence and identity. In his doctoral thesis, researcher Igor Ries characterizes her writing as a sharing of the self with the collective, arguing that the author occupies a protagonist role in social spaces historically underrepresented by both autistic and transgender individuals. According to his analysis, by positioning herself as an active subject in the narratives surrounding autism, Mendonça demonstrates a practice of "care for oneself and for others". Similarly, journalist Paulo Fortunato noted that her fiction offers a glimpse into the daily life of an autistic teenager, acting as a narrative about dreams, identity, and the search for a place in the world. Fortunato observes that Mendonça challenges common misconceptions of "mild" autism by exploring the profound emotional complexities of the condition, including constant self-criticism, anxiety, low self-esteem, social phobia, and eating disorders. She also notes how the protagonist's refuge in entertainment, such as a fascination with soap opera villains, illustrates the power of art as a means of escapism and understanding.

Researchers Marcos Maurício Gondim Gomes and Silvio Cesar de Souza Cabral wrote that the accounts of Mendonça are fundamental to understanding the experiences regarding autism and gender assumption. Based on the experiences shared by Mendonça, the researchers highlight the challenges faced by this group and emphasize the importance of pedagogical support as an essential means of integrating this demographic into education and society. For researcher Ghael Leite, the book Metamorfoses (and the thesis from which it originated) plays an important role in challenging the static frameworks traditionally reproduced by mainstream media. According to him, by analyzing the interactions and affective dialogues on Twitter, Mendonça's investigation manages to deeply reveal the complexities existing at the intersection of the autism spectrum and gender diversity.

Social Dynamics and Interpersonal Relationships The representation of social relationships, family dynamics, and the female experience is another prominent theme in the analysis of Mendonça's literature. Reviewing Danielle, Asperger, Camargos Jr described it as a work centered on a "world of women." He highlights the narrative driven by the interaction between three central female figures: an adolescent, her mother, and a famous actress on a path of self-destruction. The dynamic results in a role reversal where the adolescent, initially viewed as "seemingly less capable", assumes a maternal and therapeutic function for the older artist. Fortunato also emphasizes how Mendonça's narrative underscores the necessity of family acceptance, illustrating this through the contrast between a mother's constant encouragement and a father's initial denial of the autism diagnosis. Camargos Jr also notes the role of Buddhist philosophy in her early accounts, identifying it as a practical tool used by the author to seek balance and alleviate existential conflicts. In 2026, she was ranked 56th on EduRank's list of 63 notable alumni from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG). The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff.

Awards In 2016, she received the Grande Colar from the Mérito Legislativo government of Belo Horizonte. In 2019, Mendonça received the Boas Práticas (Good Practices) award from Erasmus+, the European Union program for the fields of Education, Training, Youth and Sport for the period 2014 to 2020, with the aim of supporting the implementation of the Agenda European policy for social justice, inclusion, growth and employment.

In 2023, the Mundo Autista channel, hosted by Sophia Mendonça and Selma Sueli Silva, won the Digital Microinfluencers Award, in the people with disabilities category, during the fifth edition of the award, by popular and technical votes.

Style and influences Mendonça cites writers Sophie Kinsella and Meg Cabot as inspirations.

Critics have also evaluated Mendonça's stylistic choices across different genres. Elemara Duarte, from the newspaper Hoje em Dia, noted that the author positions herself as a reporter who obtains information about herself, defining her autobiographical writing as sincere and engaging. In 2021 in an interview with the university newspaper for the Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais, Mendonça said that this diagnosis was liberating, but that the biggest "ghost" that accompanied her in life was not autism, but gender dysphoria, which is why she began to feel happier after her gender transition in 2020, since she sees gender expression as a way to communicate primarily with herself.

Works

Books

Podcasts Co-host with Selma Sueli Silva 2019 Para sempre Arte Host 2020 De Brincadeira |Co-host with Raquel Romano 2020 Introvertendo Reporter 2022 Amores (a)típicos Co-host with Marcos Maia 2022 Rádio Vivo Panelist 2022 Dazumana Panelist 2022 Espectros Panelist 2022 Vozes da Maturidade Co-host with Selma Sueli Silva 2022