Discrimination against Autistic persons - UN Human Rights

Discrimination against Autistic persons Wednesday, 1 April 2015, 3:28 pm Press Release: United Nations Human Rights Commissioner

Discrimination against Autistic persons, the rule rather than the exception – UN rights experts

GENEVA (30 March 2015) – Two United Nations human rights experts today called for an end to discrimination against Autistic persons and a celebration of diversity. Speaking ahead of World Autism Awareness Day, the Special Rapporteurs on the rights of persons with disabilities, Catalina Devandas Aguilar, and on the right to health, Dainius Pūras, noted that about one per cent of the world’s population -some 70 million people- is estimated to be on the Autism Spectrum worldwide.

“As part of human diversity, Autistic persons should be embraced, celebrated and respected. However, discrimination against Autistic children and adults is more the rule rather than the exception.

In many countries, Autistic persons lack access to services which would support, on an equal basis with others, their right to health, education, employment, and living in the community. When available, services are too often far from human rights friendly or evidence-based.

Autistic persons are particularly exposed to professional approaches and medical practices which are unacceptable from a human rights point of view. Such practices – justified many times as treatment or protection measures – violate their basic rights, undermine their dignity, and go against scientific evidence.

Autistic children and adults face the proliferation of medicalized approaches relying on the over-prescription of psychotropic medications, their placement in psychiatric hospitals and long-term care institutions, the use of physical or chemical restraint, electro-impulsive therapy, etc. This may be particularly harmful and lead to the deterioration of their condition. All too often, such practices amount to ill-treatment or torture.

The Autism Spectrum should be understood from a broader perspective, including in research. We call for caution about enthusiastic attempts to find the causes of Autism and ways to ‘cure’ Autism through sophisticated but not necessarily ethical research. Autism as a condition is a critical challenge for modern health systems, in which we need to ensure that the practice and science of medicine is never again used to cause the suffering of people.

More investment is needed in services and research into removing societal barriers and misconceptions about Autism. Autistics persons should be recognized as the main experts on Autism and on their own needs, and funding should be allocated to peer-support projects run by and for Autistic persons.

It is about providing individuals and families with the necessary skills and support to have choice and control over their lives. It is also about equal opportunities, access to inclusive education and mainstream employment to achieve equality and rights enjoyment by Autistic persons. It is about promoting their independence and respecting their dignity.

Autistic persons should be respected, accepted and valued in our societies, and this can only be achieved by respecting, protecting and fulfilling their basic rights and freedoms.”

Urgent Appeal for Action to Save an Autistic Adult!

 

JUSTICE FOR NELI!!

 

 

Neli Latson an Autistic adult who has been wasting away in jail for the past 4 years, he is in Solitary Confinement, all because he was waiting outside a library until it opened a few short years ago and was approached by police and then attacked one due to his Autism, he was scared and the flight or fight instinct kicks in, we should not be punished for being Autistic.  Being Autistic is NOT a crime!  Police are not as versed in how to interact with us as much as you might think.  This is an example of justice that needs to be served.  Please appeal to the Governor of Virginia, Terry McAuliffe to release one of my community.  Being Autistic is not a crime and should not be treated as such.  He is scared and confused and does not deserve such treatment.  Let’s flood the governor’s office with appeals for justice for Neli he is languishing in prison.  #FreeNeli!  #JusticeforNeli!  Please help to stop this cruelty!   

Please telephone Governor Terry McAuliffe’s office at: (804) 786-2211  Or write to his postal address: 1111 East Broad Street, Richmond, VA 23219  Or email him using the following form: https://governor.virginia.gov/constituent-services/Communicating-with-the-governors-office

 

JUSTICE FOR NELI!!

 

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Ruth Marcus: In Virginia, a cruel and unusual punishment for Autism

November 14, 2014, by Ruth Marcus, Washington Post – Opinions  

 

Reginald Latson’s path to solitary confinement began four years ago as he waited for the public library to open in Stafford County, Va.  

