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monriatitans · 1 year

Video

youtube

Autism Speaks is the most popular autism research organization in the U.S. They have support from loads of autism moms and people who work with autistic kids. But they’ve had a very controversial past with attempts to raise awareness like the infamous “I Am Autism” and “Autism Every Day” videos. But they’ve also been criticized for using the puzzle piece logo, promoting applied behavioral analysis (ABA) and searching for the cure to “the autism epidemic.” Today we’re going over the many reasons (past & present) that Autism Speaks is trash. ___________________________________________________________________________________

I made a couple mistakes in the most recent video.

I criticized Universal Healthcare + some people thought I meant I don’t support it at all. I am a socialist at minimum and in full support of universal healthcare. I left out the context of UK Do Not Resuscitate Orders on disabled people. I for some reason assumed everyone would know what I was talking about, and because of that I said it in a very misleading way. Firstly, the UK was accused of putting several disabled (autistic/learning disabilities) people on DNRs specifically in 2020/2021 during covid. Leaving that out made it seem like a current thing, I apologize for that. Secondly, this only allegedly happened. According to this report https://www.inclusionlondon.org.uk/wp... several disabled people responded to a survey saying they were put on DNRs or asked to sign them (when they shouldn’t have been). But we only have their word. It is not an objective fact that this happened, it’s just what disabled people say they experienced. The English NHS clarifies that this is not supposed to happen in this statement,https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronaviru... and says any of those questionable DNRs from 2020/21 were put under review. I apologize for not making that clear. I said Autism Speaks worked with Sesame St on creating Julia, which they didn’t. Autistic Self-Advocacy Network worked with them to create Julia, then left when Autism Speaks got involved later. The only mother in the video I was calling a bad parent was the one who talked about wanting to k*ll her daughter. The rest was a criticism of how autism speaks, framed the video, edited it, and what prompts they gave the moms to talk about. I should have made that more clear.

Thank you for all of the support on the video, and especially thanks to the commenters who pointed out these flaws. This correction will appear as a pinned comment on the original video, a community tab post, and in the description of the video. ________________________________________________

BETTER ORGANIZATIONS: Autistic Women & Non-binary Network Self-Advocates Becoming Empowered Autistic People of Color Fund Autistic Self-Advocacy Network https://communicationfirst.org/ _________________________________________________________________

SUPPORT ME: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/foster.the.... Cash App: https://www.cash.app/$fosterthefrog _________________________________________________________________

SOURCES: Autism Speaks Founders: https://www.autismspeaks.org/our-founder Autism Speaks Mission: https://the-art-of-autism.com/autism-... Autism Speaks Q&A: https://www.autismspeaks.org/autism-s... Daughter’s Death Puts focus on toll of Autism: https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/c... Autism Speaks Budget: https://autisticadvocacy.org/wp-content/ Autism Genome Project: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16078... Forced Sterilization in the US: https://lawblogs.uc.edu/ihrlr/2021/05... Ivar Lovaas Feminine Boy Project: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article Non-Speaking Autistics on ABA Therapy: https://autisticstrategies.net/nonspe... Autism Speaks Interventions: https://www.autismspeaks.org/interven... Cure Autism Now: https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/fea Autism Speaks & AGRE: https://www.autismspeaks.org/about-agre Autism Genetic Research: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti... Autism Speaks Research: https://www.autismspeaks.org/research Videos: Autism Every Day: • Autism Every Day I Am Autism: • I Am Autism comme... I Am Autism Transcript: https://autisticadvocacy.org/2009/09/...

#Autism Speaks #I Am Autism #Autism Every Day #puzzle piece #puzzle piece logo #ABA #applied behavior analysis #autism #autistic #Autistic Women & Non-binary Network #Self-Advocates Becoming Empowered #Autistic People of Color Fund #Autistic Self-Advocacy Network #universal healthcare #autism epidemic

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tinyurbanwilderness · 2 years

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I miss my baby 😭

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fizzyvitals · 2 months

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Greetings, happy April which means happy autism awareness & acceptance month.

