Self-Advocacy

Self-advocacy means taking control of our own lives. That can mean making choices about how we live our lives, like choosing what we do at home, at school, at work, or in our relationships. It can also mean working as a community to take control over how society views disabled people, how the media talks about us, and policies that affect our lives. ASAN works on both types of self-advocacy. We want to make sure that autistic people are included in all conversations about autism, whether those conversations are about our own lives or about autistic people as a whole in our society. 

Every disabled person is a self-advocate. There is no such thing as being “too disabled” to be a self-advocate. There are chances every day to self-advocate. Saying “No!” with your words or your actions is a kind of self-advocacy. We think everyone should get the tools they need to learn about all kinds of advocacy. Nobody should be denied the right to make their own choices.

Resources

• Empowering Leadership: A Systems Change Guide for Autistic College Students and Those with Other Disabilities
• Sharing Your Story for a Political Purpose
• Your Vote Counts: A Self-Advocate’s Guide to Voting in the U.S.
• They Work For Us: A Self-Advocate’s Guide to Getting Through to your Elected Officials
• Follow the Money: The U.S. Budget and You 
• Civic Engagement Toolbox for Self-Advocates
• Pacific Alliance on Disability Self-Advocacy (PADSA) Resources
• Self-Advocate Curriculum 
• VOTE. It’s Your Right: A Know-Your-Rights Guide for Voters with Mental Disabilities and Advocates 
• SARTAC: Self Advocacy Resource and Technical Assistance Center
• Everybody Communicates: Toolkit for Accessing Communication Assessments, Funding and Accommodations