Welcome to the Autistic Community – by the Autistic Self Advocacy Network. Also available online at autismacceptance.com
Sincerely, Your Autistic Child: What People on the Autism Spectrum Wish Their Parents Knew About Growing Up, Acceptance, and Identity – by Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network
Uniquely Human: A Different Way of Seeing Autism – by Barry Prizant
The Real Experts: Readings for Parents of Autistic Children (anthology)
Loud Hands: Autistic People, Speaking (anthology)
All the Weight of our Dreams: on living racialized autism (anthology)
Spectrums: Autistic Transgender People in their Own Words (anthology)
Typed Words, Loud Voices: A Collection (anthology)
Why Johnny Doesn’t Flap: NT is OK! – by Clay and Gail Morton
Media for kids
Just Right for You – by Melanie Heyworth
All Cats Are On The Autism Spectrum – by Kathy Hoopmann
I Like Dinosaurs Too! – by Mandy Farmer
Tomas Loves…: A rhyming book about fun, friendship – and autism – by Jude Welton
Autistic Legends Alphabet Book – by Beck Feiner
Sesame Street – A television show with an autistic character, Julia.
Loop – A Pixar animated short film featuring a non-speaking autistic girl of color.
Documentaries & movies for parents
Intelligent Lives – A documentary that follows the lives of 3 young adults with intellectual disabilities. https://intelligentlives.org/
The Reason I Jump – A documentary following 5 autistic young adults.
LISTEN: A short film made by and with nonspeaking autistic people https://communicationfirst.org/listen/
In A Beat – A short film about an autistic teen of color. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBlge8kXdR0&vl=en
Federally-funded programs
Parent Training and Information Centers (PTIs) and Community Parent Resource Centers (CPRCs) can help you navigate the special education system. Find your PTI by going to https://www.parentcenterhub.org/find-your-center/
If your child is being discriminated against, your Protection & Advocacy Agency (P&A) might be able to help. P&As help people with disabilities fight for our rights, and make sure states follow disability laws. There is a P&A in every state. You can find the P&A in your state by going to https://www.ndrn.org/about/ndrn-member-agencies/
Every state also has a Developmental Disabilities Council (DD Council). These are groups that advocate for the rights of people with developmental disabilities. They believe that disabled people should be the main people to have a say in laws that affect their lives. It’s required that some members of the councils be people with disabilities themselves. DD Council meetings could be a good chance for your child to learn more about self-advocacy. They could meet potential mentors from the self-advocacy movement. Find your state DD Council by going to https://acl.gov/programs/aging-and-disability-networks/state-councils-developmental-disabilities
The National Resource Center for Supported Decision-Making has information about supported decision-making in each state. http://www.supporteddecisionmaking.org/
Parenting blogs/resources
Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism – Blogs written by a variety of autistic people and parents of autistic children.
www.Thinkingautismguide.com
We Are Like Your Child – Blogs written by autistic adults to show how we felt and acted as children, and show that your autistic child may act the same way and still become a happy and self-determined adult. https://wearelikeyourchild.blogspot.com/
Ollibean – A community of parents, families and disability advocates that puts out blogs and other information about autism acceptance. www.Ollibean.com
Autistikids – A collection of blogs and resources for parents of autistic children. www.Autistikids.com
Reframing Autism – An Australian autistic advocacy group. https://www.reframingautism.com.au/
Sesame Street and Autism – A resource that includes videos and articles for parents and kids, that are also available in Spanish. https://autism.sesamestreet.org/
Advocacy organizations
Little Lobbyists – Advocates for children with disabilities and complex medical needs. www.littlelobbyists.org
Autistic Self Advocacy Network – Advocates for autistic people to be included in all aspects of society, and have our voices heard in policy discussions. They also have Affiliate Groups throughout the U.S. and internationally for autistic people to join the self-advocacy movement. www.autisticadvocacy.org
The Arc – Advocates for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. They also provide services for people with disabilities. They have chapters across the United States for people to get involved in disability advocacy. www.thearc.org
Self Advocates Becoming Empowered (SABE) – The United State’s national self-advocacy organization. They have chapters, called People First groups, across the country.
https://www.sabeusa.org/
Communication
Communication First – A nonprofit whose mission is “to educate the public, advocate for policy reform, and engage the judicial system to advance the rights, autonomy, opportunity, and dignity of people with speech-related communication disabilities and conditions.” https://communicationfirst.org/
Everybody Communicates: A Toolkit for Accessing Communication Assessments, Funding, and Accommodations – https://odpc.ucsf.edu/communications-paper
Assistiveware’s Learn AAC Guide – https://www.assistiveware.com/learn-aac/learn-aac-guide
Penn State Literacy Instruction – A website that gives guidelines for teaching reading skills to learners who use AAC. https://aacliteracy.psu.edu/
Resources for disabilities that many autistic people have
National Center for Learning Disabilities – A nonprofit that “improves the lives of the 1 in 5 with learning and attention issues by empowering parents and young adults, transforming schools, and advocating for equal rights and opportunities.” https://www.ncld.org/
Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD) – A nonprofit whose mission is to improve the lives of people with ADHD. https://chadd.org/
National Down Syndrome Congress – A nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve the world for people with Down Syndrome. https://www.ndsccenter.org/
Resources on race and gender in the autistic community
Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network (AWN) -Works to provide community, support, and resources for Autistic women, girls, nonbinary people, and all others of marginalized genders. www.awnnetwork.org
Autism and Race – Curates a list of blogs and resources for autistic people of color and their families. Runs the Autistic People of Color Fund. https://autismandrace.com/