Monday Autism News Potpourri

Published April 27, 2009 @ 10:10AM PT

1. For Self-Advocates at Ohio State: The Ohio State University chapter of the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network will be holding its first meeting on Thursday, April 30. This is a new group, yay!

2. For Those of Us Too Old to Be Poster Children: What is missing from the "what autism looks like" campaign? If you've guessed "anything even remotely resembling US!" then you've guessed correctly! Yes indeed, we are all "heart-warming" eternal children who need someone else to voice for us. And none of us understand sarcasm, either.

3. For Those with Interest in Female Dx: More on girls from the Guardian. I find the bit, "Lizzy's diagnosis took 18 months. If she had thrown a chair across the classroom, she would have got the help she needed from the start," easy to relate to--the Lizzy of the article isn't the only person on the spectrum who didn't get identified as being in trouble due to lack of aggressive behavior. While I can be pushed toward aggressive meltdowns, much more often I become catatonic, which was, ironically, was interpreted as "good behavior" by teachers in school (I was sitting still and shutting up after all). While I disagree very strongly with this idea that the main emotion people on the spectrum experience is fear (yikes! please, please don't take that as fact!), I do find the notion that "being in trouble" doesn't look exactly the same in all autistic people a critically important one for both diagnosticians and every one else to keep in mind.

4. For All You Bloggers: May 1st, yes, this Friday, is the fourth annual B.A.D.D.--Blogging Against Disabilism Day! Let's blast the 'net with social justice stories and work to put an end to discrimination against people with disabilities! If you haven't already, sign up here to participate.

Share this Post

Comments (8)

I wish the Guardian had followed their own stylebook, as referenced in this other post of yours, when writing the headline for that article...

And as for that "Faces and Voices of Autism" campaign... GAH. "Voices of autism" ≠ other people speaking about us!

Posted by Cody Boisclair on 04/27/2009 @ 10:37AM PT
- Report close
  You must be signed in to report content.
- Reply
- Like
I noticed that about the Guardian article too! Do you have time to write the Guardian a quick note about it?

Posted by Dora Raymaker on 04/27/2009 @ 10:42AM PT
- Report close
  You must be signed in to report content.
- Like
I have time, but right now I'm not in the most coherent letter-writing state.

Posted by Cody Boisclair on 04/27/2009 @ 10:57AM PT
- Report close
  You must be signed in to report content.
- Like
I just sent them a message and BCCed you on it.

Posted by Cody Boisclair on 04/27/2009 @ 11:01AM PT
- Report close
  You must be signed in to report content.
- Like
Thanks Cody, your message was perfect.

Posted by Dora Raymaker on 04/27/2009 @ 11:09AM PT
- Report close
  You must be signed in to report content.
- Like
Reply to thread
For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment. In the process we will also create a Change.org account for you so you can track this and future conversations. Don't worry - we won't spam you. We just want to promote constructive dialogue and find that people are more respectful when they are not anonymous.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

reply to thread started by by Cody
Check Spelling
- Email me when there are new posts to this thread
- Comment Policy
Cancel Reply
I had my fifteen minutes of fame in the Guardian, perhaps uniquely I own the copyright to my image, which was not the case the first time my visage appeared in said rag.

Can I be a poster grumpy old man?

Posted by Laurentius Rex on 04/27/2009 @ 02:41PM PT
- Report close
  You must be signed in to report content.
- Reply
- Like
For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment. In the process we will also create a Change.org account for you so you can track this and future conversations. Don't worry - we won't spam you. We just want to promote constructive dialogue and find that people are more respectful when they are not anonymous.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

reply to thread started by by Laurentius
Check Spelling
- Email me when there are new posts to this thread
- Comment Policy
Cancel Reply
Great link to Blog Against Disabilism. Signed up and sent it out on the network for everyone to join. Hopefully that catches on like wildfire. Thank you!

Posted by E-Advocate E on 04/27/2009 @ 09:36PM PT
- Report close
  You must be signed in to report content.
- Reply
- Like
Sweet! I'm excited!

Posted by Dora Raymaker on 04/27/2009 @ 09:54PM PT
- Report close
  You must be signed in to report content.
- Like
Reply to thread
For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment. In the process we will also create a Change.org account for you so you can track this and future conversations. Don't worry - we won't spam you. We just want to promote constructive dialogue and find that people are more respectful when they are not anonymous.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

reply to thread started by by E-Advocate
Check Spelling
- Email me when there are new posts to this thread
- Comment Policy
Cancel Reply

Add a Comment

For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

Comment

Check Spelling

Email me when there are new posts to this thread
Comment Policy

Comments on Change.org are meant for further exploration and evaluation of the ideas covered in the posts. To that end, we welcome constructive comments. However, we reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive, abusive, or off-topic; that contain ad hominem attacks; or that are designed to subvert or hijack comment threads rather than contribute to them. Repeat offenders may be permanently removed from the site at our discretion.

Author

Dora is committed to improving quality of life for individuals on the autistic spectrum--including herself! She is Co-director of the Academic Autistic Spectrum Partnership in Research and Education and a member of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network's Board of Directors.