Autonomy First! Accessing Good Supports Without Sacrificing Your Independence

Spectrum Disordered www.facebook.com/asdisordered We’ve all heard or experienced horror stories about accessing services and supports. Often the idea of receiving services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), including autism, conjures up images of institutions—visions of Willowbrook. Or, ideas of what is “optimal” for us look like segregated lives, or “intentional” communities where the true intent is to lump us together under the guise of “keeping us safe.” Regularly, the idea of seeking supports to live in one’s daily life carries an expectation that the cost will be any and all independence and autonomy in having positive control over that life. These fears are rooted in fact and truth, both of how things were and in some cases, continue to be. But that does not mean they are a universal truth! There are a lot of really great disability support providers out there! Unfortunately, there are also plenty of…

matlogo-1203654

Finding Resources with MyAutismTeam.com

I met with Eric Peacock, the GM of MyAutismTeam and Insider Pages. He believes strongly in community, and empowering patients, and proudly retweets many of the posts from TPGA. This is not a promotion, or an advertisement for MyAutismTeam, although Eric did buy me breakfast (thank you Eric). MyAutismTeam is a resource with headquarters based in San Francisco, near three of the TPGA editors, so being an active part of this new resource has been a natural extension of our general interest in community education. TPGA will not make any money from posting this information. It is our sincere desire to highlight companies, both non- and for-profit, which we feel can help our community, and welcome suggestions for other companies and agencies to showcase. If you choose to use MyAutismTeam, and we hope you do, please provide feedback on the site as you use it so it can become an even…