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You Are Not Your Child

Sara Luterman www.NosMag.org Sara Luterman [image: Headshot of a smiling white person with short dark hair & glasses.] Recently, Amy Lutz, a parent advocate, wrote an opinion piece for Spectrum News titled, Adults with disabilities deserve the right to choose where to live. I wholehearted agree with that sentiment. Unfortunately, the article that follows argues nothing of the kind. It is, in fact, an argument to return people with developmental and intellectual disabilities to institutions. These new institutions have organic-biodynamic farms, swimming pools, and fluffy pillows. They are, however, still secluded and subject to all of the abuses of Willowbrook and Pennhurst. Amy Lutz and others who mask new institutions as a “choice” do not draw a healthy or appropriate distinction between themselves and their own children. When they say, “adults with disabilities deserve the right to choose,” they mean is that their opinions are their children’s opinions. They do not…

Building the Plane as We’re Flying It

TPGA is observing Autism Acceptance Month by featuring accounts from autistic people about the differences accommodations (or lack thereof) make in their lives. Today’s story is from Sara Luterman, about the “frequent adjustments” that are necessary for her to be properly accommodated at her workplace. Sara Luterman www.nosmag.org The statistics around autism and employment can be incredibly discouraging. Forty-two percent of autistic people in their twenties — people like me — are unemployed, even though only 26% of overall young disabled people are out of work. This might seem counter-intuitive. After all, if someone can do well in college or even graduate school, surely they should be able to do well once they join the workforce? Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way. Like many of my autistic peers, I have struggled to keep a job. I was fired from the first full-time job I ever had after just two weeks:…