Happy Autism Acceptance Month 2016 to one and all!

As you should already know, just a few short years ago I made a valuable contribution to Autistic History on the local level here in Virginia.  While I was on the board of the Autism Society of Northern Virginia I convinced a majority NT (neurotypical) board to shift April from being called Autism Awareness Month to being called Autism Acceptance Month.

Just after joining the board in 2011 I started talking to my fellow members about the importance of Autism Acceptance, many on the board were parents of Autistic children, both young and old.  I reminded them that what they wanted for their children was to be accepted not shunned, stims and all.  I added that society was already aware of Autism that what we now needed was to move toward Autism Acceptance.  I stressed that we as a board needed to help to forge a positive future for Autistics of all ages and to do so we must move away from awareness.  I kept talking about Autism Acceptance throughout that year and in November of 2011 my continued urging bore fruit, that majority NT board with its sole Autistic member (yours truly) voted unanimously to rename April in Northern Virginia - Autism Acceptance Month.  We celebrated our first Autism Acceptance Month in April of 2012. 

 

Autism Acceptance is not just something one does during the month of April it is instead something that one must do every day.  Autism Acceptance is an action, it takes effort and understanding, and it is achievable, not insurmountable. There are Autistics in your community whether you know it or not, they too need to be accepted as part of that community just like everyone else.  My hope is that one day an Autistic person stimming at a table in a coffee shop or covering their ears due to an uncomfortably loud unexpected sound will be common place and not seen as strange.  We are all one community and need to work together to make it a better one.  Autism Acceptance is an important part of that, not just for the Autistic children growing up today, but also for the Autistic adults who are already here both diagnosed and undiagnosed.  We need Acceptance.  Every Autistic contribution should be valued and none discounted, whether they be large are small all are important and valued.

 

What I have done other Autistics have yet to do; it is a great feat and needs to be remembered as part of our shared Autistic History.  I am very proud of my accomplishment and wish others to know it.

 

 

 

 

On our terms.

Able to talk face to face with scripts and certain topics anticipated.  Usual conversations make for happy companions that bloom and blossom like flowers reaching for the sun.  One on one I am content. 

Confusion arises when new topics are introduced; too many voices chiming in at once, outside noises also fighting to be heard.  No filter everything crashes in.  No time to consider words or thoughts, lost in the onslaught, meltdown cresting.  

Happier in silence only my fingers speaking on the keyboard, time is given to formulate thoughts and ideas appear on the screen before they are sent out into the world.  Happier on my own terms in an environment that I control.

Autistics speaking everyday online, in-person, on AAC, but always on our terms.   

ACCEPTANCE.

 

A Happy Autistic Pride Day to one and all!

Today marks the 10th anniversary of Autistic Pride Day, which was first celebrated by the British Autistic rights group Aspies for Freedom.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to the Autistic mothers and to the NT mothers of Autistics. We love you.

12 Myths about Autism

12 Myths about Autism

April 2014, by the Autistic Self Advocacy Network. 

1. Autism is contagious.

Nope! You can’t catch Autism. Autism is something some people are born with, like blue eyes or red hair or a brain that is very good at some things and has more trouble with others.

 

2. Autism is caused by vaccines.

Vaccines do not cause Autism. Please make sure your kids get their shots.

 

3. Autism is a disease.

Nope! Autism is a developmental disability some people are born with, like dyslexia or Down Syndrome. It is not a disease. It is a difference, and a disability.

 

4. Autism is a tragedy.

Nope! With the right support, Autistic people can go to school, communicate, work, live in the community, have friends, get married, start families, vote, pursue
their interests, and anything else they might want to do.

 

5. Autistic people are eternal children.

Nope! Autistic people grow up. An Autistic 20 year old is not a toddler in a 20 year old’s body–they are an Autistic 20 year old.

 

6. You can grow out of Autism.

Nope! Autism is a life-long developmental disability. Autistic children grow up into Autistic adults. The same percentage of adults and children are Autistic.

 

7. Autism means not being able to speak.

Communication disability is a part of diagnostic criteria for Autism, but most Autistic people do develop the ability to talk. About 15-20% of Autistic people do
not develop oral speech. They can use Augmentative and Alternative Communication to speak for themselves.

 

8. Autism means intellectual disability.

About 15-25% of Autistic people also have an intellectual disability. Most Autistic people are not intellectually disabled. Intellectual disability is not a part of Autism,
but some people have both.

 

9. Autistic people lack empathy.

Nope! Autistic people feel empathy for other people. Autistic people are people, not robots.

 

10. All Autistic people are savants.

About 10% of Autistic people have savant skills like perfect pitch, photographic memory, or calendar calculation. Most Autistic people are not savants.

 

11. Autistic people suffer from Autism.

Autistic people suffer from prejudice and discrimination. Autistic people suffer when they do not get the support and accommodation they need, when they receive substandard or segregated education or living environments, when they are kept out of the community or kept unemployed, when their civil and human rights are violated, or when their access to communication and the right to make decisions about their lives, bodies, and futures are denied. Autistic people do not suffer from Autism.

 

12. Only boys are Autistic.

An Autistic woman wrote this factsheet.

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.”

Happy Autism Acceptance Month and Autism Acceptance Day!

 It is time to celebrate our Autistic differences.

Never be ashamed of who you are!