Can We Talk About the Term “Low Support Needs”?
I would like a term to describe myself, as just one person among many many autistics, but the problem is ableds hear, “low support needs” and think, “OK then it’s fine to round down to zero.”
Disability
Medicaid Is Life for My Autistic Son
Medicaid is life for my mostly non-speaking autistic adult son. Cutting it would remove the very services that make his beautiful, interdependent life possible.
Talking With Autistic Autism Researcher TC Waisman About Being BIPOC and Multiply Disabled
TC Waisman says, “When I show up in a room, I’m Black first. That’s what people see. They don’t see the invisible disabilities right away. This informs not only my worldview, but the kinds of things that I want to work on, and the ways I want to challenge the barriers I’m experiencing.”
All Autistic People Have Value, Something RFK Jr. and Profound Autism Parents Refuse to Understand
RFK Jr. has gone full “useless eaters” about autistic people. Seeing autistic people as burdens is straight up eugenics, and yet Profound Autism parents are delighted. Let’s discuss why “profound autism” harms rather than helps autistic people and their families.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Dangers of Misunderstanding Autism
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently announced that he would find the cause of autism in five months and “eliminate those exposures.” This kind of deeply disturbing statement can lead to real harm.
Why Don’t We Give All Autistic People the Rock Star Treatment?
Needing assistance with daily life is more tolerated in our society when that assistance is in aid of making money than it is when it’s required for being able to live safely with basic human dignity.
Autistics Struggle Enough Without Cruel Accusations of “Not Disabled”
The new cuts and push for disabled people to work terrifies me. Will we see an increase in suicide in the autistic community? Will autistic people be forced to mask and hide their disability so that they can keep their job?
Understanding What Disability Policy Means, Within Education
How can education and disability policy best serve disabled learners, and also support those learners and their families?
Remembering Steve Silberman: TPGA Editor Shannon Rosa on the Noncompliant Podcast
Steve Silberman pivoted the public conversation away from the objectification of autistics and towards centering autistic voices, plus he was just a mensch. Anne Borden King and Shannon Rosa discuss his neurodiversity legacy.
What Do “Good Enough” Motor Skills Look Like?
Two autistic people could have the exact same motor challenges and each make different decisions about what is “good enough” for them, based on who they are as people and what their individual life circumstances are at the moment.