Latson, known as Neli, has an IQ of 69 and is Autistic. Teachers and therapists describe him as generally sweet and eager to please.  

He is also a black man, now 22, who on the day in question was wearing a hoodie — which prompted a concerned citizen to call police about a suspicious person loitering outside the library. 

The ensuing encounter should have been nothing more than a harassing annoyance. Instead, not surprising given the rigid thinking and “fight or flight” instincts characteristic of those with Autism, it escalated after Latson refused to provide his name and was restrained by the police officer when he tried to leave.  

The altercation that followed left the officer seriously injured and propelled Latson into an inescapable cycle of misbehavior followed by ever more punishment. Latson has engaged in acts that can be characterized as criminal, yet he is less a criminal than a victim of his disability.  

Meanwhile, he is being punished in the most severe manner the criminal justice system can concoct. He has spent most of the last year in solitary confinement and has lost almost 50 pounds from an already trim frame. 

“In effect Neli spends 24 hours a day locked in a segregation cell with minimal human contact for the ‘crime’ of being Autistic,” his lawyers wrote to Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D). “Absent intervention, there is every reason to think he will remain there until the opportunity for effective treatment has been lost.” 

Solitary confinement can be torture, with serious psychological consequences. For those already suffering from disabilities, the impact can be far more devastating. So it has been for Latson — an especially tragic outcome, given that state mental health officials had arranged, and secured federal funding, for him to be transferred to a locked treatment facility in Florida.  

Because of Latson’s intellectual and emotional disabilities, he cannot safely go into the general jail population. But he also does not have the coping skills to deal with solitary confinement. 

Held in solitary after his initial arrest, Latson responded by urinating on the floor and then licking it up. Moved last spring, after threatening suicide, from regular solitary to a “crisis cell” consisting of an empty concrete room with no bed and a hole in the floor for a toilet, he was Tasered after hitting a guard, leading to another assault charge.  

Maureen Del Duca, a lawyer with two adult sons who are severely Autistic, described Latson’s situation as a “never-ending downward spiral of completely avoidable charges of criminal assault.” When one of her sons lived at the Florida facility that agreed to take Latson, the young man’s violent actions — biting or attacking staff members — were a routine behavior to be handled, not a criminal infraction, she noted.

 

He “could easily be in Reginald’s position . . . tragically entangled in a criminal justice system that is not yet able to deal appropriately” with him, Del Duca wrote to the judge hearing Latson’s case.  

 

The differences between the two men are as obvious as they are jarring: race, for one; resources, for another. 

 

Latson’s case is an individual tragedy that cries out for remedy — Gov. McAuliffe, are you listening? It is also sadly representative of a criminal justice system poorly equipped to deal with issues of mental illness and developmental disability. 

It is maddening for Latson to be trapped in solitary confinement when a safe, therapeutic alternative is available; indeed, that neglect may violate Virginia’s commitments in settling a Justice Department civil rights lawsuit on behalf of those with developmental disabilities. McAuliffe should employ his authority to ensure Latson’s transfer to the Florida facility, where the public would be safe and he would receive treatment, not futile punishment. 

 

“It verges on bizarre to instead lock Neli in an isolation cell at substantial taxpayer expense with the medical certainty that he will eventually emerge worse instead of better,” his lawyers told McAuliffe. 

Latson’s is a sad case. Unfortunately, it is not an isolated one. The criminal justice system must rethink how it deals with the mentally ill and developmentally disabled. And it must do more than rethink — it must halt — the use of solitary confinement in all but the most extreme circumstances.

 

#FREENELI!!

 

Rally for Ratification of the CRPD!

On Tuesday July 29th there will be a rally in support for ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, CRPD (A.K.A. the “Disability Treaty”) in Washington, D.C.

People will gather at 12:15 pm on Tuesday, July 29th on 3rd Street NW between Pennsylvania Avenue NW and Maryland Avenue SW. 

