Happy Autistic Pride Day!

Happy Autistic Pride Day to my fellow Autistics!  :)  Today is a day to celebrate our accomplishments no matter how small and to celebrate our differences.  Be Autistic and Proud!   :)

Happy Father's Day to Autistic Fathers!

 

Happy Father's Day to all fathers, especially Autistic ones!  They may be unconventional, but should also be appreciated!

Originally published on Autism Acceptance Digest Google+ on June 15, 2014

Noted Sci-Fi writer speaks out for the Autistic Community!

In response to the mass-shooting in Santa Barbara, California and then the media's usual publication of misleading and abusive untruths about the Autistic Community, the noted Sci-Fi author David Gerrold posted the following piece on his Facebook page in support of Autistics.  I applaud Mr. Gerrold's statement and support.  Thank you David Gerrold for expressing what you truly believe, yours is the sort of support and positive attention we need.  From all of us to you, thank you!!  As you know, Autistics are not predisposed to violence against others, in fact we are more than likely to be the victims of violence and self-harm than anything else. 

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May 26, 2014, by David Gerrold, Facebook

I am not an expert on Asperger's Syndrome. I am not qualified to make any assertions about it. I do know some people who identify as Aspies and I am aware of the way they sometimes communicate from a different mind-set than mine. That's it.

However, I am appalled that there are so many self-appointed experts talking about Asperger's with so little knowledge. The real experts are the Aspies (their term, not mine) and their families -- the ones who deal with it on a day-to-day basis.

But my point is that whether or not the Isla Vista shooter had Asperger's, the rest of us should not use our ignorance as a jumping off point for assertions about Autism or Asperger's or the mental health of someone we'd never heard about three days ago.

Generalizations encourage ignorance and prejudice. Generalizations about Asperger's, coming from people who do not know what they're talking about, hurts those who live with it every day because it adds to the burden of misinformation and misunderstanding.

That's the long version.

Here's the short version: Please do your fucking research before typing anything.

 

Happy Mother's Day to Autistic Mothers!

Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers today, especially to Autistic mothers.  Autistic mothers are mothers who are Autistic, am not referring to Neurotypical mothers of Autistic children.  Contrary to lies that a certain “charity” spread about us, we Autistics can and do fall in love and have children.  We Autistics see the world differently and may parent our children differently than other mothers, mainly our NT counterparts, but that does not mean that what we are doing is wrong.  We too deserve respect and to be celebrated.  Happy Mother’s Day to our Autistic mothers!! 

Autism Acceptance Attacked, but NOT Defeated!

As you know in November of 2011 my board voted unanimously to call April in Northern Virginia Autism Acceptance Month at my suggestion, awareness is not enough. 

For our first celebration in April 2012 I made a sign for my front yard that stated “April is Autism Acceptance Month”, I decorated it with flowers, waterproofed it, taped it to an old yard sign and placed it in a flowerbed facing the street, every year since then it has spent the whole of April cheerily sharing my message with passersby that was until last evening. 

I was headed out to church when I noticed it lying on the front walk sans yard sign, I assumed that it had somehow come unstuck, the best case scenario I could dream up knowing full well I had made sure to tape it securely with duct tape to the yard sign.  After closer investigation I discovered that it had been cut off the yard sign and then tossed onto our front walk.  The covering had been slashed.  Fortunately the sign within had not been damaged.  I was angered and close to having a meltdown.  I quickly gathered it up and ran back into my house, I was fuming.  I showed it to my mother who was surprised that the sign had been attacked, but fortunately my mother knew the right thing to say to keep me from fully melting down, so off to church I went.

While I was at church she had been looking at the sign and noticed that the lettering had started to fade due to two Aprils worth of sunlight, she therefore suggested that I should touch up the letters and make it better than it was.  I in turn told her that I had concluded during church that the individual who had committed the act did not know what Acceptance was and that I would put my sign up again, showing the world that Acceptance cannot be so easily defeated.  It is now freshly re-erected.

I am Autistic and Proud and no one can take that away from me!

No Time Like the Present

“(Right now) Hey! It's your tomorrow. (Right now) Come on, it's everything. (Right now) Catch that magic moment. And do it right here and now. It means everything.” - Right Now by Van Halen – song excerpt

I have started this post with an excerpt from Van Halen’s song titled Right Now due to the fact that it is up to us to change this world for the better and make a world of Acceptance instead of one of fear and hate. 

