ASAN May Newsletter
Dear friend,
April showers bring May flowers, and we’ve seen lots of opportunities blooming this month! Grants, new roles, webinars, and more — there’s plenty of ways for us to take action for our community. Check about what we’ve been up to and how you can get involved.
Do you want to be part of the work ASAN does? Come work with us to help our community! ASAN is hiring three roles: a Plain Language Specialist, a Policy Analyst, and an Executive Assistant. The Plain Language Specialist will work on ASAN’s plain language and Easy Read writing. The Policy Analyst will work on ASAN’s policy work. The Executive Assistant will support our Executive Director, Deputy Director, and management team. You can read more about each role and how to apply here. If you would be excited to work somewhere run by and for autistic people, check out these jobs and apply!
Both parts of Congress, the House and the Senate, passed their budget resolutions. The House also passed their budget reconciliation bill. There are big cuts to Medicaid in the House budget reconciliation bill. Congress wants to make these cuts to Medicaid to pay for tax cuts for rich people. This is wrong! Now, the Senate is looking over the House’s budget reconciliation bill. The Senate will decide what to change in the House’s budget reconciliation bill. The Senate needs to make big changes to the House’s budget reconciliation bill to avoid big cuts to Medicaid. We need to tell Senators and Representatives right now: no cuts to Medicaid! Call and tell your members of Congress to vote “no” for the budget reconciliation bill. If there are cuts to Medicaid in the federal budget, governors would have to make choices about what Medicaid pays for in their state. Governors can tell Representatives and Senators: no cuts to Medicaid. It is important to tell your governor that you do not want cuts to Medicaid. To learn how to talk to your Representative, Senators, and Governor about Medicaid, read the section of this action alert called “What can we do now?”.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a hearing in Congress this month. During this hearing, he lied about vaccines again. He showed that he did not know how the Department of Health and Human Services works. This is a big problem because RFK Jr. is supposed to lead this department. RFK Jr. also talked about wanting people to get fake “cures” for autism. He said he planned on starting an autism registry again. He tried to say it was fine that he hired David Geier and lied about what Geier did. David Geier did unethical medical experiments on autistic children even though he is not a doctor. ASAN had a round table with some other autism organizations. The round table was set up to share what autistic people care about. We invited RFK Jr. to come, but he did not come. He did not listen and learn from us. We will not accept this behavior. You can share our statement about RFK Jr. not listening to the autistic community and our statement about RFK Jr.’s hearing.
It’s important to know what ethical research looks like and what rights we have. People are talking a lot about research lately, and it can be hard to understand it all. When it comes to research about the autistic community, not knowing can be scary! That’s why ASAN did a webinar this month called “What’s Normal?: How Research is Supposed to Work.” We talked about what good research looks like, how to tell, and how to protect our rights. You can watch the recording here.
The Olmstead decision says that disabled people have the right to live in the community, not just institutions. It is important for disabled people to live in the community! That means we need access to Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS). HCBS includes things like paid helpers, transportation, or job coaches. Part of making sure all disabled people can live in the community is making sure we know our rights. That’s why we’re holding “Olmstead & Home and Community Based Services” on Tuesday, June 24 at 4:00pm ET!
Earlier this month, we started accepting applications for the second year of our Teighlor McGee Mini Grant program! Applications will be open until July 31, 2025. Affiliates in Action and STEP have different qualifications. To learn more about these grant options and apply, please visit our website.This program has two different mini grants self-advocates can apply for: the Affiliates in Action Mini Grant and the Self-advocates Transforming Equitable Policy (STEP) Mini Grant. In case you missed it, we held a webinar going over the application and offering support to interested applicants. You can watch the walkthrough here — and if you have your own questions, sign up for office hours!
Do you have an advocacy topic you’re passionate about? Would you like to share this with the ASAN network and membership? This August, ASAN will be hosting multiple Back to School Learning Sessions to help raise general funds for our organization. These sessions will go beyond our usual breadth of topics to expand on advocacy subjects that prepare attendees to take action locally and/or nationally. Presentations can focus on equity, disability rights and justice, or other topics that fall under the advocacy umbrella. If you are interested in presenting, please email [email protected] with the subject “August Presentation Submission.” In your email, please include your name, topic of choice, a quick summary of your presentation, why you are the person to present on this topic, and what actionable steps you want the audience to take away from your presentation. Chosen presenters will receive a small stipend for themselves or an organization of their choice.
As a part of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network’s 2024 gala, we have the honor to share and uplift our remarkable awardees’ words and their service to the self-advocacy and disability community. This month we were excited to share remarks from Shannon Des Roches Rosa, recipient of the Ally to the Autistic Community 2024.
As we move through this month, we recognize and honor the holidays, celebrations, and important events that hold meaning for our community and beyond.
- Ascension Day
- Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh
- Beltane
- Lag B’Omer
- Memorial Day
- Pesach Sheni
- Ridván
- Vesak
We know there are more holidays that we didn’t know to list here. Whether this month brings moments of joy, reflection, remembrance, or connection for you, we wish you peace and fulfillment. We hope this month brings opportunities for growth, kindness, and support.
As we continue to push against the waves of harmful legislation and attacks on our community and others, it’s important that we continue to do it together. We’re grateful to fight back with you, and we will continue to offer more ways for all of our community to be part of the fight.
With warm wishes,
The Team at ASAN
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