“We live in a world where both neurodivergent behaviours and addiction are seen as a moral failing. This makes opening up next-to-impossible without significant risk of negative repercussions.”
Kayla Rodriguez writes about the sobering history of Autistic Day of Mourning on March 1 and discusses why the time for action is now.
Autistamatic explores the difference between being an autistic person and an autistic advocate and what responsibilities are associated with assuming the title of “advocate.”
In ABA, children are not given the same respect and access to care as with any other form of therapy. Their access to stimming, comfort objects, and other self-regulatory measures is blocked so the therapist can observe the child self-injurious behaviors.
Advocacy is very hard, and dealing with the intricate nuances and communication differences in autistic advocacy can make it even more difficult to navigate.
However, an unforeseen side effect of the IDEA’s deficit-oriented focus upon disability has created a dilemma for parents of autistic children and has fostered a problem-oriented societal approach to autistic people in general.
It doesn’t speak to me about grit or determination or courage or tenacity either, though for some it might. For me it speaks about the importance of understanding that success consists of living, sometimes for excessively tedious amounts of time in a predominant state of failure.
I promise that I will always try to approach the idea of a cure or treatment with compassion in mind. If someone feels they need to be cured, it’s logical to reason that they are hurting. I will try to keep this in mind to avoid minimizing any harm.
Jaime Heidel interviews an educator about a different approach to learning that can advantage neurodivergent learners. The student-centered classroom puts learning in context.
Autism Speaks, help clean up your mess! The time is now to demand that Autism Speaks show repentance and pay reparations for the outbreaks and deaths from formerly-eradicated diseases such as measles, pertussis, mumps, and polio.