So…I was recently appointed to the IACC, which is the federal advisory board that handles important autism-related matters at the national level. There were ~40-ish? people appointed in total, including 23 public members…and a full EIGHT of us public members are autistic! I am beyond grateful to have an opportunity to serve my community in …
Let’s hope they don’t kick me off: these IACC public comments though… Read More »
“Would you bind my feet?” I was on my laptop in my living room entering grades into my online gradebook. Basically working from home for free (as usual…that’s #teacherlife for you, right?) on a warm weekday afternoon. The kids were afoot as they always were: my youngest daughter snuggled against my back as we sat …
Lessons from Imperial China, for Disability Day of Mourning (#DDoM) Read More »
I am autistic. I am also rearing children who are autistic – along with non-autistic children who have various disabilities. Our home is swimming in acronyms that stand for all of the different diagnoses in our home. We are quite the “motley crew,” my loud, flapping, spinning, scripting, disabled family and I. And though it’s …
Dear “autism community,” especially autism parents, Far too frequently the perspectives and experiences of autistic adults are dismissed by autism parents. Not by all parents, of course, but too many. We are told that we are “too high functioning” to understand what you are “dealing with.” We are told that we cannot understand the “severe …
(This post also appears on the “Respectfully Connected: Journeys in Parenting and Neurodivergence” blog HERE.) As much as I can, I avoid those types of offices when my younger children are with me. You know the type: quiet, sterile, not child friendly. Offices where food, drinks, and/or electronic devices are not allowed and where a security …
(This is also cross-posted on the Autism Women’s Network blog, available HERE.) Long before the day we received a formal autism diagnosis, I already knew my daughter was Autistic. However, I hadn’t picked it up at first – not because the signs weren’t there, because they were, but because I didn’t see anything problematic in …
Autism, Therapies and Acceptance: A Mother’s Perspective Read More »
I’m going to highlight a few “good cop” stories on social media this weekend. Feel free to join me. The bad ones get far more attention than the good ones, and I want to show the good ones some love. In a recent post about my daughter’s short disappearance at my son’s school, I briefly …
I have blogged more over the past few weeks than I typically blog in a year. Some people are “stress eaters.” I wonder if I’m a “stress blogger?” I hope to break that habit; I don’t want to blog only when something is wrong. But…something IS wrong. Around 4:00 PM today I learned that 6 …
This is autism. A world where we are defined as a list of “deficits” and “problems” needing to be overcome. This is autism. A world where our killers can be showered with sympathy and compassion for having had to endure a life with us. This is autism. Incessant fatigue created by having to navigate societies …
Yesterday I read a blog post written by the Caffeinated Autistic. It is short, but I suggest that you read it: (http://thecaffeinatedautistic.wordpress.com/2013/11/26/i-am-tired-tw-for-institutionalization-abuse-murder-dehumanization/). It really makes you think and I am grateful to her for sharing and for having the courage to not conform to the “status quo” even if doing so would be “easier.” In …
