The Unaltruistic Nature of Autism Speaks

Patricia Elaine Chandler writes "The Unaltruistic Nature of Autism Speaks".


Autism Speaks serves One Purpose and One Purpose Only: To Make Money! No one wants to officially challenge them in court because it's believed they are too powerful to fight because of the people, entities and organizations mesmerized by and tied to them.

Their endgame is 21st Eugenics and they are using Social Media, Entertainment and the Political Process to achieve their goal.

They have been working with China to identify a "fake genetic biomarker" on the Human Genome.

A "fake bloodtest" for detecting Autism during prenatal screening is going to be approved by the FDA.
The "scientist/researcher" who just won a piece of a Nobel Prize, works for Autism Speaks.

These things COST Money. Owning the Human Genome Project, now going into it's 2nd phase as the BRAIN Initiatives and buying a Nobel Prize COSTS a pretty penny.

Autism Speaks has Lots of pretty pennies because people all over the world co-sign Autism Speaks out of Intimidation and Fear!

Now you know why Autism Speaks needs so much money to Support their Non-profit 501(c)3 International Corporate organization initiatives.

What was Autism Speaks doing at the U. N. General Assembly a few weeks ago? Providing the last payment for that Nobel Prize and finalizing the ownership of Autism as a "Genetic Disease".

Before the U. S. Supreme Court went an case to allow Life Science companies, pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies, the ability to OWN A DISEASE. Plain English: if I Own Parkinsons Disease and my company finally finds the "Cure" that completely eradicates the "disease" forever, my company is the Only Company that can SELL THE CURE, at ANY PRICE, worldwide, For Ever!

Just because this all sounds "crazy" and "conspiracy theorist", doesn't mean it is; that's what Movies are for.

This is why I AM going to Law School; to shut down Autism Speaks, before they do any more harm to the Future Generations. This is why they Do Not Support Autistic Adults, and have only a handful of Token Autistics on the payroll.

Bob Wright is the "former" head of Universal NBC and he founded MSNBC. That's Powerful position to be in when it comes to Subliminally influencing Millions through the Media.

The only way to counter and then shut down Autism Speaks, is to create and build an Organization of their magnitude to DO what Autism Speaks claims to have been doing for over 15 years; Create an environment of the highest levels of excellence in Care, Support, Guidance, Services, Resources, Health, Education, Employment and Safety Tools, for the Autistic Person, infant, child, teen, adult and senior, to Thrive with Outstanding Outcomes in every area of Life!


Illusion masked as Reality through Social Media is their "ace in the hole". Autistics don't know how to Play Games and Thank GOD for That!


I AM not a mistake or freak of nature, to be deleted from the Human Genome, fabric of life and no one, no matter how Rich or Connected, like Bob Wright, has the Right to Say, and Scientifically Orchestrate, who GETS TO LIVE and WHO DOESN'T GET TO BE BORN!

"A Change Grows In Brooklyn: No Longer Invisible On The Autism Spectrum" ~ Copyright © 2011 by PATRICIA ELAINE CHANDLER
My autobiography, to be published coinciding with my first college graduation from CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice | Class of 2017



"I Am Autism SPEAKING LOUDER, Than Ever Before!" ~ Copyright © 2011 by PATRICIA ELAINE CHANDLER

You Gotta Fight For Your Right To Party

FeministAspie posts "You Gotta Fight For Your Right To Party" on Feminist Aspie

For those of you who aren’t aware, 1st November is Autistics Speaking Day; it’s really worth heading over to that blog over the next few days for a wide range of social media posts to raise awareness and acceptance of autism, advocating the inclusion of autistic people in the ongoing conversation about us. So I thought I’d blog about something I’ve been thinking about for some time now; maybe I just notice this more because I’m at uni, but the entire culture of “proper” social occasions at the moment seems to be built around what’s actually a fairly narrow group of people.

Again, this might be more pronounced in a university environment, but “party” seems to basically mean “vaguely meet up at some point in some noisy overcrowded room, get drunk, and overwhelm all but the most extroverted/popular almost out of the group entirely”. Now there’s absolutely nothing wrong at all with that sort of thing in and of itself, I’m sure some autistic people really enjoy it, and to be honest I can find sometimes find some of it quite fun, on the right day, even if it’s basically just watching, but it seems like that’s all that there is. It just doesn’t occur to people that some of us can’t handle that much input, can’t filter out all that background noise and follow the conversation, can’t just magically know when and where to go like everyone else seems to be able to (hint: it’s not when and where the club ticket says it will be), and all sorts of other stuff I haven’t worked out how to articulate yet. Or, as I keep telling everyone, “I can’t people“. (People-ing is a verb in my vocabulary now, sorry about that.) It’s also worth noting that, at least to a certain extent, this isn’t necessarily a problem specific to those of us on the spectrum; I have several allistic/neurotypical friends who also seem to “get it” and, for various reasons, also “can’t people” even if they do manage to hide it better than I can, and in my case not liking alcohol probably plays a massive part in it too. Like I said, the whole thing is inadvertently excluding all bar a fairly narrow group of people.