Also, do not forget to telephone your Senators to urge them to ratify the CRPD if you have not already.  (202) 224-3121

To learn more about the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities please click on the following link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CRPD

Smile BIG

They say it takes more muscles to frown than it does to smile.  This simple idea can be related to the following concept. 

It takes more of your energy to hate and work toward “combatting” something that is a central part of what makes me, me, than is does to accept me as I am.  Helping people is easier than working to get rid of us.  What we Autistics really need is access to services and supports not more work done to try and eradicate us or make us just like you, under the guise of “research”.  We are part of the human fabric and always have been, therefore always will be.  Why fear and hate us when all you need to do is help and encourage us to be the best we can be, we should be given the supports to do so.  We have just as much right as anyone else to be the best we can be.  Too much focus has been on Autistic children, “the epidemic”, and “the upcoming onslaught of Autistic adults”…ummm what about we Autistics adults who are already here and struggling, we deserve to have better lives too.  I am an out Autistic adult, well beyond 22 years of age, past “the transition age” as the would-be allies keep trying to address, but what about those of us after 22?  Do Autistic adults just vanish after they turn 22 years of age because we are no longer in schools and therefore not in the statistics?  Of course we do not disappear, we are still here, we are just as human as you are, we live on and struggle more so than you ever will due to a lack of access to much needed supports, services, etc.  Supports and services for all Autistics are essential for us to be contributing members of society and to be fully integrated.  All Autistics verbal or nonverbal deserve a chance to thrive. 

Why spend more time frowning, in the case of the Combatting Autism Act fighting us and our Autism, instead use your energy and resources to embrace our differences and work with us on our terms to help us to reach our full potentials.  Revise the CAA to incorporate the voices and needs of Autistic people, the very people it should be helping, otherwise get rid of it.

Do something positive and smile, help us.  The bigger the smile the more happy people it will reach and isn't that what helping others does, for you and for me!  :) 

Promising time for the ABLE Act!

This just might be THE year for the ABLE (Achieving a Better Life Experience) Act!   If you have followed this blog for some time you have read my pleas for you to contact your Senators and Congressmen about it, I have even handed out fliers about it at demonstrations I organize each year.  I thank you for your continued support, this is an important piece of legislation for all disabled people!

Congress Eyeing Tax-Free Disability Savings Accounts

February 21, 2014, By Michelle Diament, Disability Scoop

 

With significant public backing and support in Congress, advocates say federal lawmakers are poised to consider a major change to the money-saving abilities of those with disabilities.

Just one hurdle remains before Congress is expected to take up the Achieving a Better Life Experience, or ABLE, Act.

The bill — which has lingered since at least 2009 — would establish special accounts to allow people with disabilities to save up to $100,000 without risking their eligibility for benefits like Social Security. What’s more, under the plan, individuals could retain Medicaid no matter how much is deposited.

But before Congress can move forward, lawmakers are waiting for the Congressional Budget Office to weigh in with an estimate of what the bill would cost the government if it’s implemented. Once that figure is released — which could happen any day now — Congress is expected to act swiftly with advocates hoping for a floor vote in early spring.

“The ABLE Act is a must-pass piece of legislation for this Congress,” said U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., who is a member of the House leadership and a co-sponsor of the bill, in a statement to Disability Scoop.

Modeled after the popular 529 college savings plans, the ABLE Act would allow individuals with disabilities to open a special account at any financial institution to pay for education, health care, transportation, housing and other expenses. Interest earned on savings within the accounts would be tax-free.

The bill is backed by nearly every national disability advocacy group and has 63 co-sponsors in the U.S. Senate and 332 in the U.S. House of Representatives representing both political parties. An online petition (http://www.change.org/petitions/u-s-house-of-representatives-pass-the-able-act) favoring the act has generated more than 230,000 signatures.

“The fact that only six bills in all of Congress have this many co-sponsors is a sign of the overwhelming support for this effort to make a major difference in the lives of these families,” the measure’s chief sponsor, Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., said in December.

