Carlsbad Therapist Turns Personal History into Series of Autism Guides

By R. Gabriel Villalobos

Edward Sanchez Jr. has spent two decades working in behavioral health, but his most personal work began when he started writing about his own experiences.

Sanchez is the founder and executive director of Sanchez Behavioral Health and Recovery Services. He has published a series of books on autism, drawing from his professional expertise and his own late-in-life autism diagnosis.

The autism series consists of three volumes written for different audiences. The first, “Supporting a Child With Sensory Difficulties,” is designed for families with autistic children. The second, “Supporting Adults With Sensory Difficulties,” addresses a gap in autism resources for adults. The third, “Me And Me And Me Within Me,” offers his personal account of discovering his autism as an adult.

Sanchez said he wrote the books to be accessible. He designed them with generous amounts of white space and simple language for readers with dyslexia or attention difficulties.

“It’s pretty much written by an autistic for an autistic,” he said. “If I start looking at a book and it seems overly complicated, I will put it away.”

The books include citations and further reading recommendations. Sanchez said he does not want to be the only resource a reader uses.

The author stumbled into his diagnosis of autism as an adult, a common experience for those with what clinicians now call Level 1 autism. He and his wife, who holds a doctorate in special education, are both autistic.

“Some of us don’t realize we’re autistic until we’re into our adulthoods, and then things start clicking and making sense,” he said.

His third book explores what he calls the loss of identity that can accompany a late diagnosis.

Sanchez said many autistic adults hide their traits to fit in, a practice known as masking. “Superman has these great abilities and talents, but he intimidates people,” Sanchez said. “He literally has to put on Clark Kent and act like he doesn’t know everything or act like he’s this bumbling fool at times because it helps him fit in better.”

He said masking causes physical and emotional harm. He keeps low lighting in his office because of light sensitivity. He uses fidget toys in meetings to help focus.

Sanchez said stimming (repetitive movements or sounds that help regulate sensory input) is essential. He uses fidget toys, coins he rolls between his fingers, and koosh balls.

“Texture is a big thing for me,” he said.

Music also serves as a stim. Sanchez said his family knows his mood by what he plays: Metallica signals one state, while the “chicken nugget song” signals playfulness.

He teaches clients strategies such as holding ice cubes at social functions to calm anxiety.

“A couple of ice cubes rolling around in your hand while you’re sitting there talking to people actually helps stimulate the body and can calm you down,” he said.

Sanchez also wrote a men’s mental health workbook and facilitator guide, designed for use in group therapy. He said Eddy County lacks men’s mental health resources.

He plans to offer free telehealth groups using the workbook. He said he will fund the program through grants; his wife is a grant writer.

“I should not be profiting off of someone’s pain and misery,” he said. “When it comes to someone needing mental health, if I can get the right grants to pay for us to do that, there should be no reason I ever have to charge anybody anything.”

Sanchez and his wife previously ran a nonprofit called Visions of Autism. The organization took autistic children to movies and restaurants to teach life skills. Some participants later found jobs or attended university.

“These kids grew up to have their own jobs,” Sanchez said. “We had a couple that went to university.”

He said he hopes his books help both professionals and families understand autism better. He keeps his approach evidence-based and said he updates his teaching when new peer-reviewed research emerges.

“If it’s evidence-based, I will retrain the way I teach it the next day,” he said.

Sanchez plans to launch a website with information about upcoming groups and books. He can be reached at sanchezbhrs@yahoo.com.