Except, well, I actually can people, I’m just not very good with that one situation that’s usually the only option for people-ing. Last week, having gone to law drinks to catch up with everyone and meet the new freshers, only to spend the entire time focusing on just barely coping and intermittently screaming and despairing at the inevitability of it all, a friend and I ended up leaving after an hour, but on returning home we inadvertently ended up sitting on the stairs (she lives on the floor above me) and talking for hours. (And I don’t just mean infodumping about Doctor Who, either!!) It really made me think. This is far from a new occurrence. That post I wrote the other week in which I mentioned a party that night? As it turned out, I didn’t actually even make it there, because everyone had already gone for pre-drinks somewhere, but not where I guessed they would be, and nobody could hear their phones, and usually I keep being told to arrive later than the stated time because people logic but then pre-drinks are also a thing and they’re earlier and it’s all massively confusing, and I felt horrible about it afterwards because it genuinely seems like everyone else has telepathic communication, but then I thought – would it really kill you to just be a bit more clear about what’s going on beforehand? That issue is probably more autism-specific that the first one (literal-minded and all that), but there’s just so much that isn’t accessible to a lot of people. And when that’s all that there is, taking the sensible route and just not going leaves you feeling massively lonely.

So yeah, I’ve been thinking a lot about all this (and, I admit it, part of me just really wanted to use that blog title…) and I’d love to hear your thoughts on this, particularly if you’re autistic (that’s kinda the point of Autistics Speaking Day, after all!) but it seems to be an issue with a really wide scope and different perspectives would be great. What would make people-ing more accessible to you? 

Autistics Speaking Day 2013

Autismum posts Autistics Speaking Day 2013 on Autismum.com

The Pwd is a little man of very few words. Of those very few words, this one is my favourite:

Real Monsters of Autism

Matt Friedman posts "Real Monsters of Autism" on Dude, I'm An Aspie. Trigger Warning for mention of murder by caregivers, harassment, various other hot-button topics. Also contains humor.

Real Monsters of Autism

November 1 is the 4th Annual Autistics Speaking Day, and the word is beware. Beware! For here be monsters. On Halloween we celebrate imaginary monsters, but monsters are all too real in the world of autism. So too are the dangers they bring. If you want to speak up for autistic people, then speak out against these monsters.

(Inspired by Toby Allen’s Real Monsters.) 

Read more on Matt's original post. 

Chickens and Autism

Sharon Bergman at www.mybestfriendgoldie.com submits "Chickens and Autism", a media article about her daughter and her chicken.

Alair Bergman's best friend is calm, patient and an excellent listener. Her pal doesn't judge and is there whenever needed.

But there's one catch: Alair's confidant is a chicken.

Since 2006, Goldie, along with dozens of other chickens, roosters and a few ducks, have helped the 17-year-old cope with autism. Alair was born with multiple challenges and learning disabilities, also including obsessive compulsive disorder, sensory integration dysfunction and auditory processing disorder.

"Some people would just verbally tell me to calm down, and they don't show me any way how," says Alair, who lives in Ortonville. "It's like telling somebody to build a rocket, but no blueprint or hands-on help."

Connection with chickens

But a miracle happened in Alair's life when she found an unusual talent in working with birds. A trip to Greenfield Village as a child helped open the window to the power of animals. She took to them – especially the chickens, and they to her. It was a revelation.

"When she was outside and with animals, she was calmer," says Alair's mom, Sharon. "We now had something to focus on. She had periods of time she was happy. And when she got into those periods where it was dark or hard, reacting to everything in the world and having tantrums and meltdowns, she could go and sit with Goldie. She would immediately calm down."

In 2006, Alair purchased a 5-month-old Goldie for $8. The name came easy, she says, due to the hen's golden feathers with white and black spots. The pattern is called a millefleur, which means "a thousand flowers." Goldie's breed is a Belgian Bearded d'Uccle.

The two were inseparable. They talked and talked. They watched TV together, Goldie sitting on Alair's shoulders. They played in the yard. The hen became a true best friend.

For Alair, poultry has a variety of benefits. The birds are smaller and more controllable than other livestock, she says. And they're hypoallergenic (she's allergic to anything with fur). By nature, chickens are skittish. This aspect actually helps her.

"You have to have a calm attitude," she says. "I was always a very hyper and loud little kid. Chickens taught me to be more quiet and calm around them, so they wouldn't be so skittish."

Read more on the Metroparent website.  

My Life in Singapore: A Message For Autistics Speaking Day

Ash Satoshi posts "My Life in Singapore: A Message For Autistics Speaking Day" on Facebook.


