Thriving Autistic / ND communities, that act as local centres of Autistic / ND culture, can only come into existence if we can imagine new kinds of collaborations between Autistic / ND whānau and the rest of society, and if we allow designs to emerge organically from the collective intelligence that exists amongst intersectionally marginalised people at ground level.
April is for affirmation, inclusion, empowerment, and accomodation! Center Autistic voices. Unlearn ableist concepts. Actively dismantle ableist and neurobigoted structures and systems. Seek out advocates,
“Little Black Autistic Girl, what will the world do with you? Will they forget you? Will you go down in history as an overlooked and unsung hero that deserved more recognition while they were around?”
“People fail disabled folk when they refuse to accept all ways of being human. In a more perfect world agency would be respected, disability rights honored, and brave hearts exalted. I and others have wisdom for a deprived and hostile world. Skilled allies wanted.”
The need to be resilient is something that Autistic people unlearn over time. We need to learn to be gentle with ourselves. With the concept of Autistic whānau we are exploring new terrain and new possibilities. It’s something that we can incrementally weave into the Autistic collaborations that are already established.
Nick Barry, a young nonspeaking advocate, writes about how the privacy and autonomy of nonspeakers is often violated by those around them, how it feels, and how to do better.
“From picking your afro because the motion is soothing, to twerking and playing with your braids, to repeating that one itch-scratching line in the rap song you love over and over again… It’s the way that you put on lipgloss even though you just put it on three minutes ago because the motion is soothing.”
“How did they consider us close friends if we’d never had a real conversation? If we hadn’t people watched? If we hadn’t gone on a walk in the green, secluded forest that I believe belongs to me (it’s actually a public park)?”
Thanks to wonderful Autistic conversations I think I am beginning to understand why I feel so much at home in the ocean. To date I had not connected it to healing from Autistic trauma, but now I see the connection with increasing clarity.
“This poem is about a girl in a song and another girl who lives on a planet of perpetual music. To see my life you must also let the music take you.”
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