As we state every year, Autism Speaks isn’t the “autism advocacy” support group you think it is. Autism Speaks is full of ableism (and 🧩). Autism Speaks is primarily focused on autistic CHILDREN, they refuse to acknowledge that autistic children turn into autistic adults. So please, don’t go buying that AS (BS) merch at Walmart.

What’s wrong with 🧩?

Puzzle pieces say that there is something wrong with autistic people, therefore “there is a missing piece” or that we need a cure for our autism.

What can I use instead of 🧩?

The infinity symbol. ♾️ After all, the infinity symbol signifies unity.

What organizations can I support instead of Autism Speaks?

There’s organizations like Autistic Women & Non-binary Network (AWN) and Yellow Ladybugs who both support autistic women & gender diverse individuals.

And as always, we need acceptance AND awareness, not one or the other. Let’s also acknowledge the whole spectrum of autism, not just bits and pieces.

This is just a short piece I wanted to write up. Let’s also acknowledge that April is also for sexual assault awareness and deaf history.

Ciao,

Azhtynn E. Myllo 🏳️‍🌈

#lgbtq #queer #autism #autism awareness #autism acceptance #autism acceptence month #spotify #education #actually autistic #autistic things

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badaziraphaletakes · 1 month

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We sold our first t-shirt! 🥳

We are honored! Thank you, friends!

All proceeds will go to the Autistic Women and Non-binary Network. :)

#good omens #goodomens #aziraphale #good omens 2 #badaziraphaletakes #goodomens2 #autism pride

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autistpride · 2 months

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It's acceptance day so of course today calls for another post.

Originally the puzzle piece logo was made by a non-autistic parent of an autistic child. It was green and black with a child crying on it. The idea was that "autism is puzzling".

Over years, autism speaks changed the puzzle piece and began to light it up blue. They, and the medical community, also promoted the person first language.

Now the puzzle piece represents that autistic people are "missing a piece" and if our autism could be removed, we would be whole. Autistic people are now viewed as a broken person missing pieces from them.

And this is the narrative that has been pushed by Autism Speaks and ABA companies since.

Autism speaks is known for dangerous (life threatening) recommendations and very little of their money ($4/$100) actually supports autistic individuals.

Autistic individuals have pushed for years to change the symbol of autism to a rainbow or gold infinity symbol.

The autism community prefers an identify first language because autism is a neurological difference that makes the person who they are. Autistic individual, not on the spectrum, having autism, or suffering from autism.

The autism community are trying to promote a symbol, terms, and things to represent themselves and their community just like others have done.

Please follow what the autistic community prefers.

DO NOT support autism speaks

DON'T light it up blue

DON'T use the puzzle piece or person first language (unless someone tells you otherwise for them specifically or your child is able to tell you their preference for themselves)

INSTEAD

Light it up gold

Wear red instead

Use the gold or rainbow infinity symbol

Just like you would for any other community.

Please support these instead!

Autistic women and non binary network

Autistic self advocacy network

#audhd #actually audhd #autism acceptance #autism acceptence month #autism #asd #autistic pride #autistic adult #autistic

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asexual-means-no-attraction · 1 year

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What do you think of historically “for women by women” organizations starting to include non-binary people in them? For example, the Autistic Women Network has recently changed to the Autistic Women and Non-Binary Network. Thoughts?

First I've heard of it. I think it would depend on if they actually include nonbinary people that were born men. Or if it's just nonbinary people that were born female.

Like, regardless of my thoughts on nonbinary as a whole, I can appreciate attempts at being inclusive. But if you're nonbinary (ie. Not a women) pushing yourself into a female space and pushing for a change in name without actually including amab nonbinary people then I have a really hard time supporting that you're even nonbinary to begin with. Sounds more like the whole gender role issue that I've talked about before. Feels like you're attached to being a women but not attached to the expectations it comes with-- which is not what being trans is about.