It is a very excellent post on living as an autistic person in Singapore, growing up with discrimination, bullying, dealing with divorced parents, and the factions of the special needs community.  


Please read. 

I Speak To Thank

Ibby Grace writes "I Speak To Thank" on Tiny Grace Notes  and on NeuroQueer. 

Autistics Speaking Day: I Speak To Thank

Today is Autistics Speaking Day, which has a rich and sort of unfortunate history.  I haven't got long to write, but what I have to say is big and cannot be unsaid on this day.

The rich unfortunate history has to do with people going About Us Without Us, and when some of our own tried to say something about it, these 'do-gooders' seemed to express, to put it charitably, irritation. What they did not seem to do was listen, at all, even though they said they were doing whatever they were doing for our own good. We are doing this for your own good lalala hushup you ingrates we can't hear you... 

[Visual is the red-circle-with-a-slash symbol of crossing-out, being itself crossed out by a bigger symbol of the same shape backwards done up over it in rainbow colors. Superimposed on this are the words "Autistics Speaking Day Nov 1 2013" in writing suggestive of how monks illuminate manuscript.]

But I know many people who not only listen but go so far as to seek us out and amplify, and they are basically in three communities, and I am hoping to introduce many of them to one another at TASH if I can, or get started here, and on the other blog NeuroQueer, which others of them are more likely to read, and all of you, see how I switch pronouns here, but I do it on purpose for a change: all of you are beautiful, and I thank you.

You who listen and amplify are some of you parents whose children also are Autistic, and you wanted to find us, and you were not so busy trying to find ways we could not possibly be like your child that we should be invisible forever: so you sought and found us, and you are our beloved friends. 

You who listen and amplify are some of you scholars, scholars with other disabilities, queer scholars and scholars of color, community scholar activists who did not just brilliantly theorize amongst yourselves about how we were not at the table: but you decided to get it started and do something about it, and you are our beloved friends.

You who listen and amplify are some of you people of practice, people whose life work is devoted quite literally to making sure the voices of some of the most vulnerable and invisible among us are able to be found and witnessed, and sometimes you are hardly seen, and sometimes you are mistreated and disrespected by bigots who call themselves greater and more acceptable things, but they are not. You are greater, and the greatest: you put yourself on the line for us and our voices, and you are our beloved friends.

When I first decided to write about this I was going to name your names, and I hope you are not sad that I did not, because for me the reason is so happy that tears of joy spill softly from my eyes now. In this small time of being myself in the open, and in community, I have met so many of you. The movement of Disability Justice even only when considered in the Autistic Community has so many true real Allies who are heart and brain and hands, and you who are reading this know you are my beloved friends and know who you are, that my babies would wake up and get hungry if I tried to list all your beautiful selves separately.

And anyway, we are not separate. We are joyously together.

Thank you, my friends, for caring that we speak.

Love,
Ib

My Fingers Speak

Amy Sequenzia writes "My Fingers Speak" on Non-Speaking Autistic Speaking

Today is Autistics Speaking Day, a day to remind the world that we actually speak every day, even if we do it with our fingers.

My voice is unique
It does not come out in a usual manner

I speak through my fingers
Gentle strokes on a keyboard

I could have remained silent
I could have chosen a passive life

But my fingers would not accept a quiet existence

So I type my thoughts
I fight for autism rights

My brain and a keyboard
My thoughts awaiting

Restless fingers demanding to be heard
Flowing words, my manifesto

My fingers will not accept a quiet existence

Silent no more
My voice through my fingers

I will not accept to be ignored
Listen to what I have to say

We are here, here to stay
We find ways to scream our words

MY FINGERS DO NOT ACCEPT A QUIET EXISTENCE

Amy Sequenzia is an Autistic activist, writer, and poet. Read more on Ollibean here , on her blog at Non-Speaking Autistic Speaking and on Autism Women’s Network.

Isolation, Loneliness, and the Angry Aspie

Nicole Nicholson writes "Isolation, Loneliness, and the Angry Aspie" on Woman With Asperger's.  Subject warning for negative events and feelings, some mental health issues, isolation.


While I have always tried to be truthful and revelatory when writing posts for this blog, in this post I am probably speaking with the most candor, bluntness, and with the rawest language I have used in a long time. I don’t see the need for a trigger warning, except that I am speaking about negative events and feelings I have been keeping private for a long time. Also, I will be using more profanity that my readers are used to seeing here on WWA. If that doesn’t scare you, read on. I should warn you that some of this may not read very cohesively and might seem like a very long rant, but I have had a need for a long time to say some of these things.

