Accommodation, Fairness, and Uniformity
An essay by Joel Smith. I talk a lot about things like inclusion, equality, and access. Unfortunately some people think I’m talking about “uniformity”. I’m not!
January 15, 2008
Latest Posts
The Burden of Proof
An essay by Estée Klar. I am upset that ANY therapist has such control over us as parents — that they make us feel unsure about our parenting. It is particularly so right now in our autism community. Those seeds of doubt must exist in every parent. Be it from teachers and other people in positions of authority telling us parents what our kids should be doing and how they should be doing it — parents need to have greater confidence in the way they want to parent no matter what kind of child they have.
January 15, 2008
Successful Response to Ransom Notes
Both the Washington Post and the New York Daily News carried stories about the success of the disability community’s response to the “Ransom Notes” ad campaign, in which ASAN’s…
December 20, 2007
Victory! The End of the Ransom Notes Campaign
Ransom Notes Ads to be Removed: ASAN and the disability community’s united efforts succeed in getting the NYU Child Study Center to withdraw the “Ransom Notes” ad campaign.
December 19, 2007
Ransom Notes Controversy
ASAN’s response to the “Ransom Notes” campaign was reported in The New York Times and in The Wall Street Journal Online.
December 14, 2007
Comments at November 30, 2007 IACC Meeting
IACC Urged to Pursue New Direction: We live in a society where the lives and opinions of individuals with disabilities are viewed as less valuable and less deserving of basic human respect than those of other citizens. The IACC must break with that mindset and we encourage the Committee to pursue a new direction in autism research to maximize quality of life and opportunity for every person on the autism spectrum…
December 8, 2007
An Urgent Call to Action: Tell NYU Child Study Center to Abandon Stereotypes Against People With Disabilities
Urgent Action Required: The NYU Ransom Notes campaign defames people on the autism spectrum and others of neurological difference. Take action now!
December 8, 2007
Do we get medical care?
An essay by Joel Smith. One really serious prejudice disabled people face – especially people with neurological and mental disabilities – is getting appropriate medical care. There’s tons of problems in the current system, all of which could quite easily be changed…
October 25, 2007
ACTION ALERT: Autistic Six-Year-Old Charged with Assault
ACTION ALERT: Nathan Darnell, a six-year old autistic student at Taylor Elementary School in Bracken County, Kentucky, has been charged with fourth-degree assault for pushing a school aide. While we typically avoid getting involved in judicial proceedings, it is our feeling that the overreaction is so egregious as to require activism by the wider disability community.
September 24, 2007
Autism Conference Keynote
ASAN’s Scott Michael Robertson presented the opening keynote at the 10th Annual Penn State National Autism Conference on July 30, 2007. Click here to watch the video webcast.
July 30, 2007
Diversity at Work
Employers can realize a significant financial gain when they are willing to be flexible in managing a diverse population of workers. When an adjustment to the workplace environment makes an employee more productive, that equation includes not just the cost (if any) of the changes that are made, but also the value of the added productivity.
July 4, 2007
Normal Is Just A Setting On A Washing Machine
An essay by Kate Goldfield: At recess, I would sit outside on the cold, hard ground reading a book. When I did bravely venture out to the playground to go on my beloved swings, it was never with a friend. I felt like I existed in a different world from all the kids around me.
April 7, 2007