The first-person voice: Tony Hernández Pumarejo and “an autistic life with purpose”

The Asperger World Meeting has an unwritten rule: the autistic voice speaks first and speaks last. In 2024, the person who closed nearly nine hours of streaming was Tony Hernández Pumarejo, an autistic advocate and founder of THP Global.

“Be your own best friend”

“Be your own best friend. Many people in your life won't be there forever. That's why you have to be your own best friend first.”

Hernández Pumarejo described how he began doing things on his own — going to the cinema, to restaurants, travelling — and building skills through repetitive customer-service jobs, until he found a mission: helping other people with his condition avoid going through what he went through.

Four steps for the mental health crisis

• Education: inform yourself well and talk about the topic; much of the harm “is ignorance and stigma.”
• Awareness: recognize the figures — among young people, suicide is the first or second leading cause of death, and for autistic people you have to multiply them.
• Acceptance: see autistic people “as full members of society” who can contribute.
• Commitment: acceptance isn't enough; support is needed through services, access to health care and support groups.

The value of support groups

On the role of the community, he was blunt: his parents and several teachers were his base; later, listening to mothers, autistic adults and other peers. He acknowledged the limits of the virtual — “you miss that in-person factor” — but argued that today it is a real form of support. His rule for families: don't overprotect.

He closed the day alongside the organization's final words, together with the partner organizations.