Autistic as a Reclaimed Word

Cynthia Kim posts "Autistic as a Reclaimed Word" on Musings of an Aspie

Most adults on the spectrum prefer to be called autistic, rather than a person with autism or a person who has autism. The general consensus is that autism is not a separable entity. To be “with” something or to “have” something implies that we might somehow be able to rid ourselves of that thing and still be the same person, much like someone who has been cured of a physical illness.

I have always been autistic and always will be. If I was not autistic, I would be a completely different person. My autistic neurology affects how I experience the world and how the world experiences me. I am autistic. This feels very simple and logical to me.

It is not, however, always as simple for others. I’ve noticed that a lot of people in the autism community (which is different from the Autistic community) find the use of autistic as a label offensive or at least uncomfortable. The primary argument is that “autism doesn’t define” the person that they are reluctant to call autistic (often a family member).

Inherent in that argument is the belief that autism is a negative attribute. Why else would someone be averse to being “defined” by a trait? Would we say, “don’t call Tommy intelligent because his intelligence doesn’t define him” or “don’t call Katie blue-eyed because her eye color doesn’t define her.” 

Positive or neutral labels are rarely challenged. Smart. Beautiful. Man. Woman. Right-handed. Left-handed. Blonde. Brunette. Few people will object if you refer to yourself or someone else by these labels. No one will tell you to call yourself a person with beauty or a person who has right-handedness.

So why the controversy over autistic? Perhaps because autism still carries so many negative connotations. We are in the processing of reclaiming autism and autistic, but we’re not quite there yet.

LINGUISTIC RECLAMATION

Reclaiming (or reappropriation) is the act of taking back a word that has been used as a pejorative. When a group adopts the use of a word that has been used to demean them, they diminish or subvert the power of that word as a weapon.

Queer and gay are words that many people consider to have been successfully reclaimed. Gay, once used primarily as an insult, has become a preferred label. Queer is still in the process of being reclaimed, but well on its way. Geek and nerd, insults a generation ago, are now common self-descriptors.

I find it interesting that there is so little discussion of autistic as a reclaimed word. It certainly fits the definition.

Autistic has been and is still used in a derogatory way. It could even be argued that it’s “the new R word.” That’s so autistic and are you autistic? have become common put downs in certain gaming and internet circles.

To be reclaimed, a word first must have been used in a way that is derogatory to the group it describes. Autistic, then, is ripe for reclaiming. And I would argue that not only does it need to be reclaimed to take away its power as a slur, it needs to be reclaimed by autistic adults with the goal of redefining it in the public’s imagination.

Even before it became an outright slur, autistic (and autism) had negative connotations. For many people, autistic conjures up the negative, doom and gloom stereotypes of ASD and little more. By reclaiming autistic, by using it as a symbol of identity and pride, we can broaden public perception of what it means to be autistic.

Happy Autistics Speaking Day!

Autistics Speaking Day 2013

From Sparrow Rose Jones on Unstrange Mind comes Autistics Speaking Day 2013.

“If you know your history,
Then you would know where you coming from,
Then you wouldn’t have to ask me,
Who the ‘eck do I think I am.”

- Bob Marley and the Wailers,Buffalo Soldier

Autistic people have a rich and colorful history. Autism has only been a diagnosis for about seven decades, but so much has happened in those years. We have been the target of Nazi eugenicists, we have been revered as saints and demonized as changelings — impostors left by the elves or the gypsies while the real child was spirited away in the night. We have been “treated” to unspeakable therapies administered by people who thought they were helping us as well as by people who thought there was no human “in there”  to help. We have been plot points and two-dimensional characters in scores of movies and television shows (and had a few really great movies made about us as well). Our mothers have been blamed for causing our existence by not loving us properly. Genetics have been blamed. Vaccines have been blamed. Vitamin D, air pollution, noise pollution, so many purported causes that I wouldn’t be surprised one day to see a headline announcing that breathing causes autism.

We have had our heroes and celebrities: some — like Temple Grandin, John Elder Robison, Daryl Hannah, Dan Ackroyd —  well-known to the mainstream. Others — Judy Singer, Laura Tisoncek, Michelle Dawson,  Jim Sinclair — mostly only known to our community. We had a contestant on America’s Next Top Model (Heather Kuzmich), a contestant on American Idol (James Durbin), a contestant on The Amazing Race (Zev Glassenberg), and a contestant for Miss America (Miss Montana, Alexis Wineman). We have our symbols, like the rainbow spectrum infinity symbol, and others have created symbols for us that displease many of us, like the puzzle piece, often depicted as a gaping hole in a child’s head, meant to symbolize that we are lacking some basic element of humanity. We have our books — Loud Hands, Aspergirls, Pretending to be Normal — and they have theirs — The Ethics of Autism, The Empty Fortress, Defying Autism.

We have our tragedies: The Judge Rotenberg Center, Alex Spourdalakis, Melissa Stoddard, Daniel Corby, Jori Lirette . . . oh, so many more names, so many more lives cut short. Too many to name here.

