Free Workshop in San Francisco: When Autistic Children Are Aggressive or Self-Injurious

December 24, 2015January 31, 2022 by Shannon Des Roches Rosa

San Francisco Bay Area Locals: Please come to a free workshop at Support for Families of Children With Disabilities, in San Francisco, on Saturday, January 9th. When Autistic Children Are Aggressive or Self-Injurious: Best Support Practices Photo © Akuiliu, on Flickr [Image: Upset-looking East Asian child] Why do some autistic children and teens become self-injurious or aggressive? How can parents and caregivers help the kids in their care get through meltdowns safely, protect the kids themselves as well as family members, and anticipate and avoid future incidents? Come hear from parents, professionals, and autistic people themselves about best practices for understanding and supporting autistic people during these kinds of crises. There will be a Q&A after the presentations. Speakers include: Dr. Clarissa Kripke from UCSF, talking about overlooked medical and health triggers, as well as meltdown support strategies. Brent White and Lindsey Anderson from Berkeley’s Ala Costa Adult Transition Program,…

Disability

Whither Autism Research? Observations From IMFAR 2015

June 4, 2015January 31, 2022 by Shannon Des Roches Rosa

Shannon Des Roches Rosa www.ThinkingAutismGuide.com twitter.com/shannonrosa TPGA has made a point of attending IMFAR, the annual International Meeting for Autism Research, since 2011. We believe it is important to go beyond learning about the current state of autism research by talking with and listening to researchers directly — and not just about current research, but about how research can better benefit autistic people, in addition to those who love, live, and work with autistic people of all ages and abilities. Here is what we learned and observed at IMFAR 2015, which took place last month in Salt Lake City, Utah. Note that the IMFAR conference itself — with scores of presentations and hundreds of posters — is overwhelming, and we only got to see part of what was actually presented and discussed in the full conference. We also live-tweeted several sessions from the conference, and compiled that coverage at Storify.…

Disability

An Open Letter to Radiolab: Stop Your Dangerous Autism Reporting

September 22, 2014January 31, 2022 by Shannon Des Roches Rosa

Dear Robert Krulwich, Jad Abumrad, and the Radiolab team: Your autism-focused episode Juicervose has destroyed my faith in Radiolab and the integrity of its reporting. Rubbernecking about autism and autistic people is usually the realm of inexperienced journalists, but you don’t have that excuse. In fact, you have a MacArthur “genius grant” recipient on your team specifically because of your focus on “bringing new ideas to people.” So why did you choose to amplify the same hurtful, tired autism stories the media always airs? And why didn’t you show more compassion for autistic people themselves? Sure, you talked to Temple Grandin. With respect to both her and your team, every person on the planet has heard what Temple Grandin has to say about autism. Her ideas are not new ideas. And yes, you talked to Owen Suskind. It was wonderful to hear his voice and his perspectives. I am sincerely…

Disability

Advocating for TPGA Principles at the UCSF Developmental Disabilities Conference

March 16, 2014January 31, 2022 by Shannon Des Roches Rosa

One week ago, TPGA editors Shannon Des Roches Rosa, Jennifer Byde Myers, Emily Willingham, and Carol Greenburg spoke as a group at the University of San Francisco’s Developmental Disabilities Conference. It was an honor and a privilege to talk with a group of (mostly) professionals about how we use the power of social media to support our principles and TPGA’s mission, including autism acceptance and civil rights for people with disabilities, evidence-based approaches to autism supports and research, and debunking autism myths and misinformation. TPGA editrixes, post-UCSF session Shannon, who opened the discussion, is TPGA’s senior editor, and the parent of an autistic child. Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism (TPGA) is a book, a blog, and a community. We aim to support autistic people and their families, counter negative media messages and autism stigma, and provide positive autism attitude role models. We created TPGA in 2010 to be the resource…

Disability

Autism Acceptance: Don’t Be on the Wrong Side of History

January 17, 2014January 31, 2022 by Shannon Des Roches Rosa

Shannon Des Roches Rosa www.squidalicious.com [image: White boy with short brown hair, seen from behind, walking on a stone path in a Japanese rock garden.] You don’t want to be on the wrong side of history, do you? That’s a particularly important question to ask yourself regarding autism acceptance. It’s important for you to accept, and then help other people understand, that autistic people like my son are your fellow human beings, with your same inalienable rights to live happy and pity-free lives. That whatever their needs and abilities, autistic people are not “less” than other people. You can start small with Autism Acceptance if you need to, start on the personal scale — taking the time to understand, for example, that my autistic son Leo doesn’t like restrictive shoes, and prefers Crocs — it’s a sensory thing. Why would I put him through the trauma of wearing other shoes?…