And yes I get that there is a gray area. Even as a trans man, there are female experiences that I relate to and have first hand experience with. But if I were to go to a female space for women for whatever reason, I would make it clear that I don't want to change the name of the space. I used to be a women, I can give input into the situation, but this space is still for women. I'm allowed to be a gray area, I'm allowed to be an exception without changing everything to include me. Because the group is for women. That's it's big thing. Bending over backwards to include every single exception, rather than letting it be a unwritten rule that they're included, takes away time, energy, and resources from the actual cause of the group. I just don't see the point. I'm fine. It's not a big deal.

#i dont need girl scouts to be called girl and trans scouts #i can just be a man calling myself a girl scout #i literally dont mind #and no one else in the troops i help out with do either #answered #ask

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daloy-politsey · 1 year

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The Autistic Women and Non Binary Network is creating a resource for families of trans autistic youth. Show them some support. https://www.giveoutday.org/organization/Awnnetwork

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toondisneyartz · 1 year

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Your annual reminder to NOT donate to Autism Speaks

So, this is my third iteration of the "Star Butterfly Commits Arson to Autism Speaks" as each year they become new and improved. I love to remind Autism Speaks to go f-themselves and for people to stop donating there. As of April 2nd, please don't wear any blue and puzzle pieces, wear Red Instead, or Star Butterfly (AKA, an autistic icon). Here are my previous iterations: https://www.deviantart.com/toondisneypunx/art/Star-Butterfly-Commits-Arson-to-Autism-Speaks-2-911812311

Where you should donate instead: ASAN (run by actually autistic people): autisticadvocacy.org Autistic Women and Non-binary Network: awnnetwork.org or you could support an autistic individual (like me) and commission them/subscribe to tiers (I will be eternally grateful): https://www.deviantart.com/toondisneypunx/gallery/85249391/commissions https://www.deviantart.com/toondisneypunx/art/For-the-Autism-Superhero-moms-on-Autistic-day-875075880 Star Butterfly is owned by Daron Nefcy and Disney TVA Made using Procreate

#star butterfly #star vs the forces of evil #svtfoe #svtfoe fanart #autistic star butterfly #autistic #Autism Speaks #actually autistic #fuck autism speaks #red instead #support autistic creators #autistic artist

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aeide-thea · 2 years

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BEHIND THE DESIGN: SNAILS TAKE THEIR TIME

There’s more to this tee than cute-looking snails. Discover its story and why creator Allison Ditzig is donating 10% of the profits to Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network.

Why did you choose to raise funds for the Autistic Women & Non-Binary Network?

“A huge inspiration for the message of this shirt is from my own recent autism diagnosis. Apparently, it’s all too common for women like myself to fly under the radar. I fell in love with the AWNN in particular because it’s inclusive to the wide spectrum of genders and the rainbow of ways autism can blossom in each individual! They fund grassroots events and provide community, support and resources for autistic women, girls, non-binary people and all others of marginalized genders. I love their ‘feminism-meets-disability’ approach.”

Can you explain the story behind the Snails Take Their Time tee?

“I’ve just always loved snails so much. I feel like they’re the perfect reminder to take each day at your own pace. Also, a phrase I’m always saying with my internet friends is, ‘F**k your timelines!’ to remind us that we don’t have to meet these arbitrary milestones that the world around us has created. We can go to school, make new friends, try new things and experience anything and everything at any and every time in our lives.”

(source)

#this felt. extremely many of you #snails #t-shirts #cute as shit

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autisticadvocacy · 2 years

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This report covers issues women and gender minorities who are from marginalized races experience, including access to healthcare, institutionalization, access to services during natural disasters, and violence against them.

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1863-project · 2 years

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5, 10 and 13 ! :]

[Autism Ask Meme is here!]

5. What do you wish more people knew about autism?

A lot, to be honest, and I wish they'd listen to us more. I often struggle to communicate with neurotypicals to this day because of certain things. The biggest issue for me is that people often don't understand when I need help, because to them I seem "competent" when I'm struggling to stay afloat most of the time. I'll even ask for help and be dismissed because I "have a Master's degree." Everyone deserves supports, regardless of what their support needs actually are.

