Although research represents a huge component of the national conversation about autism, very little attention has been paid to the ethical issues posed by new developments in autism research and the ways in which this research is frequently conducted. ASAN has received a grant to conduct a new program
The five-year anniversary of the founding of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network is right around the corner, and we’re inviting our supporters to join us for a celebration and fundraising event at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, November 16, 2011
The Autism NOW National Resource and Information Center has created a survey to find out what people think about values and ethics as they relate to autism, developmental and intellectual disabilities. The survey is part of a process to create a Core Values Statement for the Autism NOW Center.
ASAN is currently gathering interest for a new chapter at Syracuse University, where a regional symposium on neurodiversity and autistic self-advocacy will take place August 5, 2011.
Self-advocate Lydia Brown reports on a proposal to improve safety for Autistic people by training law enforcement officers in Massachusetts about autism. She has provided a fact sheet and contact information for state legislators.
Public Comments Needed on Home and Community Based Services. Proposed rules will ensure that Medicaid community living funds go toward keeping people in the community and not in institutions. Your comments will help make this happen.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services are developing minimum standards for home and community based services settings. ASAN has prepared comments on the proposed rulemaking.
Congress Urged to Amend Autism Legislation: The Jewish Federations of North America, along with ASAN, seek amendments to the Combating Autism Act to ensure the involvement of self-advocates and to fund more research on services and the needs of adults. The JFNA Action Alert contains information on how to contact key Senators.
Register Now for Autism Conference: ASAN is organizing the self-advocacy strand for the 2011 Autism Summer Institute at the University of New Hampshire’s Institute on Disability.
Several large American corporations have communicated with ASAN expressing interest in hiring Autistic applicants through diversity programs, and we often learn of jobs in the government, non-profit, advocacy and public policy sectors for which we would like to recommend adults on the spectrum.
An essay by Stephanie Allen Crist. Today is Memorial Day in the United States. It’s a time to look back, and remember those who have sacrificed to make this country a place to be free. Instead, I look ahead and ask myself if it is freedom that I see. There’s something on the edge of thought—a feeling to be written of that isn’t quite ready to come out, not quite ready to be exposed. Frustration is there, and so is disappointment. All swirled together with a steady, flat kind of hope.
ASAN President Ari Ne’eman gave an interview discussing ASAN’s opposition to extending the flawed Combating Autism Act, which failed to address the urgent need for services across the lifespan and did not involve self-advocates in research and planning.