And we have our victories: The closing of Willowbrook, the passage of the ADA, the appointment of Ari Ne’eman to the National Council on Disability . . .

In light of all this history, history I’ve only barely begun to touch upon here, it is fitting that the month of November is now Autistic History Month.  This new celebration was announced to mixed responses. Some were elated (“WHEN is this world going to give credit where credit is due? Autism is inherently so human. It is time people recognize it every where.”) and some were baffled (“Autistic “History”? That doesn’t make sense. Autism hasn’t been a recognized diagnosis long enough to have any real ‘history.’ We definitely need more Autism Awareness, but I’m not sure using a term that will make people think we’re some sort of ethnic group is going to accomplish that.  I would also avoid terms like “Autistic Pride.” You want to humanize people with autism, not set them apart as a fringe group.”).

A 17-year-old autistic man asked: ”I have a question: What exactly is there about Autistic History? I try to think about it but can’t think about anything off the top of my head.”

And this is exactly why we need Autistic History Month: our own people do not know their history.

Can you imagine an African-American teenager who didn’t know who Martin Luther King was? Or what Jim Crow laws were? Or anything about the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation? What about a Jewish teenager who knew nothing about Dachau, Anne Frank, or the founding of modern Israel? Would you be sad to hear about Deaf teenagers who didn’t know who Helen Keller was? Had never heard of Galludet University? A Blind teenager who had never heard the story of Louis Braille?

But there are so many Autistic teenagers who have no idea who Bruno Bettelheim was or how much pain his theories brought to countless families for decades. They don’t know who Judy Singer is or what word she has contributed to our language, to the culture of Autistic people and all other non-neurotypical people. They have no idea what makes some of us call Robert Kennedy one of our allies. They question the very idea that there could be such a thing as Autistic history; certainly they question the idea that there is enough history to be worth declaring an entire month of celebration. Some, as you see from the quote above, even question the value of an Autistic History Month.

But this is an important part of Autistics Speaking. This is our history. We are a people. No, we are not connected by ethnic or religious bonds like some groups who have a history month. But we are connected. We are a neurotribe. We have a way of being that is very similar among us, even those of us who have never met another Autistic person in their life. We have a culture. We have a history and it is time to speak up about it!

I am speaking about our history today for Autistics Speaking Day and I will continue to speak all month, sharing the vibrant tapestry of our history. I will not be silenced by those who try to shame me into silence because they feel it is inappropriate to talk about our history. I cannot even fathom the notion that it should be inappropriate to talk about Autistic history!! I will speak! And I will keep speaking until I have helped to create a world in which Autistic people know our history. Will you add your voice? We need to remember and share our history; it is an important part of who we are.

“If you know your history,
Then you would know where you coming from,
Then you wouldn’t have to ask me,
Who the ‘eck do I think I am.”

I am AUTISTIC, and I am proud of the history of my people.

Fear

Autisticook posts "Fear" on Autisticook. This post has trigger warnings for fear, discrimination, and erasure.

I want to speak to you about fear.

I am autistic. And I am afraid.

Fear of not being seen as fully human when I lose my words. Fear of losing my words because I have so much to say. Fear of not being listened to.

Read More. 

Autistics Speaking Day: My Pathway

Leeanne Marshall at oneautisticperson posts Autistics Speaking Day: My Pathway

This will probably make more sense if you have read my blog post from last year, located here: http://oneautisticperson.tumblr.com/post/34749796115/autistics-speaking-day-on-communication

Well it is the 1^st of November here in Australia as I am writing this message. For anyone who does not know - that means today is Autistics Speaking Day, a day that some Autistic individuals submit blog entries, youtube videos and more that involve autism spectrum disorder in some form. Further explanation of this day is written in my blog post from last year.

Given my post from last year and my complete lack of a blog entry since, time for me to share what I have been up to the past year. Since last November I have become a Board Member of the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network of Australia and New Zealand, continued giving guest talks at TAFE SA (college, sort of) to autism classes, joined a reference group for a project looking at autism professional development for teachers in South Australia, spoke to some international guests about my experiences being autistic going through the education system at the request of one of my University lecturers and had several commitments at the Asia-Pacific Autism Conference. These commitments included speaking at a concurrent session panel about my experiences through the education system, performing in ‘History of Autism’ as a cast member of company @ (Autistic Theatre) and being a participant in the future leaders program. It is clear that I have taken opportunities to make a difference through these commitments.

That stated though, I still do not always immediately communicate my thoughts when I should do so. I have a clear example of a case like this in my head but the whole situation is not an event to be shared with the world for professional reasons. Suffice to say, I still need to work on advocating for myself.

