Sarah Pripas www.autisticadvocacy.org “Nothing about us without us” is the unofficial motto of the disability rights movement, yet discussions of disability continue to occur without people with disabilities at the table. One of the latest occurrences of this is in California, where the Department of Managed Healthcare recently announced the formation of an Autism Advisory Task Force. Of the eighteen people appointed to the task force, not a single one is autistic. While it is, unfortunately, commonplace for autistic people to be absent from government-appointed task forces related to autism, that doesn’t make it acceptable. The California chapters of the Autistic-Self Advocacy Network (Los Angeles, Sacramento, and San Jose) are asking that the Department of Managed Healthcare rectify this omission by appointing at least one autistic person to the task force. If you would like to tell the Department that autistic people should be represented on this panel, please sign…
Tag: autistic
Rob Gross I read a post recently in which the author imagines creating a “grand new conference consisting of members of the disability community of all stripes” including disabled people, their parents, professionals, writers and journalists.” He continues, “This mythical conference of ours would have only one rule. No one would be allowed to be offended” (emphasis added). The author states that by following this rule, “no one [would be] silenced…dismissed… [or] called out for the way they make their argument.” In response to this post, many parents of disabled children commented on how refreshing this would be. However, numerous Autistic adults took strong exception to this, as did some parents. Why? What could possibly be wrong with allowing people to speak their minds without restriction? Two weeks ago, one parent did just that. On her Orange County Register blog, Jo Ashline, the mother of an Autistic child, said that…
Melody Latimer www.ASParenting.com There are re-occurring themes among the Autism/Autistic online worlds. The most current, though it comes and goes, is when parents of Autistic kids insult Autism because of their child’s difficulties, summed up by “You can’t understand because you’re high-functioning/have Asperger’s.” I’ve wanted to rebut this several times (and often do when getting into a comment exchange on other blogs): No. I am not like your kid. Because I’m an adult. No, I am not where I’m at because my parents helped me. I didn’t receive any Special Education or 504s or anything. Actually, when I went to college, this is where I found that I couldn’t even stand on my own two feet. I have had to have several years of therapy and medication, much thanks to my husband, to overcome my previous years. For years, I couldn’t even do household chores because of the resulting, built-up…
TH, age 10, Autistic The title of the film is “Loving Lampposts.” I was somewhat weirded out by the title because it was sort of a strange name for a movie and I had a particular interest in lampposts myself. And I knew it had to do with a syndrome called “Autism.” I for one am very familiar with this term, because I myself have it. Well, the movie revolves around this kid named Sam and his love for some particular lampposts in a local park. His dad wonders why Sam does all of the things he does and also wonders: “What is Autism, and why does it do the things it does?” Well, a large portion of the video is devoted to answering that question and others like it. Well first of all, there are the smart people who believe Autism is a gift, and it should not be…
Charli Devnet Charli writes: In view of the firestorm surrounding the proposed changes to the DSM-V criteria for the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder, an open debate on the nature and scope of autism and what it means to be autistic might be in order. —- I’m not an expert, but I am autistic. All my life I searched for the answer to a seemingly inexplicable riddle, “Just what is wrong with me?” At the age of 54, I was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome. The diagnosis, when I finally acquired one, was not a surprise, not to me nor to anyone who had known me for any significant time. I’m far from a borderline case. No one came up to me and said, “You? We just cannot believe it!” Instead, a number of people greeted my disclosure with the response, “We thought so all along.” Not content to simply have…
Lydia Brown autistichoya.blogspot.com From the editors: We hope that even veteran autism parenting advocates and self-advocates will consider this post part of their neurodiversity education, along with Todd Drezner’s recent HuffPo article Nickels, Dimes and ‘High-Functioning’ Autism — and that it leads to productive reflection and discussion. From the author: Trigger warning: This is mostly about ableism and a response to other, very triggering things, as well as including lots of direct quotes of ableist stuff. An accessible audio recording: Tired – Autistic Hoya by autistichoya I’m tired of being misrepresented. I’m tired of seeing the principles of self-advocacy misrepresented. And I’m tired of seeing the autism rights movement misrepresented. Let me be clear. I’m not talking about allies, or about people who were just thrust into Autismland and don’t yet know much, if anything, about the constant conflicts that erupt here. This isn’t about you. This is about people…
Julia Bascom juststimming.wordpress.com Our Story: The Loud Hands Project is a publishing effort by the Autistic Self Advocacy Network. Currently, we are raising money towards the creation of our first and foundational anthology (Loud Hands: Autistic People, Speaking) and accompanying website. Loud Hands: Autistic People, Speaking features essays, long and short, by Autistic authors writing on autism acceptance, neurodiversity, Autistic pride and culture, disability rights and resistance, and resilience (known collectively by the community as having loud hands). Questions posed to the contributors might include what does autism mean to you; why does Autistic culture matter; what do you wish you had known growing up Autistic; how can the Autistic community cultivate resilience; what does “loud hands” mean to you; and how do you have loud hands? The anthology is the first of a projected series featuring contributions from Autistic writers stressing the preservation and celebration of Autistic culture and…
The holidays are upon us, and that means hanging with folks who might need a nudge or a gentle reminder about holiday kindness and accommodation for autistic kids and adults, on being nice about understanding autistic behaviors versus assuming naughtiness. One thing we’ll be seeing in our house as my son adjusts to an atypical schedule is stimming. Lots of stimming. Some of Leo’s stimming needs redirecting, but most of it is functional and self-soothing. Our friends and family get why Leo stims and what he needs, they have his back; Leo will be fine, we’ll be fine. But if you or your child need stimming functionality backup or want to help understand why stimming doesn’t just matter but can be very necessary, I suggest citing Zoe’s About Stimming, or Julia Bascom’s The Obsessive Joy of Autism. Or, you could just sing folks this song, which I came up with…
Photo © skywaykate | Flickr/Creative Commons [image: Photo of a table set up to serve a holiday buffet, lit by candles.] Corina Becker nostereotypeshere.blogspot.com Up here in Canada, we had our Thanksgiving back in October, so we’re all getting ready for Christmas/Hanukkah/other winter holidays. I’m going to be very honest: I celebrate Christmas, so my default for the holiday season is Christmas. This doesn’t mean that stuff I say cannot be used for other holidays, it’s just a religious difference, use as need. But I’m kinda using my own experiences for this, so I’m going to resort to my default of Christmas. Also, I’m mainly addressing parents in this post, but I’m certain that some of these pointers can be used for Autistics of all ages. But yes, the winter holiday season is approaching, and it’s a very busy, hectic and overwhelming time of year, full of all the things…
Lydia Wayman autisticspeaks.wordpress.com There is so much misinformation and so many misperceptions out there about people with disabilities, and that includes autism. I’ve read some things lately, comments by teachers or people who will teach, that have sent me reeling. In typical Lydia fashion, I will write a Ten Things in an attempt to dispel these myths about people like me. 1. People with disabilities are not always happy, joyful, eternally childlike, or “perfect angels.” People with disabilities are humans. This means that we experience the full range of human emotion, including the uncomfortable ones, such as anger and sadness. Some of us are generally happy, just like some people without disabilities are generally happy, but others of us are confused, angry, hateful, manipulative, and so on. Autistic children display inappropriate and unwanted behavior just like typical children do. 2. Always assume we understand everything you’re saying when we’re in…