Advocates say it’s about more than just money for those with disabilities and their families. At present, individuals often cannot have more than $2,000 at any given time without forfeiting government benefits. As a result, many people with disabilities decline to seek out paid employment simply because they don’t want to risk losing access to Medicaid and other programs.

“It’s really about self-determination,” said Sara Weir, vice president of the National Down Syndrome Society.

If the ABLE Act passes, Weir said, “individuals can go out and get a job and pay for their own expenses and not be so dependent on the federal government for everything.”

 

Final thoughts for 2013.

On this the last day of 2013 thoughts usually turn to tasks not accomplished and new memories made.  Instead of bringing those to mind I wish to instead bring to your thoughts and therefore minds to the fact that more Autistics, children and adults, were murdered at the hands of their caregivers and parents this year.  A number of Autistic bloggers and allies have listed them already, I have mentioned a few over the course of the year, I shan’t do that now, if you wish to learn the victims’ names and personally memorialize them in your own way, you need only do a web search and they will appear.  I hope that by bringing this topic to the foreground that you will make a pledge to work even harder in 2014 toward the goal of Autism Acceptance so that atrocities such as these and numerous others perpetrated on the Autistic Community do not continue in the next year, that 2013 is the last year that innocent Autistics will die at the hands of those who were meant to protect them. 

 

 

My hope is that those of you who are still searching for how to “fix” or “cure” your Autistic selves or your Autistic loved ones will turn away from finding “fixes” and “cures” for Autistic differences and instead embrace them as a natural part of the human fabric, in time we as a society and as a world will truly welcome Autistics.  We do not need to search from without for change, what is needed is a search within ourselves, this will lead to a place of Acceptance that we can share with those around us, no Autistic will then be set apart living out their lives in institutions, afraid to be their true Autistic selves for fear of reprisals, etc., etc.  To make a future world where the rocking or hand-flapping of an Autistic adult won’t seem out of place or odd, but rather common place, where Autistic adults will not be seen as crazy or as a nuisance but as a contributing part of society, whether we be verbal or nonverbal, but to instead be given a chance to express ourselves in any way that works for us and not be made to conform to any outward standard.  We are not burdens, we are not “broken” or “damaged”, for good or ill we are just what we are meant to be and our community is growing bigger every day and that is exciting!  To know that I am not alone, but instead part of a greater community is a terrific feeling!

 

 

We as a society need to work together in order for there to be Acceptance of Autistics of all ages, not just one group or one person can make this come about; instead we must work together toward this common goal.  This is an important and great goal. 

Make 2014 the year that you in your own part of the world, your country, your neighborhood, or even within your family or group of friends make the Acceptance of Autistics a top priority and a pledge to not support groups, people, etc. who do not support Autistics.  The phrase “If you have met one Autistic, you have met one Autistic” comes to mind, we are all unique and all have something to offer to the world from a brilliant discovery to a smile, we just need to be given the chance to do it.
 

Make 2014 the year for Acceptance!

Best wishes for a Happy and Healthy 2014 

from the Autism Acceptance Digest.

 

Autistic March on Washington

 

We came, we saw, we marched!  Yes ladies and gentleman a small and very passionate group of Autistic adults attended the first event of the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington, on Saturday August 24th, to highlight the needs of the Autistic Community.

The week-long anniversary celebrations kicked off on Saturday and featured speakers of the likes of Al Sharpton and Martin Luther King, III.  The anniversary festivities began at 8:00am with a rally at the Lincoln Memorial which included a speaker from Planned Parenthood, various reverends from across the country, and other individuals highlighting Civil Rights issues, all of whom electrified the assembled masses along both sides of the Reflecting Pool.  Following the rally there was a march to the newly erected Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial.

As you know, I organize a group for my fellow Autistic adults in the Washington, D.C. area it is called the Adult Autism Spectrum Friends; some of our membership attended this momentous event.  We braved the over-crowded subways, co-mingled with the smells of perfume, cologne, and humanity, and the many road-closures, to be a part of history and I even suffered a touch of heat stroke, but our Autistic voices were heard!