I guess a significant part of my life for me this year was the Asia-Pacific Autism Conference. Many Autistic people presented at the conference including Ari Ne’eman, Dr Stephen Shore and John Elder Robison, who are all from the United States of America. The future leaders had further sessions with these three guest speakers though I did miss some of these sessions due to other commitments. What was particularly meaningful to me was the different viewpoints that Ari and John had regarding education and employment. John was advocating for Autistic people to create their own jobs and participate in unique education opportunities because quite a few Autistic people can not seem to fit in to typical jobs that neurotypical people do even if they have a University qualification. In contrast, Ari stated that for Autistic people to be accepted into the largely neurotypical workforce, Autistic people must first be accepted and included more in general education classrooms and be seen by neurotypical students. This largely seems to be happening at the Australian primary school level but not so much at the high school level (though every school is different). Basically John and Ari gave me a lot to think about regarding my current involvement in education and my desire to become a teacher.

So why am I bringing up the conference? And why am I focusing on what John and Ari said?

The answer to the first question is because the conference gave many Autistic people a chance to share their views and opinions and many Autistic individuals took the opportunity. This was what I wrote about last year. The answer to the second question is because John and Ari highlighted two very different paths for Autistic individuals to go down. For me, John and Ari gave me a lot to think about regarding my current involvement in education and my desire to become a teacher.

I do not yet know if I can succeed in holding down a job typically for neurotypicals (a teacher). I am sure however, that whatever my career ends up being, it will be related to education in some way and will hopefully be around including Autistic individuals in general education settings.

…..Because I believe in Ari’s vision. I believe that Autistic individuals should be included in the largely neurotypical workplace and that Autistic individuals have value in such workplaces. I am aware however, that a lot of changes need to occur before this happens, that the employment rate for Autistic individuals is very low and that often the general public are amazed at Autistic individuals who are just University students.

I had a University class today and for the first time, I chose to wear my Autistic Self Advocacy Network of Australia and New Zealand t-shirt to University. Though I got no reaction to the t-shirt, the reason I chose to wear the t-shirt is because the attitude of the general public of being amazed at Autistics going to University is not going to change unless they start realising that more Autistic individuals are University students then they realise ….. and hopefully from here we can work on the workplace.

I am at peace (with killing my socially constructed self)

Michael Scott Monje, Jr. has "I am at peace (with killing my socially constructed self)", a three part entry on his blog Shaping Clay. The entries has, as he puts it, "all the triggers", specifically some bullying, threats, drug use, dark thoughts, mental health (self and others).


Part One
I'm at peace with myself for the first time in my life as I write this. I'm not done. I'm not settled. I'm not successful. I have, however, found a measure of peace. It's the first time I've felt that way. Ever. 
I have not overcome my disability. I don't believe that that's really a thing that people do. I think that the people who claim to have overcome their disabilities are actually just powering through a lot of pain and frustration and trying not to be touched by it. That's not me. I'm touched by everything. 

That's part of the problem. 

I'm going to tell you a story now. It's going to take some time. It's about a fictional character that I like to call Neurotypical Mike. Neurotypical Mike was a character that I played for a good twenty years of my life, until I was about twenty-six years old. I can still remember when I started to create that character: it was when I was four years old. I wasn't playing as Mike full time until I was about six and I started Kindergarten, but I had to start working on his mannerisms and his way of expressing himself earlier than that, because it was very clear that Michael was not going to be allowed to do certain things. 

Mike and Me -- The Early YearsFor example, Michael did not get to call himself Michael when he wasn't around family. No matter how many times he told teachers and other kids that he was Michael, they had decided that they were talking to someone named Mike. It used to make Michael cry when they did that, but as time went on and more and more people decided that they knew Mike and that Mike was fine with being called by a nickname, they simply ignored what Michael said he wanted. Eventually, Michael stopped trying to talk to them.

Read more.

Part Two
Michael Stops Talking
As Michael got older and Mike got more completely constructed, the boys noticed that a lot of the things they used to do were starting to change. For example, their mother stopped babysitting for other people's kids and started taking them to visit neighbors with kids who were their own age. Those kids wanted to separate the boys and the girls, the older and the younger, and so Michael and Mike followed along. They wanted friends, after all, and their friends were doing those things.

Somewhere during this time period, the boys also had to stop playing Little League. They had aged out of Tee Ball, and now they were not allowed to play with girls on the team any more, which meant that the games were pretty evenly divided between standing in the middle of right field and having things thrown at them. Mike was willing to stick it out so that he could try to get better, but Michael started having screaming nightmares about being hit in the head that only got worse after he was actually hit in the head while they were at bat.

