Selma Sueli Silva (born September 17, 1963) is a Brazilian author,

internet celebrity An Internet celebrity (also known as a social media influencer, social media personality, internet personality, or simply influencer) is a celebrity who has acquired or developed their fame and notability through the Internet. The rise of social ...

and

radio personality A radio personality (American English) or radio presenter (British English) is a person who has an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality who hosts a radio show is also known as a radio host, and in India and Pakistan as a rad ...

. She is a host from YouTube channel '' Mundo Autista'' with her daughter

Sophia Mendonça Sophia Silva de Mendonça is a Brazilian author who focuses on the experience of being autistic and trans and how that affects communication and sociality between individuals and groups. Career Mendonça was diagnosed with asperger syndrome at t ...

since 2015; they are the longest-serving autistic Brazilian vloggers on YouTube. In 2019, Silva won the Special Tribute award, from the European Union program Erasmus+.

Biography

Silva was born in

Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte (, ; ) is the sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population around 2.7 million and with a metropolitan area of 6 million people. It is the 13th-largest city in South America and the 18th-largest in the Americas. The metropol ...

, Minas Gerais, Brazil. She worked in the

construction industry Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and come ...

before earning a degree in journalism and public relations with an emphasis in Communication and Business Management. After serving as a Senior Communications Advisor at the Instituto Nacional do Seguro Social, she migrated to radio. Thus, she initially gained prominence as an panelist and producer of the Rádio Vivo, one of the most traditional Talk show, talk shows in Brazilian radio, where she remained between 1999 and 2015. Upon leaving the station, she began to host the YouTube Channel '' Mundo Autista.'' In 2017, Galileo (magazine), Galileo magazine ranked the channel at position No. 8 among YouTube channels that address the lives of people with Disability, disabilities. In 2022, the website Canaltech ranked the channel as one of the top five on YouTube focusing on awareness of the Autistic Spectrum and highlighted it as the only one on the list aimed at autism in adults. She is a member of the UNESCO board of consultants.

Awards and honors

In 2019, Silva received the Special Tribute from the European Union program Erasmus+ and a congratulations motion from Divinópolis, in addition to winning the business communication contest promoted by the Diários Associados conglomerate. In 2022, Brazilian newspaper Catraca Livre listed her as one of the six autistic celebrities who challenge prejudice. In 2023, '' Mundo Autista'' was one of the winners of the fifth influencers award promoted by the Center for Communication Studies and the Business Communication Platform, by popular and technical votes.

Personal life

Born and raised in an underprivileged community, Silva claims to have memories of feeling different from the age of three. At the same time, her parents divorced and she began to feel increasingly inadequate in her family and at school after returning to live in her grandmother's house, having received many labels for her peculiar behaviors. At age 52, after hearing a question from her daughter, author

, diagnosed with Autism spectrum, autism at age 11, Silva decided to listen to her advice and sought out a psychiatrist, who identified her with the same condition. This led her to produce books and content about autism in adults and women. Since 2005, Silva has been a member of Soka Gakkai International, a Buddhism, Buddhist organization affiliated with the United Nations.

Works

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silva, Selma Sueli Living people 21st-century Brazilian writers Brazilian Buddhists Converts to Sōka Gakkai Members of Sōka Gakkai 1963 births People from Belo Horizonte Brazilian journalists People on the autism spectrum Brazilian memoirists