Once again it is the start of Autism Acceptance Month here in Northern Virginia, our 3rd celebration thanks to my urging in 2011, this time right on the heels of the CDC’s latest statistical release which will of course add tinder to the fire for the supposed “Autism crisis”, we are now 1 in 68.  The masses have already begun to sound the outcry.  There is no crisis, there never was, people are confusing access with crisis, we have always been here, it is just that people are having more access to information sharing and access to diagnosticians, etc.  The internet has played a big part in this exchange for example.  There is no reason for hysteria that leads to the proverbial men wielding torches trying to run all us out of town, very much like what was depicted in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. 

We are not monsters to be feared or to be used for exploitation so that a major Autism “charity” can make more money for their inflated salaries, etc.  We are individuals who are all unique and deserve respect and love. 

The propaganda machine at Autism Speaks churns out misinformation and lies like butter and the unsuspecting masses “eat it up with a spoon” never realizing that they are buying into hate and ignorance instead of working toward Acceptance and understanding.  On April 2^nd they held their annual Light It Up Blue campaign, just one such rallying scheme that Aut$peaks has dreamed up.  They coaxed people all over the world to take part in the “exciting” blue puzzle wave, from Antarctica to Sydney to New York to you name it people turned on blue lights.  The masses joined in without realizing that they too were a part of the problem and aided in spreading hate. 

Autism Speaks is a scary Autism “charity” in that they make you think they are doing something helpful, but in reality only 3% of money raised actually goes to services for us, there are no Autistics on their board, their executives have 6-figure salaries, etc., etc.  They exploit Autistics to fill their coffers from pity fund-raising to you name it and have even been known to steal and use Autistics’ words for their own nefarious purposes.  I will not go on about them, you can find many sites on the web that decry them, have a look and you too will understand why I will never jump on the Light It Up Blue bandwagon. 

Hate and fear do not move things forward they keep things where there are, stagnant, building a wall around positive thought, barring the world from the light of reason and inspiration, in many cases it turns the cycle in reverse.

What is needed is real Acceptance for Autistics, in our families, in our communities, in our schools, and in our workplaces, etc.  From understanding us on our terms, as in actually taking the time to listen to us, even if we are nonverbal, the true seeds of Acceptance will be sown and encouraged to grow, fostering new generations to recognize and Accept the many talents and differences of those who make up humanity. 

We need to work toward Acceptance for all Autistics, ourselves, our children, our family members, our friends, colleagues, etc.  Acceptance starts with you, it is up to you to move away from “cures”, “fixes”, “trying to be normal”, etc., encouraging others to do so as well and move toward a world where differences are just another part of what makes us human.  Autism is a Spectrum; learn to embrace its many hues of brilliant color. 

Even Bob Marley has something that will inspire you to action with an excerpt from his song titled Get Up, Stand Up: “Hey, get up, stand up, stand up for your rights. Get up, stand up, don't give up the fight. Get up, stand up, stand up for your rights. Get up, stand up, don't give up the fight”.  It is when we quit trying, fighting, and standing up for what we truly believe in: our Autistic Rights, the rights of your Autistic children, etc., that we become complacent and lose a bit of ourselves more and more each day. 

We are fighting for such things as the right to not be bullied (not at school, online, at work, at the store or anywhere for that matter) for just being and acting as our Autistic selves – stimming, rocking, etc.; the right to get accommodations that help us; the right to have a voice in the conversation about us and not to be excluded from it; etc., etc.  If you want to make the right world filled with Autism Acceptance you have to work and fight for it.  Talk to everyone you know, even people who do not agree with you, explain your case for Acceptance, you will run into naysayers and it may dishearten you, but do not give up, keep trying, in time those naysayers will understand your message and join the cause.  Acceptance benefits all, not just we Autistics.  We can make a better world for all Autistics.  This is something worth fighting for and to claim for future generations, what we do now will effect the world they will live in and do we not want to give them something better than what we have, my answer and yours should as well be a resounding YES! 

Please remember that Autism Acceptance is so much more than you accepting your Autistic diagnosis or your child’s, it is about society as a whole accepting Autistics for who we are, verbal or nonverbal, stims and all.

So go forth during this Autism Acceptance Month and every month hereafter spreading the word about Acceptance, do your part!  To echo Bob Marley and Van Halen respectively, “Hey, get up, stand up, stand up for your rights. Get up, stand up, don't give up the fight” and “Catch that magic moment and do it right here and now. It means everything.”  Every movement starts with a spark, now is your chance to be that spark! 

There is no time like the present to make a better world! 

As ever, I hope that you and your families have a good Autism Acceptance Month!  :)

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!  :)