Disability

Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism: The Book

June 7, 2013January 31, 2022 by Jen Myers

We’re excited to let you know that Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism is coming to Kepler’s Bookstore in Menlo Park on Tuesday June 25th at 7:30 pm. Editors Shannon Des Roches Rosa, Jennifer Byde Myers, and Emily Willingham, along with contributors Laura Shumaker and Susan Walton will be on the panel. We’ll do a bit of reading, and have plenty of time for questions and answers. We’re hoping there will be other Bay Area contributors at the event as well. If there is anything you’d like us to share at the reading please leave a comment below and we will do our best to cover the subject. Thank you for your continued support of Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism. -The Editors Share this event on Facebook If you are interested in having someone from Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism speak at your event or local bookstore please contact us at…

Disability

“Is Your Son Really That Difficult?”

May 22, 2013January 31, 2022 by Shannon Des Roches Rosa

Shannon Des Roches Rosa www.squidalicious.com Photo © Merrick Brown at Flickr “Is Your Son Really That Difficult?” That’s what the well-meaning blinds salesperson who just left my house asked me, after I told her I was leery of installing vertical blinds in our family room — mostly because I was worried Leo would love them to pieces, quite literally. I launched into kind-but-firm on-the-spot advocacy and acceptance mode. I didn’t cry (something I might have done in the past) or get strident (something I am still working on). Instead, I smiled to show how much I love my son, and let her know that she was misunderstanding my concerns. I told her that I wouldn’t call my son difficult, but that his autism means he sometimes has difficulty reining in his impulses. So even if we asked him to please not wrap himself up in or set in motion a…

Disability

Alternative Autism Science: Don’t Believe the Hype!

May 10, 2013January 31, 2022 by Shannon Des Roches Rosa

Shannon Des Roches Rosa www.squidalicious.com My son has had a challenging few months. We have been scrambling, hard, to figure out the best ways to support him, help him feel comfortable and settled. Medical treatments have helped, as has a forensic approach to figuring out stressors in his environment, as has looking back through his daily record for patterns in sleep, illness, exercise, and routine. But when he’s still unhappy or dysregulated despite all our best efforts plus the efforts of his extended team of doctors, educators, and therapists, I feel like I’d do anything to help him. An autism parent at such a loss is in a potentially dangerous spot. Their autistic child more so. Because if mainstream medicine and legitimate therapies and approaches can’t provide answers, that’s when parents tend to look elsewhere. That’s when they risk exposing their child to therapies that can cause physical harm (e.g.,…

Disability

Autism: When the Right Message Goes Mainstream

April 23, 2013January 31, 2022 by Jen Myers

Jennifer Byde Myers jennyalice.com We want April — Autism Acceptance Month — to matter, to help further acceptance and understanding of autistic experiences, happiness, and rights for autistic people of all ages and abilities. We will be publishing Autism Acceptance posts and pictures all month long. -TPGA Editors When we first started Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism (TPGA), our goal was to put, all in one place, the best information from autistics, parents of autistic children, and the professionals who serve our communities. We always felt it was key to deliver this information with frankness and with honesty, especially regarding autistic struggles, and challenges with aspects of education and parenting. We did not want to seek pity, or place blame. Instead, we sought to highlight neurodiversity as part of the fabric of humanity, part of what it means to be human. We wanted to present a variety of perspectives about…

Disability

Book Review-And Straight On til Morning : Essays on Autism Acceptance

April 19, 2013January 31, 2022 by Jen Myers

And Straight On til Morning : Essays on Autism Acceptance edited by Julia Bascom Published by the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network We want April — Autism Acceptance Month — to matter, to help further acceptance and understanding of autistic experiences, happiness, and rights for autistic people of all ages and abilities. We will be publishing your Autism Acceptance posts and pictures all month long. If you want to participate, contact us at thinkingautism at gmail dot com. -TPGA Editors In keeping with Autism Acceptance month, there probably isn’t a more appropriate book to share than And Straight On til Morning : Essays on Autism Acceptance, which contains the work of wonderful Autistics and allies, including Zoe Gross, Shain Neumeier, Lydia Brown, as well as Kassiane Sibley, and Shannon Des Roches Rosa from TPGA. Julia Bascom edited the collection, and in its current format, an ebook, it is available quickly, and very…