These are the easiest ways you can help the cause of autism rights:
1 - Start a local group! It need not matter what you do so long as we build up more people offline without the traditional support group mentality. This will help reach the critical mass needed to truly make a difference. Something as simple as meeting up once a week for a meal with fellow aspies in your local area or even holding a LAN party can make a big difference. Go about doing this by advertising in your local paper, in community centers, schools and colleges and everywhere else you can. Give contact details (an email address or mobile phone number is advised, not your home postal address or landline number in case of problems) and arrange to meet in a local venue. Then announce it on the local groups forum here and ask for others to join.
2 - Write letters to correct ignorant remarks in the media. This is self-explanatory, but writing such letters can really help make a difference in combatting the spread of propaganda such as "autism every day".
3 - Come out as an aspie. Some people find this difficult to do, but this will also cause a gradual shift in social attitudes. Post here and ask for advice if coming out may cause problems for you.
4 - Express your views about dubious and harmful therapies, the idea of a cure for autism and prenatal testing. Let people know what the issues are and how you feel about them.
5 - Attend and support protests against curebie groups or organise your own. Much good can come from peaceful protests at fundraising events. This gets our message out to large groups of people who may otherwise have never thought of anything other than what the media tells them.
6 - Correct misconceptions but don't attack the innocent. Many parents turn to things such as ABA or chelation without realising the harm it can cause. Remember that often these parents can also be the victims themselves. Offer support and encourage them to accept their child for what they are while helping to find the best way to teach them and raise them.
7 - Enjoy your own life and do the best you can. Those who are newly diagnosed often feel depressed as if something is wrong with them. When thinking about this, there is normally little to be upset about. Ever notice that nothing changed after your diagnosis?
What things can minors in England do?
Or minors in America, for that matter.
Or minors whose parents don't know they're apsie, or whose parents are curbie?
Um, no. No, I can't.
1. I don't know how to go about this in the first place, but even if I did, it would probably be quite hard to do it without my parents noticing, and without a formal diagnosis.
2. I'm not good at letters, I don't know where to adress them, ect.
3. Tried that. Most of my friends have kind of forgotten it and my parents still refuse to even consider the possibility that I'm right.
4. Tried that, and got flamed off a usually very nice, calm, and accepting forum called Sheroes Central.
5. Again, virtually impossible to do without parental consent, which I would never recieve.
6. I do do this one, when I get up the nerve to involve myself in a conversation with such potential to be confrontational and turn into a conflict.
7. I sure do feel depressed, but it has less to do with MY attitude than those of others.
Um, no. No, I can't.
1. I don't know how to go about this in the first place, but even if I did, it would probably be quite hard to do it without my parents noticing, and without a formal diagnosis.
2. I'm not good at letters, I don't know where to adress them, ect.
3. Tried that. Most of my friends have kind of forgotten it and my parents still refuse to even consider the possibility that I'm right.
4. Tried that, and got flamed off a usually very nice, calm, and accepting forum called Sheroes Central.
5. Again, virtually impossible to do without parental consent, which I would never recieve.
6. I do do this one, when I get up the nerve to involve myself in a conversation with such potential to be confrontational and turn into a conflict.
7. I sure do feel depressed, but it has less to do with MY attitude than those of others.
It seems the majority of your problems here are with your parent's views. Have you been blunt with your parents about these issues?
It seems the majority of your problems here are with your parent's views. Have you been blunt with your parents about these issues?
To be honest, I tried once and never revisited it. My parents do not believe I am aspie, and get very angry very quickly if I mention autism in virtually any context. At this point in time, it is not worth the argument it might cause to attempt to talk with them about this.
(I have had a few calm discussions with them about it, but they are still adamant- I am not going to be seeing a psychologist anytime soon, and I think if I told them I'm anti-cure, they'd be horrified.)
Does nobody but me read signatures? Meiloyn's got a disclaimer that adresses this very issue. Use your eyes, people.
Would leaving information leaflets about autism on trains and in public places be a good idea? I do not like to hand out any paper during a demostration that will just end up blowing around as litter. People are usually bored on trains and will read just about anything. But then again I worry about litter.
AWF - So long as it is purely a joke I am not overly concerned, when people make serious violent threats I am quick to point out the stupidity of such ideas.