Functioning labels aren't really helpful that way - I am allegedly "high-functioning" because I have a Master's and a job and live on my own, but I struggle with a lot of things in ways that would get me labeled as "low-functioning" otherwise. "High-functioning" is a term used to deny supports, and "low-functioning" is a term used to deny agency.

10. What are your most common stims?

My most recognizable one is twitching my ankles whenever I'm sitting on a bed or couch; most of my real-life friends have seen me do it. I tend to also do it when I'm excited about something, which said friends can definitely attest to.

I also will fiddle with fabrics in my hands because I like the texture, and like a certain someone I have a big arm swing in my natural walk cycle.

Tell us an autistic person that you really look up to.

Advocacy-wise, I've always deeply looked up to the work of the folks over at the Autistic Women and Non-Binary Network, one of the organizations my charity streaming team made up entirely of autistic members works to support and promote. Some other autistic bloggers and advocates I'd recommend (besides my fellow streamers at AGI, who are all incredible) are Lydia X. Z. Brown of Autistic Hoya and my friend and published author Adam over at Differently Wired!

#replies #sleuthgueth #autism #actuallyautistic

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kharmii · 2 months

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*sigh*

When you thought things have cooled off again someone has to whack the anti-beehive yet again and call out pro shippers 😑

Hope nothing is thrown in your way but I am truly amazed by how well you deal with this here! Really if I wasn’t so terrified of being targeted with harassment not only supporting you (even if my thoughts on shipping are a little bit different <not into ships but everyone should be free to ship whatever if it’s making them happy and they don’t actively hurt others>) but also agreeing with you on so many topics that you’ve shared.

I know there must be more people out there just too afraid of the harassment that they could receive but agreeing as well! Keep up the good fight and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise!

I knew it! I knew there had to be some sort of drama going on somewhere I didn't know about. This morning, somebody sent me this message out of the blue that said, "You're disgusting. Don't reblog my art. Being autistic doesn't make you a terrible person." They then blocked me. This individual is a Volo artist who does reasonably good sketches but not good on backgrounds. I habitually reblogged their stuff because they are a committed Volo fanatic.

Out of curiosity, I went on the Volo Nation Discord to ask this person what that message was all about. I jokingly said something like, "The sneaky little spiders of the SJW whisper network must have started some drama. The traffic on my blog ebbs and flows because of this, and now recently, I'm at a descent". Whisper networks would be useful if the women involved called out actual rapists and sexual predators, but amongst the radical left, they're usually petty (fake males) biological females who gossip about people who disagree with them politically.

What do you know, but my intuition was right! -Turns out the message wasn't about autistic people at all. A bunch of them got pissed about my transgendered stance and had a cabal in a locked Discord channel. I got bombarded by the girlies (who will assuredly grow up someday and fall into heteronormative lifestyles) who all had to tell me about how they were 'non-binary' and whatever crap. I told them I was bored and left. When I peeked in just now, I noticed they booted me, which is fine because the algorithm on Twitter is better at throwing me good Volo art.

Srsly tho, transgendered people are BORING. Nobody gives a damn about transgendered people except other transgendered people. Nobody cares about your snowflake gender, unless you are super hot like the God-Emperor of Fuckableness. Then you can say whatever goofy shit you want, like, *flips hair* "I'm Giratina-gendered, and someday I'm going to subjugate the power of Arceus and kill every last mother fucker on this entire planet!" *does cute little skip*

Emmet: *eyes pointing off in different directions* That's really interesting honey! *pats ass* You can do whatever you want, and later you can throw on that cute chiffon tunic with the shoulders cut out so I can run my autistic trains gendered man meat down your subway tunnel. Keep some ice packs handy!

Anyway, where was I. Oh yeah, transgendered people are boring af. It's no wonder people in most of the fandoms I'm in have nothing better to write about than stupid werewolf porn because they can't think of actual good stories. Worrying about genders is the equivalent of how boring people with no personalities have to dye their hair funky colors and get piercings to be interesting. My guy Dabi is like that. His douchebag dad Endeavor didn't let him go to school and build character, so now he had nothing better to talk about than how many piercings he has on his dick, or how he likes to start fires, or how he wants to murder his douchebag dad for ruining his life. At least he isn't so boring all he wants to talk about is his stupid fake gender because he doesn't look like the kind of guy who gives af about what people think of him.