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Part Three

Metal Mike and the Electric Hellfire Band

Let's admit right now that Mike was a real bastard--both literally and figuratively. Convinced of his own adulthood and finding no evidence that there were actually adults that were more responsible than he was, he decided to ignore all conventional wisdom and advice and to revel in anything that gave him pleasure. I liked it when he took to violent video games and heavy metal, because the rhythmic nature of the latter and the complex geometry of the guitar work were both like bisecting crystal lattices in my ears, and I could explore their auditory architecture in ways that made them highly visible to me. I also liked the games for the rapid and satisfying risk-reward loops that they threw me into. When I was feeling creative, I could also get out the map editors and make my own worlds to tromp around in. It was like I had found LEGO again, only no one was around to make fun of me for playing with toys as a teenager.

When Mike discovered Marilyn Manson, I knew that I had found the sound that would define my entire existence. Today, seventeen years after the first time I heard Antichrist Superstar, I still listen to it at least once a week. Mike liked it because it was brutal and confrontational and because it bugged the shit out of all the so-called adults who told us what to do while they fucked us around and refused to protect us. I liked it because the surreal, lyrical storytelling deftly exposed the nature and texture of a hate that I could feel but could not understand. Today I listen to it because it is the most articulate dissertation on moral hypocrisy that I have ever heard, and it adequately shows both the way that this hypocrisy perpetuates hate and the way that that hate slowly corrodes us. In fact, I'm listening to it now.

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A Story Told In Autism

Abby posts A Story Told In Autism on Autistic Abby Writes

I hear a good song, and I want to play it thirty times, until I’ve memorized each curve, each wave of warm and cold. It moves me, it sways me, it pulls me to pieces. Let’s ride this roller coaster again.

We’re here! Time to interact?

Do as I would be done by? Okay. I don’t want people to look at me so I won’t look at them. (Their eyes catch, like a wool blanket on a scab.)

Please read more on Abby's entry. 

Written Words

Alana wrote "Written Words" on sleep wake hope and then. Thank you Alana!

I process things better when I have them written out.

I can write things down that I don't know I am thinking. Then I can go back and read them and figure things out.When I write things, I can think and pause and hold a thought. I can keep it there longer, work around it more precisely, than I could if I was just thinking alone. I can write things that there is no way on earth I would ever be able to say. Emotional things are hard to say. They are hard to write, too, but it is better that way.

If I write out my thoughts, I can see them. I can tell what they are. I can organize them and make them into something that makes sense. 

Please read more on Alana's blog entry. 

Yes, That Too: Autistics Speaking Day 2013

Oh hey, it's November 1, Autistics Speaking Day. I'm Autistic. I don't always say words with my mouth, but I communicate, and that's the version of “speaking” I'm using. I've got two main ideas for what to talk about: I've got an autistic character planned for my NaNoWriMo novel(s) who types “I was able to say words. That turned out not to be the same thing as speaking” about a potion that let her... say words. The idea was to let her talk. It's a fantasy novel. I've also got the speaking I do in my daily life, educating people by way of being the autistic adult that they actually know of. The way diagnosis looks in China, there aren't exactly a lot of autistic college students who know they're autistic here. That's not to say there's no autistic students: I think that one of my classmates in graph theory might be autistic. But there's not really people my age who know they're autistic, or there's not a lot of us and we're mostly not in colleges.

You can read the rest of Alyssa's post at Yes, That Too.

Preparation for ASDay 2013

The submission form for ASDay 2013 is online.  So if you have something ready in advance, go ahead and submit it.  Remember, we also take late submissions, up till the end of the year.  Therefore, let yourself take the time to work on your piece and don't stress out about meeting the deadline.  We love every submission because it's your voice, in whatever format and medium you communicate.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1xWW2oKWV6FHQ1OIta1FqU3ACb8u27YkznEkW1ApolWQ/viewform

Also, you can always submit your work through our email at AutisticsSpeakingDay at gmail.com 

Feel free to email us questions and suggestions too.  

And as we all prepare, we remind everyone to view the social media page to review our social media outlets, and the content filters page to view the filters we tag posts and what trigger warnings are.

Participation List 2012

We're getting ready for Autistic Speaking Day 2013, so before I forget (many times again), here is the participation list for 2012!!

Thank you all for your contributions and to all of our volunteers for helping make ASDay a success!!  


Autistic Contributors

Communication and Me! by Autiemom at Tales from an Autism Family


Flapping To Kalamazoo (a poem for Autistics Speaking Day) by Rebecca Loggenberg on Autistic-Me

The Joy of STRIPES by Paula C. Durbin-Westby on her blog paulacdurbinwestbyautisticblog.  and The Big (and Ableist) Difference between Self-Diagnosed and "Professionally" Diagnosed Autistics

To You, Young Autistic Friend by Amy Sequenzia Trigger Warning for the possibility of ableist comments

Jane Strauss writes Autistics Speaking Day on Facebook Trigger Warning for brief mentions of abuse

Autistics Speaking Day 2012 by Sparrow Jones on Unstrange Mind: Remapping My World

E (The Third Glance) writes Autistics Speaking Day 2012: There's a Flap for That on The Third Glance


Kassiane writes Autistics Speaking Day: This is Why We Need It (lessons learned from talking to Orycon) on Radical Neurodivergence Speaking

Catsidhe writes Independence through reliance upon others on LiveJournal

Leeanne Marshall writes Autistics Speaking Day: On Communication... on OneAutisticPerson tumblr

Lydia at Autistic Hoya writes A Troubling Trend at Sci-Fi Cons Trigger Warning: Ableism, brief cissexist and binarist quote, and descriptions of ableist encounters. 

