Tag Archives: disability rights

Communication Shutdown November 1; Is it really necessary?

There are certain Autism organizations promoting a Communication Shutdown on November 1 thinking people will support Autism Awareness. The real goal here is not Awareness, but understanding and acceptance of different people who express themselves in many ways. The Communications Shutdown for November 1 will shutdown Facebook and Twitter to every one, but is this really necessary to shutdown the only way of communication people with Autism Spectrum Disorders like myself have to tell the world our viewpoints. Speaking is very important to tell your viewpoints to your peers and professionals abound. The way any person communicates in this world mostly by talking builds us up and strengthens who we are. A person who talks about their feelings to another is giving themselves a means of letting go of past bad feelings inside. So, why take away the only means of communication most Autistic people have? Twitter and Facebook used by many Autistic individuals like myself is the one of the only means of communication of our thoughts and feelings to express to others. What are they trying to prove by taking this away for 1 day? There is no real substance to organizations deciding to shutdown communication on Facebook and Twitter for 1 day. The only way to do something about this issue of stopping the communication shutdown is by supporting the fact Autistics do Speak in many different ways! By shutting down communication on these 2 major websites, you won’t be helping Autistic individuals like myself, you’ll be hurting us and yourselves!! We’ll become more shut out from the world feeling lonely and isolated.

Every body should be able to say what they feel and not be shunned or ridiculed for saying their feelings nor should they feel pushed away from the limelight. If you really want to help Autistic individuals speak their mind, let them do it in their comfortable way and practice with them to talk in a conversation.

By communicating in our comfortable way, we feel stronger, relaxed, and positive. We feel connected more with people we know on Facebook and Twitter because we get to communicate our thoughts and feelings much better. Life is a tribute to having connections for ourselves that when we fill ourselves up with connections which matter, we feel more complete as a person. So, why can’t every one speak their minds without shutting down the world? Every one should be able to decide for themselves what to do because we are all individuals and have our own ideas.

Be Strong, Bold, and listen to what we say!

posting soon enough,

OUT, J

This was too much for a tweet, so look here

Recently, I noticed Autism Speaks tweeted about how in 45 years The United States of America will be a country of Autistic people. I saw it was even retweeted by someone I follow on my twitter page as well. When I went on Autism Speaks twitter page just now before I posted this, I just noticed it is no longer on their twitter page. Did Autism Speaks realize what they said was absurd?  What was the meaning of Autism Speaks statement? What is the message that they are trying to convey to the public? Is it a scare tactic! Is it really the truth! Autism does not make us horrible nor does it make us incapable.  Autistic people can achieve and fit in to society because it is a handicap like any other.  So why make such an unrealistic and a false statement about Autism? It is a very unrealistic statement since Autism has been around for generations.
Many people have only just begun to acknowledge it in the past 10 years. Autistic people can and will succeed if only the negativity can stop trying to say having Autism makes a person a failure.   There are some conditions which can incapsulate us and make us feel weak. If only every one can feel strong enough to use their condition to feel good and embody strength from any one’s conditions. Autism Speaks falters to understand the idea someone who has any condition even be Autistic can succeed. Autistic people can at times develop seizures and many sensory issues, but it does not mean you classify those people as a failure. We live on this planet to earn our way up the ranks until we die and move on. Instead of speaking of the issues Autism Speaks brings up by saying we are all in a crisis, only then Autistics can soon be a part of society. Well, What’s wrong with Autistics being a part of society? Every thing does happen for a reason and we need to accept those reasons to live our life. May be the reason every one is acknowledging Autistic people in the last 10 years is because every one finally sees the hurt Autistic people have had through the years. I am not saying Neurotypicals don’t go through pain, they do, but this is different. This is Autism!
Autistic people grow up to be functioning Adults! It’s a fact! Believe me Autism Speaks, you need to understand the adults in this world who have Autism and will grow old with it. Autistics need patient people to help.  Autistics have trouble doing it on our own, but can with the right support given to them can succeed.  We can and will be able to move behind the low expectations that Autism Speaks conveys to the public. For all the Autistics living their childhood now, the earlier Neurotypicals help them, the more they will be more competent Adults than some Autistic Adults today who are struggling from lack of early intervention. The older Adult Autistic population are suffering with Autism because no one recognized Autism when they were growing up and through their early adulthood. This is a shame, but at least the newer generations are compensating for that. Why does not Autism Speaks try to help those Adults who are trying to fit in to society now?
It does not matter if you are in an organization like Autism Speaks or just an average person, you can help out someone with any handicap to ease their pain. Autism guarantees success if only every one brings their heads together to recognize it early and let Autistic people embrace themselves like every one else.  Strengthening egos can make any one more happy.  What will you do?  Fight for the rights of Autistic people who need positive reinforcement to succeed or spread the negative words of failure Autism Speaks conveys! It’s your choice.
OUT, J