#send troll prompts #volo #dabi #at least there's no omegaverse #the usual bullshit #whisper network #srsly tho #emmet #fandumb fail #the god emperor of....you know #trans people are boring #stop it #trainwreckshipping

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mirandamckenni1 · 10 months

Video

youtube

Liked on YouTube: A Closer Look at Autism Speaks || https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIvAbbVznl0 || Autism Speaks is the most popular autism research organization in the U.S. They have support from loads of autism moms and people who work with autistic kids. But they’ve had a very controversial past with attempts to raise awareness like the infamous “I Am Autism” and “Autism Every Day” videos. But they’ve also been criticized for using the puzzle piece logo, promoting applied behavioral analysis (ABA) and searching for the cure to “the autism epidemic.” Today we’re going over the many reasons (past & present) that Autism Speaks is trash. ___________________________________________________________________________________ I made a couple mistakes in the most recent video. I criticized Universal Healthcare + some people thought I meant I don’t support it at all. I am a socialist at minimum and in full support of universal healthcare. I left out the context of UK Do Not Resuscitate Orders on disabled people. I for some reason assumed everyone would know what I was talking about, and because of that I said it in a very misleading way. Firstly, the UK was accused of putting several disabled (autistic/learning disabilities) people on DNRs specifically in 2020/2021 during covid. Leaving that out made it seem like a current thing, I apologize for that. Secondly, this only allegedly happened. According to this report https://ift.tt/DgJ5GFP several disabled people responded to a survey saying they were put on DNRs or asked to sign them (when they shouldn’t have been). But we only have their word. It is not an objective fact that this happened, it’s just what disabled people say they experienced. The English NHS clarifies that this is not supposed to happen in this statement,https://ift.tt/rw0kEgf and says any of those questionable DNRs from 2020/21 were put under review. I apologize for not making that clear. I said Autism Speaks worked with Sesame St on creating Julia, which they didn’t. Autistic Self-Advocacy Network worked with them to create Julia, then left when Autism Speaks got involved later. The only mother in the video I was calling a bad parent was the one who talked about wanting to k*ll her daughter. The rest was a criticism of how autism speaks, framed the video, edited it, and what prompts they gave the moms to talk about. I should have made that more clear. Thank you for all of the support on the video, and especially thanks to the commenters who pointed out these flaws. This correction will appear as a pinned comment on the original video, a community tab post, and in the description of the video. ________________________________________________ BETTER ORGANIZATIONS: Autistic Women & Non-binary Network Self-Advocates Becoming Empowered Autistic People of Color Fund Autistic Self-Advocacy Network https://ift.tt/cg5fKzU _________________________________________________________________ SUPPORT ME: Instagram: https://ift.tt/OZ1EnQk Cash App: https://ift.tt/Gw14mhn _________________________________________________________________ SOURCES: Autism Speaks Founders: https://ift.tt/br4L078 Autism Speaks Mission: https://ift.tt/BYdPZyJ Autism Speaks Q&A: https://ift.tt/fy6wKJG Daughter’s Death Puts focus on toll of Autism: https://ift.tt/WQux6RG Autism Speaks Budget: https://ift.tt/6i8YQEP Autism Genome Project: https://ift.tt/becTr6F Forced Sterilization in the US: https://ift.tt/MaPe2uw Ivar Lovaas Feminine Boy Project: https://ift.tt/PmrZL5d Non-Speaking Autistics on ABA Therapy: https://ift.tt/P7UKj5Q Autism Speaks Interventions: https://ift.tt/0kK5jqv Cure Autism Now: https://ift.tt/eSjlQqs Autism Speaks & AGRE: https://ift.tt/zdgo79r Autism Genetic Research: https://ift.tt/cCKWwXB Autism Speaks Research: https://ift.tt/ywhd01z Videos: Autism Every Day: https://youtu.be/O0vCz2KWMM0 I Am Autism: https://youtu.be/9UgLnWJFGHQ I Am Autism Transcript: https://ift.tt/p2ImNiP

#IFTTT #YouTube

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pinupac87 · 3 years

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Autistic Organizations You can Support Instead of That Other Organization...Because Eff Them.

