0 - 2009 - Autistic Self Advocacy Network

Thoughts from the Food Pantry

By mid-October, I found myself going to the local food pantry. The last time I’d been there was between the endless succession of jobs won and lost, when I couldn’t pinch another penny and the food money ran low. This time I was there because I wanted to volunteer. I’d always meant to do so, because I don’t like taking handouts; but the food pantry is open during the day and I usually had classes then, so I was limited to the church library and the cat shelter.

December 16, 2009

Parents in the Autism World

An essay by Elesia Ashkenazy. A parent’s main concern is going to be to help their child by utilizing whatever means are available. Good Parenting 101 = Help Your Child No Matter What. Parents will naturally lean toward autism-focused groups and/or organizations offering help and support. Inspecting the inner-workings of such groups and organizations may be the last thing on a parent’s mind when they are knee-deep in making sense of the new course or path their life has taken.

December 16, 2009

We have decided to homeschool

An essay by Emily Willingham. Since TH was in kindergarten, he’s had a nemesis. Ironically, it was the very first person he met at his school, as we had just moved into the district. Idiots that we were, we thought she seemed pretty nice and encouraged TH to engage with her.

December 10, 2009

ASAN in Education Week article

ASAN President Ari Ne’eman was quoted in an Education Week article on the proposed federal legislation to protect students with disabilities from abusive use of restraint and…

December 9, 2009

Seclusion and Restraint Legislation Press Release

Proposed Legislation to Protect Students: The Justice for All Action Network (JFAAN), a coalition of disability-led organizations and allies, applauds proposed federal legislation to protect students with disabilities from mistreatment in schools.

December 9, 2009

Testimony on ADAAA Proposed Regulations

ASAN President Ari Ne’eman Addresses Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: The regulations proposed to implement the ADA Amendments Act, implemented with a view toward building a culture of civil rights that coincides with the growing recognition of the rights of individuals on the autism spectrum, can be improved to further assist adults and youth on the autism spectrum in the context of employment.

December 1, 2009

Reverse Van Winkle

An essay by Mark Stairwalt. For all that I’m still learning something new every week about what’s been happening with autism in society over the last decade or so, that fact itself provides me with a perspective that is likely unique from that of just about anyone else writing on the subject. Until a few months ago when I went out looking again, my picture of this world I’m writing about now was frozen in time, hardly updated at all since about 1999.

November 27, 2009

Bringing Neurodiversity into the Classroom

An essay by Stephanie Allen Crist. A little boy steps off the bus, confused by his unexpected surroundings. This year—the year he starts kindergarten—the bus stops at the backdoor of a new school, instead of the front entrance of his neighborhood school, after a much longer bus ride. Maybe he knows he’s being ushered into this new school through the backdoor, maybe he doesn’t. Maybe he even knows the classroom he enters is segregated from his peers.

November 17, 2009

Stirring Up Action: The Winds of Disability

An essay by Elesia Ashkenazy. Media plays a colossal role in shaping public perception. Unfortunately, disability in the media is often centered around fear and pity, or treated with benevolence and do-goodery. Well-intentioned or not, such messages are adverse, ruinous, and useless in raising and shaping effective and positive mass consciousness.

November 11, 2009

Comments at November 10, 2009 IACC Meeting

The use of the term, and concept of “severity,” is questionable for several reasons. First, “severity” is often contextual, over both time and other things like situation and location. What is being looked at when using the “severity” criterion is how “observable” the autistic characteristic is. Whether or not a characteristic is observable and to what degree does not necessarily correlate with other aspects of the person. Again, the focus needs to be on improving the quality of life and not on reducing autistic traits.

November 10, 2009

Autism Speaks Controversy in Time.com

ASAN’s ongoing protests against Autism Speaks and condemnation of the “I Am Autism” video were discussed in a Time.com article, which also mentioned the numerous parodies…

November 6, 2009

New York Times Article

A report on the proposed changes to the diagnostic criteria for autism and the deletion of the Asperger’s Syndrome diagnostic category included an interview with ASAN President…

November 3, 2009

2009