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Paige Layle

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Paige Layle
Born
Paige Hennekam

(2000-08-02) August 2, 2000 (age 24)
Kawartha Lakes, Ontario, Canada
Occupations
  • Activist
  • author
Years active2015–present
Websitepaigelayle.ca

Paige Hennekam (born August 2, 2000), better known as Paige Layle, is a Canadian ADHD and autism acceptance activist and author. She[a] began posting about her experiences with ADHD and autism on social media in March 2020 and has since gained a large following on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. She also wrote the book But Everyone Feels This Way: How an Autism Diagnosis Saved My Life.

Early life

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Layle was born Paige Hennekam in Kawartha Lakes on August 2, 2000. She attempted suicide at the age of 15, after which she was diagnosed with autism,[2][3] OCD,[4] and ADHD.[5][6]

Career

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Layle started making TikTok videos about autism in March 2020,[2][7] after hearing an audio clip on TikTok that mocked autistic people.[8] She created a four-part video series on autism in girls to address common misconceptions about the disorder.[5] In 2020 and 2021, she joined other members of the autism community in weighing in on the controversy surrounding Sia's film Music.[9]

In 2021, Layle and other autism advocates[who?] such as Chloé Hayden criticized Color the Spectrum: A Livestream to Support the Autism Community, a fundraiser launched by Mark Rober in support of NEXT for AUTISM. She critiqued NEXT for funding Autism Speaks, an organization that has received backlash for its attempts to "cure" autism. To counter Color the Spectrum, Layle and other advocates[who?] planned to host a fundraising livestream on the same date and time to raise money for the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN).[10][11] The livestream was later cancelled due to allegations that ASAN had plagiarized work from Indigenous creator Autistic, Typing.[12]

In 2022, Layle was a performer for the audiobook version of Wendy Walker's American Girl, produced by Audible.[13]

As of December 2023, Layle has 2.6 million followers on TikTok,[14][15] 131,000 followers on Instagram,[16] and 171,000 subscribers on YouTube.[17]

Layle's first book, But Everyone Feels This Way: How an Autism Diagnosis Saved My Life, was released in March 2024.[18]

Personal life

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Layle is pansexual[6] and uses "she/they" pronouns.[1] She continues to reside in Kawartha Lakes, where she works as a teacher.[19][20]

Notes

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  1. ^ Layle uses the pronouns she/her and they/them.[1] This article uses she/her for consistency.

References

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  1. ^ a b @paigelayle. "paigelayle". Instagram. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  2. ^ a b Favaro, Avis; Neustaeter, Brooklyn; St. Phillip, Elizabeth (June 25, 2020). "Canadian teen shatters autism stereotypes with candid videos on TikTok". CTV News. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  3. ^ Mui, Christine (August 5, 2020). "Where Are The Autistic Women in the Media?". Harvard Political Review. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
  4. ^ Perry, Tod (March 11, 2020). "Teenager creates eye-opening videos that shatter stereotypes surrounding autism and girls". Upworthy. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  5. ^ a b Emanuel, Daniella (March 10, 2020). "A Girl On TikTok With Autism Is Going Viral For Talking About How Autism Is Different In Women". BuzzFeed. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  6. ^ a b @paigelayle (December 2, 2020). "paige? a trend and not an autism video? ya idk! #fyp #HomeCooked #BackOnTrack". TikTok.
  7. ^ Tucker, Olivia (January 20, 2021). "TikTok Creators Like Paige Layle Are Redefining Narratives About Autism". Teen Vogue. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  8. ^ Bode, Lucy (September 18, 2020). "This Woman Is Using TikTok To Educate Her Followers About Living With Autism". Women's Health. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  9. ^ Moore, Andria (November 24, 2020). "Paige Layle, An Autistic TikToker, Weighed In On The Sia/Maddie Ziegler Movie Drama". BuzzFeed. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
  10. ^ Holcomb, Rebecca (April 24, 2021). "TikTok Star Page Layle Plans Livestream Fundraiser For ASAN To Protest Jimmy Kimmel's NEXT For Autism Fundraiser". TheThings. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  11. ^ Turner-Cohen, Alex (April 25, 2021). "Jimmy Kimmel and Adam Sandler among celebs slammed for supporting autism fundraiser". 7NEWS.com.au. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  12. ^ Beck Spectrum (April 26, 2021). "Accountability". Instagram.
  13. ^ "The top 10 audiobooks on Audible.com". ABC News. Associated Press. January 11, 2022. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
  14. ^ Pham, Elyse (September 26, 2020). "'What does autism look like?' 20-year-old confronts stereotypes on TikTok". 7NEWS.com.au. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  15. ^ Adams, Josie (September 17, 2021). "Normal feelings, or ADHD, ASD or PTSD? Social media is here to diagnose you". The Spinoff. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
  16. ^ Thompson, Dillon (March 13, 2020). "19-year-old's inspiring TikToks break down autism stereotypes". In The Know. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  17. ^ "Paige layle - YouTube". YouTube.
  18. ^ Singh, Manvir (May 6, 2024). "Why We're Turning Psychiatric Labels Into Identities". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
  19. ^ "Young actors with autism respond to Sia's movie Music". CBC Kids News. March 2, 2021. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
  20. ^ Goldstein, Joelle (March 11, 2020). "19-Year-Old Woman with Autism Goes Viral on TikTok: 'A Lot of People Don't Understand' Autism". People. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
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