Cynthia writes This Is My Normal on Musings of an Aspie

Malcolm Mayfield writes Autistic Speaking Day on tumblr

Autism Is Gray by Lori Berkowitz on LoriB.me

Intolerance is Intolerable, and Ignorance is Not to be Ignored by The Autistic Dude on The Autistic Dude in a Neurotypical World

2012, An Anniversary written by Corina Becker at No Stereotypes Here

Alyssa Zisk wrote Autistics Speaking EVERY Day

Andrew Edward Collins writes The Anxiety of Publishing

Rayn writes Autistics Speaking Day 2012! on AcidRayn.com

@xcoffeezombiex writes Autistics Speaking Day on More Than Disorganised

Matt Friedman writes Tiny Island on Dude, I'm An Aspie.

From Elizabeth J. (Ibby) Grace comes Autistics Speaking Day 2012: My Ode to Dapples on Tiny Grace Notes (AKA Ask an Autistic)

Acknowledging Growth by MainJelly at anabellelistic.com

Lucas Scheelk has written a poem Descendant on tumblr

Autistics Communicating Day written by N M Silber on extemporarysanity

chavisory has written Happiness, for Autistics Speaking Day on Chavisory's Notebook

Liam, or @autistliam on Twitter, has written An Unforgettable Smile

Maple writes Autistics Speaking Day: Autism and Spirituality on her tumblr Faeries-Cupboard 

Mahina has written frequently on from aloha to arizona

Louise Parker has a series of posts called Bad Advice on The Cat's Aunt.

My Doggy Personality and 2012 Walk Now For Autism Speaks (Atlanta, GA) by Timotheus "Pharaoh" Gordon on Pharaoh's Principles (via Abilities to the Arts)


Speak Your Mind by Smuggy Bunny on Autistic And Awesome

Autistics Speaking Day 2012: Reclaiming Voice by Ari Ne'eman, ASAN

First Contact by Jessica Banks (@ProfBanks on Twitter) on her blog Jessica Banks schools you.


Ru has written Accepting Herself on tumblr

Standing by Duckie

I am Autistic and I am Tired by Steve Summers on Facebook

Adkyriolexy writes Changing The Odds on Kyriolexy

Autistics Speaking Day, 2012 by Nightengale on Nightengale of Samarkand LiveJournal

Bridget Allen writes No Safe Spaces on It's Bridget's Word   Trigger warning for mentions of hate speech.

Happily Clueless writes Why I can't speak as Autistic, yet on Happily Clueless

When Other People Don’t Get It by Danni Brennand on Dannilion.com

Jo’s Autistics Speaking Day Post on tumblr Trigger warning for mentions of suicide

Peter Seebach, aka Seebs, writes Autistics Speaking Day: Predictably relatively quiet on seebs.net 

R. Larkin Taylor-Parker posts Autistic Speaking on tumblr 

Bard writes Nerds in the Bedroom on Prism*Song NSFW Trigger Warning for Adult Content, discussion of sex and sexuality

Alexander Cheezem writes On Autistics Speaking Day on A View From The Boundaries

Mental Tides by Laura/Light It Up Boo on Facebook


Meditations on Behavior Policing by Michael Scott Monje Jr. on Shaping Clay Trigger warning for isolation-related PTSD

My Video Blog for Autistics Speaking Day by Rainbow on Youtube.

Katharine E Annear writes Cure vs Acceptance in the context of Neurodiversity – Autistics Speaking on AUTAP.COM

Kai writes Upon Tomorrow on The Next Ten Words

Lady Ashmire writes Late ASDay post ( or untitled)


Squiditty writes Stories Seldom Seen Trigger warning for ableism, ableist murder, discussion of victims lives


Nickolas D writes My History on Self- Determine and Independent through Autism


J. Gray writes Autistics Speaking Day this year




Allistic Contributors

Autismum has posted Autistics Speaking Day 2012 on Autismum

Kelly at OneQuarterMama has submitted her piece Different is Not Wrong


Media Coverage

Sharon daVanport at the Autism Women's Network has written Autistics Speaking Day 2012: Two Years Since it all Began

Volunteers
Alyssa Zisk
Seebs
Kathryn
Corina