How to Create Social Groups for Autistic Teens and Adults

March 7, 2020January 31, 2022 by Shannon Des Roches Rosa

Photo © Jonathan Nowak | Flickr / Creative Commons [image: Adults of varied races sitting and standing around a gaming table.] Jeff at Spectrum Disordered www.facebook.com/asdisordered I have a long history with successful autistic social groups. I started my first in 2006, and although I moved out of the area eight years ago, it remains thriving and still operates under the same general principles. I’ve started several groups in rural areas (where people tell me “there isn’t enough interested people to make this work”). Putting a social group or club together doesn’t have to be super complex, but I think people need to have a clear sense of what it is and what it is not. If you are looking at setting up your own, I would offer the following guidelines. The Social Group is the Speed Date Speed Dating is a type of get-together in which people interested in…

Disability

An (Autistic) Review of Vibes Hi-Fi Earplugs

July 6, 2018January 31, 2022 by Shannon Des Roches Rosa

Vibes Hi-Fi Earplugs. Photo from www.discovervibes.com [image: White earplugs resting in a black box with red sides.] Jeff at Spectrum Disordered www.facebook.com/asdisordered First off, I am quite sensory sensitive/defensive to noise. “Bad” sounds shut me down and hurt, even at low volumes, if it is the wrong type of noise. My existing coping mechanisms have been playing music through in-ear headphones, and foam earplugs. I haven’t tried many stand-alone active noise-canceling products, save for a few hi-fi music headphones with noise cancelling features. In reviewing the Vibes earplugs, I am primarily contrasting them with foam earplugs. Unboxing The Vibes come in an attractive small package, containing items similar to what you would expect from music earbuds: the earplugs themselves, additional small and large fit rubber earbud inserts, and matchbook-sized carrying case. For anyone who has carried foam earbuds in a pocket, the carrying case is a bonus. Though the case is…

Newborn baby on its belly, seen from above, lying on a fuzzy mat on an even bigger fuzzy bear cushion.

Autism

Parents: Let’s Talk About Grief and Disability

February 14, 2018September 11, 2024 by Spectrum Disordered

During my 15 of autism activism, I’ve seen tremendous positive change in what people—including parents—believe about autism, but this “grief” crap JUST WON’T DIE.

Disability

Autonomy First! Accessing Good Supports Without Sacrificing Your Independence

February 1, 2018January 31, 2022 by Shannon Des Roches Rosa

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…