Okie dokie! So since this month is Autism Acceptance Month, I am sharing some resources for folks to use and organizations to support instead of Autism $peaks. Because eff them. This is by no means an exhaustive list (I do not have the spoons for that, nor am I responsible for doing that leg work for ableds for free), but it's a darn good start.

NOTE: I will be as informative as possible, and if I can’t describe very well, I’ll link the about pages and let their words speak. I also inject some humor and wrote this while I was hungry. And had no caffeine. You’ve been warned.

First off is Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN for short). They are founded by autistics and have Autistic members on their board. They provide resources such as information, articles, and are responsible for the consultation in the creation of Julia, the first Autistic Muppet on Sesame Street (until the network decided to screw them over for A$ once she was created). They oppose eugenic programs, "curing" rhetoric, and are very outspoken in terms of supporting autistic folks.

ASAN's Links and Socials: https://autisticadvocacy.org/ Their twitter: @autisticadvocacy (Same with Tumblr and Facebook)

Next is Autistic Women's and Non-binary Network (AWN). Here's who they are, in their own words: https://awnnetwork.org/about/

Women, Non-binary, trans (both femme and masculine of all genders), Two Spirit People, and other marginalized genders are under diagnosed, if at all when it comes to autism and the official diagnosis, ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder). They provide resources on education, dispel stereotypes and myths, and personal view points from Autistic folks. And they have grown and learned as our knowledge of gender is expanding. Which is a great thing! Organizations that are willing to grown and learn is a sign they are doing something right.

AWN's Links and Socials: https://awnnetwork.org/ Their Twitter: @ awnnetwork_ Tumblr: @awn-network (I think it's the same on other sites, too.)

Next up is Autism and Race and their fund, The Autistic People of Color Fund. This came on my radar (I didn't discover this, but I saw it being shared on Autistic Twitter) last year when many of the BLM protests were (and still) going on. In their own words: https://autismandrace.com/autistic-people-of-color-fund/

They are a vital organization. I cannot say this enough. Even in the Autistic community, our Black, Brown, Asian, and Indigenous Autistics are underdiagnosed and more likely to be overlooked. And the systems in place to help them grow are either not there, or too expensive. They offer micro grants to help out. And this vital. So yeah, I’m very passionate about seeing more folks donate to this organization.

Autistic POC’s Website: https://autismandrace.com/ The Fund: https://autismandrace.com/autistic-people-of-color-fund/ Twitter: @ AutisticPOC

As for what you can do in the mean time, you can unlearn a lot of ableist words and look up the history of them. And learn that ableism and racism are connected.

AuTeach on TikTok is a great and funny resource for education. And memes. So many memes. She’s a PHD candidate who’s Autistic. And she’s got an Autistic kid who’s adorable.

@annieelainey (She/They) is an amazing vlogger, writer, and advocate. She’s on youtube, twitter, IG, and here on tumblr (I think she is more active on twitter and IG these days).

There are hashtags on Twitter where ableds can ask questions to the community. #AskingAutistics is used. Just remember that we don’t have to answer if we don’t want to.

For Autistic BIMPOC there’s #AutisticWhileBlack #AutisicWhileBrown. It’s not exhaustive, but remember that the Autistic community is not a monolith, and racism is very prevalent and a maaaajor issue in the community. The community excludes Autistics of color a lot. If you are a Black, Brown, Asian, Indigenous, and/or Mixed, it is a frustrating and exhausting thing to deal with both ableism and racism from a community that is supposed to be supportive.

This is just a starting point of where you can find good organizations to support. I would also like to say that these three are the ones I’m doing fundraising for. I am trying to raise $150 for each foundation this month. Like I said, I’m passionate about this because I’m Autistic. And I want to give back to my community. So if you want to donate, and have the means, you can here. And I’m streaming on twitch while I do so.

