I don't know if I have anything particularly unique to say about autism, but finally I realized that it's valuable just to have another autistic speaking up in support of the autistic community. (And if I'm blogging, maybe I'll get it out of my system instead of ranting to my RL friends.) A lot of other bloggers have discussed the most common issues, so I'll be linking to their posts pretty frequently.
Why now? Well, April is Autism Awareness Month, and the largest and best known autism-related organization has a lot to say about autism and autistics that we'd rather they not say about us. Although evoking pity for autistics and fear of autism affecting one's family is a great way to raise funds, it doesn't exactly help create a better world for autistic children, now or when they grow up. These organizations have such a negative, medicalized view of autistics that they don't include any adult autistics in their leadership, unlike organizations benefiting the Deaf or Blind communities, for example.
As the disability rights movement puts it, Nothing About Us Without Us!
Many members of the autistic community (and even the more positive members of the autism community) prefer Autism Acceptance Month. Instead of just making people "aware" of the symptoms of autism, why not promote the idea of accepting autistics?
I know a lot of people will read that as "you don't want my nonverbal child to learn to speak," but that's not what I mean. That's confusing care with cure, which I'll be discussing in my next post.
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