Main Content

Author Archives: Ianthe Dempsey

Statement on the Murder of Nicholas Richett

| Ianthe Dempsey

On Friday, June 19th, the Autistic Self Advocacy Network issued a statement regarding the murder of Nicholas Richett. On Friday, June 12th, police in Melvindale, Michigan found the bodies of Nicholas Richett, a 20-year-old autistic man, and his father. Nicholas was murdered by his father. The Autistic Self Advocacy Network...

Read More »

ASAN, Disability Rights Organizations Call for Ban on Electric Skin Shock Devices

| Ianthe Dempsey

This press release is available as a Word document and in PDF format. Today, the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN), joined by over 60 disability advocacy organizations, called on the FDA to ban the use of contingent electric shock devices to modify the behavior of children and adults with...

Read More »

ASAN Letter to FDA Calling for Ban on Electric Skin Shock Devices

| Ianthe Dempsey

This letter is available as a Word document and in PDF format. June 4, 2015 Dr. Stephen Ostroff Commissioner U.S. Food and Drug Administration Re: Docket No. FDA-2014-N-0238 Dear Commissioner Ostroff, We are writing to urge the FDA to act on the recommendations of the Neurological Devices Panel of...

Read More »

ASAN Statement on Sentencing in Jude Mirra’s Murder

| Ianthe Dempsey

This statement is available as a Word document and in PDF format. Last week, eight-year-old Jude Mirra’s mother, Gigi Jordan, was sentenced to eighteen years in prison for killing her autistic son after a jury found her guilty of manslaughter last fall. Jude was murdered over five years ago...

Read More »

CPSD: Wisconsin Long-Term Care Letter

| Ianthe Dempsey

This letter is available as a PDF here. Senator Darling Joint Finance Committee Co-Chair State Capitol, Room 317 East Madison, WI 53707 Representative Nygren Joint Finance Committee Co-Chair State Capitol, Room 309 East Madison, WI 53708 Dear Sen. Darling, Rep. Nygren, and members of the Joint Finance Committee; On...

Read More »

ASAN Letter to House Appropriations on HHS & HCBS

| Ianthe Dempsey

To:      U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health & Human Services, Education and Related Agencies I am writing on behalf of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network to support continued appropriations to support Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) and community integration-related activities. ASAN is the leading...

Read More »

We Wrote It – Now It’s The Law!

| Ianthe Dempsey

This month, Maryland became the first state in the United States to enact the Autistic Self Advocacy Network’s model law banning disability-based discrimination in organ transplantation. Maryland will be the third state to have an organ transplant anti-discrimination law, joining New Jersey and California. This victory is the result...

Read More »

Statement on CDC Autism Monitoring Efforts

| Ianthe Dempsey

On April 22nd, 2015, the Autistic Self Advocacy Network issued the following statement regarding the CDC’s recent announcement as to the expansion of the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network (ADDM). The Autistic Self Advocacy Network is concerned that the recently announced expansion of data collection and surveillance by...

Read More »

Action Alert: Speak Out Against Guardianship Abuse

| Ianthe Dempsey

The template below is available to download as a Word document here. We would like for all of our chapters and chapter members to email this letter about guardianship for senior citizens to Senator Susan M. Collins and Senator Claire McCaskill. It is in response to a recent New...

Read More »

#NoModernAsylums: ASAN Statement Condemning NYTimes Op-Ed Supporting Institutionalization

| Ianthe Dempsey

The Autistic Self Advocacy Network is appalled by Christine Montross’s February 18th op-ed in the New York Times promoting a return to mental institutions. Montross’s op-ed is part of a dangerous agenda to send people with disabilities back to institutions. She cites cases of intense support needs and behavioral difficulties...

Read More »

More information