A better Understanding begins in May

The Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee names key figures on their board including an Adult on the Autism Spectrum such as Ari Ne’eman. As many of you all know Ari’s description speaks for itself. He leads many people with different disabilities to advocate for themselves. Some people who are ignorant may not believe certain people especially Autistics can ever speak for themselves, but the Autistic Self Advocacy Network is here to help Autistics do it. The IACC is heading in the right direction especially by appointing a man who started and continues to fight for Neurodiversity. One man may lead, but it takes a whole group of people to gain acknowledgement and understanding of what the leader is trying to say.

I can not believe how many ignorant people there are in the world who can not comprehend how an Autistic can speak with proper guidance. I have spoken to many people in my adult life who feel I can not be Autistic/on the Spectrum because I speak. The gain people get from early intervention even when Autism was not really known in the past, makes a big difference later in the person’s life. Early intervention helps those people with Autism to be able to function in society and become a contributing member of society. Just look at myself, Temple Grandin, Ari Ne’eman, or some famous people in past and present history who have done well. Sometimes it is more of a tenacious feeling the person may have inside which keeps them going through the roughness of letting their feelings out.

The last thing any one would want is to be placed in an institution or a group home because society feels they are not worth anything until they are cured from their disability. It takes perseverance, guts, and pushing through to show the abilities you (a person with a disability like Autism) may have. Every one has value in this world and succeeds in different ways. Focus on your strengths and the world opens up to you.
Essentially, the guidance a person gets by receiving early intervention skills training as a toddler only helps later in life when the child grows in to adulthood since they will have a strong balanced ego.

As April’s Autism Month ended, May has begun as the beginning to end the ignorance of some Neurotypicals toward Autistic individuals and other disabilities. Are Neurotypicals ready to learn?

Good Luck to every one who has been appointed to the IACC recently. Research can be done, but understanding what people can do is more important. People can do things with proper guidance. The Adults at Adaptations in New York City is just one of the few Neurodiverse groups of people supporting each other to help make friends, self-advocate, and adapt to society. It is important for people to have a strong enough ego to be able to feel good about themselves.

I end with a famous quote about how every one is different:

Nobody can be exactly like me. Sometimes even I have trouble doing it.

Tallulah Bankhead (1903 – 1968)

OUT, J

When will every one understand the reality of the Autism Spectrum

Autism is reality! It is not something to searched for a cure, it is not something which needs to be searched for a cause either. It is something more precious than anything people think about generally. Parents are not allowing there children to have Vaccines because they are afraid of Autism, fearing the unknown. When you fear something, you never get to see the beauty inside. Autism is not caused by vaccines because there is no direct link between vaccines and Autism since it has been proven by different recent studies. Vaccines are the most important thing for us to protect us from illnesses which cause fatalities.

Let’s talk about something a little deeper… Autism is a gift! You either accept it by giving yourself pride over it or you become extremely angry since you are not like every body else. Autism is one of those things where people who have one of the conditions associated with Autism can make big strides. I know there are different levels to Autism as well which make it harder for someone with a certain Autism to live in the Neurotypical world. This can be due to sensory overload and not being able to communicate to Neurotypicals as much so I can understand why those people with their Autism get frustrated. Being in a Neurotypical world is very hard because most Neurotypicals are demanding, impatient, and need constant speed throughout daily living. Now take someone who has Autism and place them in this situation, eventually someone with any Autism will start feeling the demand to fit in properly and impatient due to trying to sense the speed of the Neurotypical world. We need to all slow down just a little bit…

We have a hundred years or so in life to live and be happy. There are more Neurotypicals in the world throughout history and people with Autism have struggled in history with interactions in daily life. People with Autism and Neurotypical people need to find a way to interact more understandably than they have in the past. If not, there will be constant bullying, no sense of patience, and life will get even worse than it is now. Let every body live their life more sensibly and let people do what they need to do to succeed!

Take care of your gifts in life!! If you have any type of Autism, you must find a way to have pride in it. If you are Neurotypical and know someone with any type of Autism, help them out if they need it, and be more patient… Life will get better if only we give it a try!

OUT, J