Veronika Pudilova

The Easy-to-read version of this text is available here.

Veronika Pudilova (Vera) is the creator of Happy Autistic Lady illustrations on Instagram, which explores what being autistic means to her and is a way of sharing her experiences with others. Vera has lived half her life in Czechia, and half in England. She currently works in Reading, United Kingdom, focusing on agriculture regulation. She is the Comms lead for her government department’s Autism and ADHD network, where she has created multiple resources, including a document detailing all the possible Workplace Adjustment Suggestions for autistic and ADHD employees. Vera is also on the Youth Council for the British national charity Ambitious About Autism which aims to improve opportunities for young people on the autism spectrum. This particular charity is close to her heart as it provided immense support when she was first diagnosed. The Youth Network and support sessions introduced her to other autistic people across the country, helping her learn from others and embrace her autistic traits so much more. She is motivated in her efforts by the fact that the existing data on disabled people’s employment, voting turnout, housing situation, inclusion in daily activities and overall life satisfaction shows there is a lot left to do. She believes it is important to remember that the people who understand the full extent and the best way to tackle this are disabled people themselves.

Instagram: happyautisticlady