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 »
(Image is an autism acceptance word cloud of multiple colors. Source: unknown) Today I wrote a letter to the editor and the president of “Mad in America” about an ableist and disturbing article that they published on their site. Here is what I wrote: “Dear editor, I am writing to express major concerns over your …
“Neurodiversity Is Dead?” Ion think so. Letter to the Mad In America Editor. Read More »
I’m one of those people who fail to respect their own boundaries. The type that falls prey to wishful thinking, to hopefulness, to forgiving too easily. I advise others not to do this, but I struggle to internalize this concept in my own life. So while I am not a big fan of “Do as …
(As an FYI, identical version is cross-posted on my advocacy blog [Advocacy Without Borders]; thanks!) In a LOT of ways I am a “minority.” A LOT. But in other ways, I also have a lot of privilege. I live in a resource-rich Western nation. I speak English. I have US citizenship. I am educated. I …
By now we’ve all seen them. The videos, articles, posts, etc that declare how “fake” social media is and stating how important it is to interact with “real people” in the “real world.” Since we’re still in the middle of the “new year, new you” period, such posts are plentiful right now, but you can …
Why I don’t like all of those “get off social media and into the real world” posts Read More »
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 …
So…I kinda came out this week. About my neurology, that is. In recent months, I’ve grown increasingly comfortable being fairly open about some aspects of myself in the semi-anonymous world of the internet. But IRL, it’s different. While I am not ashamed of who my Lord and Savior made me to be, my diagnosis is …