So, yeah. Go support Autistics by educating yourself and eat cookies. Or donuts. Or tacos. Or ramen.

Now I’m hungry.

Bye.

#Different Drum Blog #BloodThreadShears #Autism Acceptance #Autism Acceptance Month #Autism #Fuck Autism Speaks #Actually Autistic #Autism and Race #The Autistic People of Color Fund #Autistic Self Advocacy Network #Autism Women and Non-binary Network #CW Autism Speaks #TW Autism Speaks

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mellometal · 3 years

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Hi, everyone.

I have something extremely important to talk about that is NOT fandom related. I really do hope this can reach everyone on here, especially since it's still Autism Acceptance Month.

A few quick questions for anyone who happens to see this before I dive right into this: Have you ever heard of Dhar Mann? If so, have you ever seen his videos? What do you think about them?

If you don't know who Dhar Mann is, he's a content creator whose main platforms are Instagram and YouTube. He makes these videos about various scenarios from a couple on the brink of divorce, to kids bullying one of their peers, even about Autism Spectrum Disorder. All of his videos have some kind of message at the end that really drives the point home. One of his most recent videos is about ASD, which is what I'm going to discuss today.

Personally, I think some of his videos are interesting, despite the concepts being reused and recycled over and over; however, how I feel about the video he made about ASD is the complete opposite. I'll summarize the video he made so you don't have to watch it. (If you really want to watch it to see exactly what I'm talking about, I'm not gonna stop you. Do what you need to do in order to form your own opinion.)

The video Dhar Mann made about ASD is about this boy who excludes his autistic brother from participating in activities with his friends at school. The boy bullies his autistic brother and does pretty much everything to make his brother's life Hell, even going as far as to pretend that he doesn't know his own brother. The boy "instantly regrets his decision" when their mom is called into the school to discipline her son for bullying his autistic brother. What his mother says is what REALLY upsets me. The message of this video in particular is this, WORD FOR FUCKING WORD. I wish I was kidding. But here's the message below:

How the video concludes is the boy reluctantly includes his autistic brother in every single activity, the boy sees his brother's potential, and they live happily ever after. Whoop-dee-fucking-doo.

As an autistic woman who works with disabled people for a living, that message Dhar Mann put in this video specifically is not only extremely ableist, but is also spreading misinformation about ASD.

News flash to all the people who still spread misinformation about ASD: Not every single autistic person is a little white boy in elementary school, nor is every single autistic person a young white man who's a Super Genius™️. (I could go on all day long about how the media stereotypes autistic characters and autistic people in general, but that's a whole other topic.) No autistic person is the same, meaning we all fall on the spectrum in different places and all that jazz. There's no "look" to autistic people either because no autistic person looks the same.

Autistic women exist.

Autistic girls exist.

Autistic nonbinary people exist.

Autistic BIPOC and AAPI exist.

Autistic people who are completely nonverbal exist.

Autistic people who are completely verbal exist.

Autistic people who are in the middle of being nonverbal and verbal exist.

Autistic people who require minimal to no support exist.

Autistic people who require moderate support exist.

Autistic people who require full support exist.

Autistic LGBT people exist. (Reason why I bring this one up is because the media almost always shows cishet autistic men and I don't see autistic LGBT representation very often, if ever.)

Autism isn't something you can "catch". People have this same mentality about ADHD and Tourette's Syndrome too, which, by the way, you can't "catch" either.

Autism doesn't "go away" when you reach adolescence or adulthood. Why? BECAUSE AUTISTIC TEENAGERS AND AUTISTIC ADULTS EXIST. Autistic kids grow into autistic teenagers, then into autistic adults.

You can't "cure" it either. Unless you can build a time machine and a device to go back in time to change how a person's brain develops, there is no cure. ABA therapy is a fucking shit show in itself that does more harm than good.