M - Leaving them in public places is good, but leaving them in specific locations (doctors waiting rooms etc if possible) is even better. You may even be able to get consent to leave them in such places.
AWF,
I have a friend who is a pacifist. She is very sweet and kind. In science class she refused to kill a fruitfly and look at it under a microscope. That's how non-violent she is.
And yet she frequently makes violent jokes and comments about "taking a staple gun to the faces of those loggers in the amazon".
Just because you make jokes about something, does not mean you espouse the idea.
I am thinking of demonstrating in front of the university's neuroscience research center. I could hand out leaflets and carry an anti-cure sign. I should check first what research on autism is being done there. I would likely meet some people who worked there.
My significant other is a schoolteacher in Pennsylvania and a note found in a bathroom with 'violent type' language is cause for a total lockdown and cancellation of all activities for weeks afterwards. I understand that this precaution is taken in all schools through out the United States. Ignoring such 'warning signs' in the past has led to incidences I am sure you have seen in the news.
Yes. I agree. However, I feel Meiloyn's posts were very clear examples of HYPERBOLE (look it up). When a threat is intended to be threatening, by all means, act on it. But when someone is exagerating something so as to make their point more clear by absurdifying the statement, and also makes it clear, at the same time, that their exageration is exactly that and is not intended as a threat, you should be able to see purely from the language involved that the person is not going to carry out an act of violence.
Further, having a disclaimer to nullify everything you have just written should it offend someone, is ridiculous, irresponsible and cowardly.
Why? Meiloyn is aware that others on this site, being aspies and therefore having a tendency to misinterpret things, may not recognize her jokes as jokes. Therefore it is only logical, and polite, to include a notification that they should re-evalute her statements if they find them offensive. I find it much more irresponsible and cowardly of someone to refuse to clarify a miscomunication, which is what you seem to be advocating.
I simply won't read anymore of Meiloyn's post as they are worthless to me with his caveats...
How very immature of you. Wouldn't it be much better to ignore the violence and extract the actual meaning of the post, then respond to that? Or perhaps you are as incapable of that as you are of recognizing that something was a joke whether or not you, personally, find it humorous.
And, on a side note, why do you assume Meiloyn is male? It was my understanding, from previous posts, that she was female. If I am wrong, I extend my greatest apologies, Meiloyn.
Welcome to AFF!
Personally I think that historical persons is the easy and not so long-term way of doing it. NTs just get scared of the idea of that these people have autism, and they will always deny it to the end. I think we should ourself become great persons, with a label, a label with negative connotations which we will fight against!
Tomorrow I am attending a meeting during lunch at my school for club approval (I am certain my club will be approved, as everything from the Gay-Straight Alliance to Seriously Cereal - a club about cereal - has gotten approved). Hopefully we will be able to organize a protest against one of the walks (this is my goal).
The form for club approval has already been submitted, and I have asked in the club budget for $250 to buy good books on autism to donate to local libraries. I suppose I should start a new thread elsewhere, but if anyone right now has good ideas on what books I should look into getting to donate (ones that, needless to say, should provide more positive and enlightened views on autism spectrum conditions), then please make your recommendations.
I am also in Production and Editing classes, and one of my projects I'm going to be focusing on is to make a documentary on autism, providing the perspectives of autistics (what a novel idea!)
Our views won't be understood by NT's easily, so maybe we should just forget about explaining our POV and just say that we're people too.
Unfortunately, when I come out as an aspie, people think it's hard to believe, because I have a borderline case (I just barely fit the AS diagnosis). I'm afraid that I won't be able to do much.....
Anyone else like that?
Yes, me!
If I tried to get a diagnosis, I might be able to get one of Atypical Autism or something like that. But my social skills are almost normal- clumsy, but otherwise pretty good. Other than that, I fit the criteria perfectly. I took the online Autism Characteristics Test, came out with a 20% in social skills, and as high as 70% in other areas, especially cognition (0% being the most NT-ish, and the higher the percentage you get, the more autistic-like you are). Furthermore, I don't have an official diagnosis right now, so the most I can do is tell people I have autistic traits and that "I could probably get diagnosed if I wanted to".