The Washington Metro Transit Agency counted just over 450,000 subway rides during the kickoff festivities on Saturday and that number does not even include the hundreds of buses that brought some attendees to the march, this will give you an indication what we braved for the Autistic Community, the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington was HUGE!

On the main website for the anniversary march Disability Rights, more specifically Autistic Rights, was not among the reasons listed for why people should march.  I thought that this was an important Civil Rights issue that needed to be addressed, it should never have been left out in the first place!, so we marched.  With 2-sided poster board signs held high above our heads and wearing badges that stated that we were Autistic we entered the fray.  Each side of our signs bore a crucial message: one side stated Autistic Rights ARE Human rights, the other Autistics Deserve Equal Rights.  We pressed through the masses.  Onlookers chanted the slogans audibly as we passed.   It was very exciting!

At no time did anyone say anything derisive to us, instead it was always, “my son is Autistic”, “my granddaughter is Autistic”, etc.  People shouted things like “YES!  You are right!” and “That is so true!” when they read our signs.

A goodly number of March on Washington attendees photographed our signs, some of whom requested that we pose for photographs while holding our signs, even the mother of an Autistic child had her son pose with us, although I am not sure he wished to be photographed with strangers just because they too were Autistic.

Anytime we felt that the word “disabled” or the word “Autistics” deserved to be part of a speaker’s oratory, we passionately shouted its addition.  When it came time for one of the speakers to talk about getting rid of minimum wages and instead replacing them with living wages, I shouted that we first need to end the practice of subminimum wages, my fellow Autistics agreed whole-heartedly.

Many disabled people have been taken advantage of all due to Section 14(C) of the Fair Standards of Labor Act of 1938 which legally allows employers the right to pay their disabled workers less than minimum wage, in 1938 it was believed to help the disabled, but it certainly does not now, the standard of living does not allow for people to survive on a pittance.  H.R. 831: Fair Wages for Workers with Disabilities Act of 2013 was introduced this year and calls for the “phase out [of] special wage certificates under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938”, it is those special wage certificates that allow for the disabled to legally be paid subminimum wages by their employers.

In addition to be being photographed at the march, a couple of us were even photographed away from it, just because we were carrying our signs and being our normal Autistic-selves.  What with all of this minor celebrity we started to feel a bit like a cardboard cutout of the president that tourists wanted to have their photos taken with.  After every photograph was taken people felt the need to touch us, in that stroking “you are so brave”, “you poor dear” sort of way or attempted to hug us, none of us could figure out why they felt the need to do so, but if we were to dwell too much on this it would surely diminish the success we shared.

All in all our Autistic March on Washington was a rousing success; more people have our needs in mind!  And this further proves that it is not the size of the group assembled that determines the success of the action, but the weight and strength of the message they wish to share.

I close by saying, always remember that Autistic Rights ARE Human Rights and that Autistics Deserve Equal Rights!  Also, I urge you to ask your congressmen to push for the deletion of Section 14(C) of the Fair Standards of Labor Act of 1938 by asking them to support H.R. 831: Fair Wages for Workers with Disabilities Act of 2013; even the disabled deserve a Living Wage!  Like any other minority group, Autistics have Civil Rights that must be fought for and upheld.

 

Published September 1, 2013 on Google+

Autistic Rights are Civil Rights!

Today, Inauguration Day 2013 and also Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, civil rights were a big part of President Obama's Inauguration speech, let us all remember that Autistic Rights are civil rights and that we as citizens of this great nation deserve all that it has to offer as much as any other minority group. Let us all pledge to work toward the advancement of rights for Autistics, we can do this by talking to our Congressmen and Senators, talking to our friends and relations, etc., it all comes down to working together for this common goal of Acceptance, Autism Acceptance. Every movement starts with a catalyst, now is your chance to be a spark!

 

 

Published January 21, 2013 on Google+