The title of the video is a real squick for me too. It's mostly because I don't particularly enjoy people using person first language (the "boy with autism" part). I've seen many other autistic people on multiple other platforms sharing that same sentiment and preferring identity first language (autistic person). There are also others who prefer using person first language and those who don't have a preference. That's all perfectly valid. Whatever you prefer people using when referring to you, or whatever you refer to yourself as, in this case, is totally valid and I love you. This goes for disabilities in general, not just Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Regarding the message in this video, here's my response to it! A quick heads-up, my response is VERY long and VERY passionate. I was VERY close to making a response video where I tear that video apart AND tear Dhar Mann a new asshole. Unfortunately, it worked me up so much that I was really struggling with what I wanted to say and I had to stop multiple times because I kept stumbling on my words. That's how angry this message made me. I'll try my best to explain whatever parts you have questions about. I put my response in the nicest way I possibly could, despite me seething with rage, wanting to go OFF on him.

(The first part of my response are the first three screenshots, and the second part are the last three screenshots.)

The first part of my response, I did forget to add that the message is offensive and disrespectful to autistic people as a whole. I apologize. My initial comment got way too long. I pretty much covered that when I told him the message is ableist. I wanted to clear that up before anyone asks about it.

The second part of my response is me opening up about my experience with being diagnosed with ASD, formerly known as As//per//ger's Syn//dro//me, at sixteen years old. I also went into how not calling ASD what it truly is (which is a disability) and calling it a "different ability" instead is extremely harmful and is treating being disabled like it's a bad thing.

By the way, saying that a disabled person is disabled isn't a bad thing. I'm disabled. It is what it is. Does it have its challenges? You bet. Does it help me with certain things? Hell yeah. I can really absorb information about my favorite bands, characters, shows, books, etc., and tell you a lot about those things. For example, I can tell you that Su can't ride a bike or read manga and she's okay with that. I can also tell you she can't tie her shoes very well, which is why her boots don't have laces and are slip-on and/or zip-up. But that doesn't mean my struggles are nonexistent or that I never struggle. I do, and it makes my life Hell at times.

The narrative that autism is a bad thing to have, every autistic person is somehow broken and they all need to be "fixed" is also super fucked up and not true. That's the narrative that I received when I was diagnosed by a therapist I had. I'm gonna be real here, I cried when I was first told that I was diagnosed with ASD. I felt like I was broken. I already felt like a total outcast. Being told about my diagnosis made me feel even more broken than I already felt. I was so ashamed of myself, despite me not doing anything wrong whatsoever, that I masked for SEVEN YEARS of my life. I masked for so long that I forgot I was even diagnosed with ASD in the first place. I wasn't taught how to really put my special interests into good use. I kinda had to figure that out on my own. I was pretty much under the assumption that me being interested in anime, cartoons, music, comics, theatre, writing, etc., to the point of obsession, was somehow weird and hurting people around me. You know, despite those things being harmless. Despite me being able to separate those things from other things that are important (like work, for example). Despite my only surviving parent, other family members, and the woman he was dating at the time completely overreacting and not bothering to see exactly what makes these things so special to me.

(By the way, having a disability does not completely make who a person is. There are a lot more things that make who a person is than that.)

It's kinda shocking that I wasn't able to come to terms with my diagnosis until this year. Considering that I masked for so long due to being ashamed of myself, plus being treated like a burden for being disabled, it's probably not very surprising. I initially thought at the time that it was the worst thing to have, as I was already struggling with enough shit back then, but came to realize it's not a bad thing. It doesn't change who I am. But I'm glad I came to terms with it finally nonetheless.

This is getting way too long, so I'm gonna wrap things up here. If you've read this far, thank you so much. I'm sorry this got so long!

If you watched the video, what are your thoughts on it? If this is your first time hearing about Dhar Mann, how do you feel about him? If you're a Dhar Mann fan, did this change your opinion on him in any way? Feel free to sound off in the comments!

Have a great day, everyone!

#mello speaks #dhar mann #autism acceptance #autism spectrum disorder #being autistic isn't a bad thing #autism isn't a different ability stop fucking saying it is #autistic community #autism self advocacy network #autistic women and non-binary people network #fuck autism speaks #i had to say this #dhar mann will live to regret his decision uwu #autism acceptance month #autism speaks does not speak for me #light it up red #light it up gold #no puzzle pieces #tw dhar mann

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