Identity: Being denied access to my diagnosis has taken its toll
GenesizC
February 17, 2023
Courtlon "Champ" Turner
Courtlon "Champ" Turner
Father · Barber · Volunteer · Wrongfully Convicted
Champ is a loving father and a Black barber who was a staple and integral member of his community. He is known by everyone as gentle, selfless, humble, wise, and intuitive.
Champ served as the best man at his friend’s wedding. They were extremely close, but one day his best friend was experiencing extreme paranoia. Champ tried to support his friend through this mental health crisis, but when he took a call from his girlfriend, his friend believed that Champ was on the phone with the FBI to “snitch” on him for selling knock-off purses and shoes. He attacked Champ with a butcher knife, they struggled for several minutes, Champ finally was able to break away, then he dialed 911.
When police arrived, they arrested Champ instead of the white man who attacked him. Champ was charged with aggravated malicious wounding, a class 2 felony equivalent to first degree murder. He’s serving ten years for being attacked by a white man.
Champ has congestive heart failure and is an undiagnosed autistic man with undiagnosed PTSD in a prison. His case has striking parallels to Matthew Rushin’s: they are Black autistic men from Virginia Beach who were criminalized by the Commonwealth Attorney and Virginia Beach Police for having a disability.
We are calling on Governor Ralph Northam for a pardon for Champ Turner. Self defense is not a crime. Being disabled is not a crime. Being autistic is not a crime.
“Subnormal”: How a British Postwar Education Scandal Gives a Human Context for ‘Neurodivergence while Black’
Tré Ventour-Griffiths
September 26, 2022
LONG-READ – Autistic While Black in the UK: Masking, Codeswitching, and Other (Non)fictions
Tré Ventour-Griffiths
April 28, 2022
The Performance of April and Autism Awareness Month
Emmanuel
April 27, 2022
Book Review: Kiss and Repeat
Cheyenne Thornton
May 18, 2021
Cheyenne Thornton reviews Kiss and Repeat, a YA novel with a neurodivergent protagonist with Tourette’s. Read how Cheyenne felt about this debut novel by autistic author Heather Truett.
(the) Truth will Set Us Free: California schools tell mother Blackness prevents access to a free and appropriate education
Schereeya
May 8, 2021
A California school told a mom that in order for her Black autistic son to get the services and accommodations he needs, she would have to say that he’s not Black.
ABA for Creating Masking Black Autistics
Cheyenne Thornton
April 18, 2021
Cheyenne Thornton explores the common argument in behaviorism that ABA is appropriate for Black autistics because they need to be able to mask to avoid police violence.
Myself
Matthew Rushin
April 18, 2021
Matthew Rushin explores personal identity and the self in relation to time, the body, and the soul.
Connection in the Face of Rejection
ryansheart
April 1, 2021
Rejections are difficult, but they are a fact of existence for many autistic people. Ryan Lee discusses making and losing a friend over social nuance.
My review of the Freak Factor: Discovering Uniqueness by Flaunting Weakness
Emmanuel
March 4, 2021
If you read The Freak Factor, you can’t help but leave it seeing the strengths in the weaknesses of people that others and businesses complain about. The pushover kid is altruistic. The coworker who’s indecisive is cautious. My stubborn father is persistent.
Voting Rights Are Automatically Revoked for Some Disabled People
Kwame R. Brobbey
June 29, 2021
Kwame R. Brobbey is a nonspeaker who uses a letterboard to communicate. When his mother obtained guardianship, they had to hire a lawyer to avoid having his voting rights revoked.
Playscript Review: Burning Bridges, by Amy Shindler
Ashleigh J Mills
June 28, 2021
Ashleigh Mills reviews Amy Schindler’s play, Burning Bridges, looking specifically at the portrayal of the autistic character’s role in a love triangle.
Writing Intersections: How to Look “Both Ways”
Schereeya
June 26, 2021
Schereéya Reed interviews three authors and provides tips for writing intersectional identities. “Representation doesn’t just happen. You have to actively choose it. Sometimes you have to demand it.”
The Intersectionality of My Erasure: Being AFAB, Black, & Autistic
asiatucoach
June 11, 2021
I have endured marginalization from my earliest memory. I have to fight to be heard every moment of every day. I have never experienced a second that I wasn’t aware of my intersectionality.
Book Review: Kiss and Repeat
Cheyenne Thornton
May 18, 2021
Cheyenne Thornton reviews Kiss and Repeat, a YA novel with a neurodivergent protagonist with Tourette’s. Read how Cheyenne felt about this debut novel by autistic author Heather Truett.
(the) Truth will Set Us Free: California schools tell mother Blackness prevents access to a free and appropriate education
Schereeya
May 8, 2021
A California school told a mom that in order for her Black autistic son to get the services and accommodations he needs, she would have to say that he’s not Black.
Voting Rights Are Automatically Revoked for Some Disabled People
Kwame R. Brobbey
June 29, 2021
Kwame R. Brobbey is a nonspeaker who uses a letterboard to communicate. When his mother obtained guardianship, they had to hire a lawyer to avoid having his voting rights revoked.
Playscript Review: Burning Bridges, by Amy Shindler
Ashleigh J Mills
June 28, 2021
Ashleigh Mills reviews Amy Schindler’s play, Burning Bridges, looking specifically at the portrayal of the autistic character’s role in a love triangle.
Writing Intersections: How to Look “Both Ways”
Schereeya
June 26, 2021
Schereéya Reed interviews three authors and provides tips for writing intersectional identities. “Representation doesn’t just happen. You have to actively choose it. Sometimes you have to demand it.”
The Intersectionality of My Erasure: Being AFAB, Black, & Autistic
asiatucoach
June 11, 2021
I have endured marginalization from my earliest memory. I have to fight to be heard every moment of every day. I have never experienced a second that I wasn’t aware of my intersectionality.
Book Review: Kiss and Repeat
Cheyenne Thornton
May 18, 2021
Cheyenne Thornton reviews Kiss and Repeat, a YA novel with a neurodivergent protagonist with Tourette’s. Read how Cheyenne felt about this debut novel by autistic author Heather Truett.
(the) Truth will Set Us Free: California schools tell mother Blackness prevents access to a free and appropriate education
Schereeya
May 8, 2021
A California school told a mom that in order for her Black autistic son to get the services and accommodations he needs, she would have to say that he’s not Black.
