One of the key principles of the medical profession has always been, “First, do no harm.” As such, it is essential that the DSM-5’s criteria ensure that those who have or would have qualified for a diagnosis under the DSM-IV maintain access to an ASD diagnosis.
The Autistic Self Advocacy Network has expressed concern and disappointment over anti-vaccine activist Peter H. Bell’s appointment to the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities, in contrast to the forward motion the Obama administration has shown in the areas of autism and disability as a whole.
The Loud Hands Project, a publishing effort by the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, is working towards the creation of our first and foundational anthology and accompanying website. “Loud Hands: Autistic People, Speaking” features essays, long and short, by Autistic authors
In response to our Symposium on Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications of Autism Research, funded by the Administration on Developmental Disabilities, several key federal funders have offered to work with ASAN to identify Autistic adults and other people with disabilities interested in serving on forthcoming federal grant review panels.
Alicia Lile says: I want to be loved and accepted. I wish others to tell me that it’s wonderful that I was born. I feel guilty of existing, tell me I am wrong.
Self-advocate Lydia Brown reports on a proposal to improve safety for Autistic people by training law enforcement officers in Massachusetts about autism. She has provided a fact sheet and contact information for state legislators.
Register Now for Autism Conference: ASAN is organizing the self-advocacy strand for the 2011 Autism Summer Institute at the University of New Hampshire’s Institute on Disability.
An essay by Stephanie Allen Crist. Today is Memorial Day in the United States. It’s a time to look back, and remember those who have sacrificed to make this country a place to be free. Instead, I look ahead and ask myself if it is freedom that I see. There’s something on the edge of thought—a feeling to be written of that isn’t quite ready to come out, not quite ready to be exposed. Frustration is there, and so is disappointment. All swirled together with a steady, flat kind of hope.
An article by Paula C. Durbin-Westby. When a person has a disability that person is still a person. That person with a disability has a body, and a mind. That person with a disability has needs, concerns, desires, a personal history, a context of family, friends, and community relations. A person who has a disability has all the legal and civil rights of personhood (or should).
PBS NewsHour’s program about autism dismisses adults’ needs: In addressing why the Autistic community was not invited to participate, Robert MacNeil claimed that issues facing Autistic adults were not “an urgent issue” and not important enough to merit coverage. ASAN has issued a press release condemning his ignorant statements.
Cafe Press responds to concerns: Cafe Press has agreed to allow shop owners who sell autism-related products to opt out of the April 2011 fundraiser, has created a survey asking where funds should be donated, and has informed us that it will provide a survey next year.
Concerns about Upcoming PBS NewsHour Program: ASAN has released a statement expressing concern about next week’s PBS NewsHour six-part special about the autism spectrum.
