FACES 4 AUTISM INC’s Post

This isn’t my typical LinkedIn post. I acknowledge creative freedom but have mixed feelings about the older song "We'll Get By (The Autism Song)" by Johnny Orr. I'm particularly concerned about its overall tone. For reference, I'm not endorsing the content. As a speaking Autistic person, I lack the perspective of someone non-speaking. Every Autistic person’s experience and perspective differs, including non-speakers. The song seems to unintentionally perpetuate negative stereotypes, and my research indicates the songwriter did not personally know anyone Autistic at the time. Orr was asked to write it by a parent of nonspeaking Autistic twins, intending to educate on autism, with a portion of the profits benefiting autism charities. My concern is that the song, presented from a nonspeaking or unreliably speaking Autistic perspective, makes assumptions. However, there is an aspect that taps into unconditional love. While everyone has their own opinions, I disagree with the language used, including comparing autism to prison. While Orr’s song resonated with many in the autism community, as an Autistic person, I find aspects both resonant and concerning, leaning towards concern. However, I can only speak from my perspective. I view my autism as a difference as well as a disability and part of my identity. Here is a link to the lyrics, with a trigger warning: https://lnkd.in/gayK-23d Snippet: "When I hear you pray to God for him to heal me, maybe one day, you won't have to pray, and I won't have to see you cry." Lastly, acknowledging the challenging and positive experiences, I would love to hear your thoughts on this sensitive topic, especially from nonspeaking Autistic individuals. This post solely reflects the author's opinions. #Autistic #Autism #Neurodivergent

This week’s Autism Speaks post is another special moment with Little Man, as his 95-year-old grandfather came to town last week to visit family from his home in Virginia. This week's episode of "Today, On Little Man Reads"... "There's a Wocket In My Pocket," by Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P.. #autismawareness #autism | Katie Sheffield | Clayton Huff | Carolina Lizarralde Silverio | Yanique Woodall | Caity Connolly | Erin Turner | Joseph Fahrney | Lauren Fahrney | Jennifer Schell Podoll | Betti Guzman | Matt Higgins | Keith Wargo — Also, had a great conversation yesterday with Danny Combs, M.A., BCCS, CAS , founder of TACT - Teaching the Autism Community Trades , a Denver-based non-profit that is aimed toward empowering autistic individuals through skilled trades education and employment. I’ll link their website information below, but wanted to give Danny a public shout-out for the work he and his organization is doing in/with the community. They work with young people very early in teaching them skills that translate into employment across a variety of sectors, and the organization has plans for expansion into other markets nationally. If you’re an employer seeking to partner with such causes, I’d love to make a connection for conversation (and don’t want anything for it), and I’d love to see what connections can be made with my other tangible connections to Autism Speaks, and see what other autism-related causes can partner with the organization, as well. (Give both Danny and his organization a follow.)

While everyone celebrates World Autism Acceptance Week, I wanted to share a few bits about my work place. Around 20 years ago when I was at the crux of finishing school and stepping into the wider world, our School Principal proudly told me that I would be an asset to the education industry! Did I even understand from where she was coming? No! Around 10 years ago at my first job, a senior colleague said to me: you have a much more compassionate nature than suited for the corporate world, you'll do so well in the charity sector. Did I agree with him at that point of time? Honestly, no! A few weeks ago, I completed a year with Ambitious about Autism, an organisation in the education charity sector, applying all my MBA knowledge and skills to uplift the lives of autistic children and young people. I am so grateful to be working in an environment where I get to understand neurodivergence a little bit better every day. In the office and at every large event: 1. We have provision for a quiet room where anyone can spend some time if they feel too overwhelmed 2. We wave our hands instead of clapping them in order to not pose a sensory hazard 3. We have stickers for different levels of comfort for verbal communication: RED if I'm happy on my own, AMBER if I am okay with being approached for a conversation, GREEN if I feel particularly chirpy. The stickers are not constant, everyone is in a different mindset on a particular day! I can go on, but you get the flow. The collective level of compassion in this organisation is unmatched with the outer world.

I consider it a big red flag whenever I see an article that talks about cases of autism growing rapidly, especially when people mention cures and “intervention”. Autism has always existed. It predates modern diagnostic criteria, it predates vaccines. When people talk about cases rising, what they are referring to is the fact that all these people who were previously excluded from society or work for being awkward or distant to others, difficult to communicate with or overly excitable were not just being rude or overly demanding. They had a condition and finally, we are starting to understand this well enough to identify it without stigma. The brains of people with autism work in a certain way that means that learning from social interactions in the first five years of life are not reinforced in the same way as they are in the neurotypical brain. This means that we lack some of the hard wiring from early childhood that other people take for granted and which allows them to do things such as reading expressions or intuiting cues from social situations. It doesn’t mean that we are stupid, just that we focused on other things. In my case, I was reading at 3 and an fiendish jigsaw solver. For other people it might be different. People with autism do not need to be cured. We don’t need an intervention. We may not even need to be assessed. We just need to be given a chance to find our place and sometimes that might involve looking at how we design a role or workplace setting. In many ways, hybrid working has been a godsend because it allows us to experiment with different ways of working. If we can work from home a couple of days per week and find that we can be twice as productive away from the stressors and distractions of the office, this should be acknowledged as a genuine fact of life. In these it is less accurate to call WFH a perk relating to work-life balance than it would be to call RTO saboutage of that person’s productivity and emotional well being. As in all things, life has to be about finding a balance… but that balance cannot be about finding a way for that person to be less autistic to make everyone else’s life easier.

What a great statement! At ABA Works we have to deny so many children due to the extreme long waitlist. I agree very much and would love to be part of this request, and have big companies like #apple #microsoft #dell #costco and beyond, to take action and share their fortune with people in need. There are endless possibilities when more electronics, basic needs for food/shelter/learning can be provided to our learners and people on the waitlist, but also if work opportunities can be created. #abaworks we have developed programs for adult individuals with Autism to help them be part of the labor force, so they can have fulfilling lives if they prefer, rather then sitting in group homes or at home. Many skills they can use when companies would invest and open up their doors, and collaborate with companies like ABA Works #aba #apple #dell #costco #microsoft #abaworks #bcba

Do NOT support Autism $peaks. They do not speak for autistic people at all. In fact, ONE PERSON on their 28-member board is autistic. Autism $peaks devotes its entire fundraising power to funding research for a "cure" for autism rather than finding ways to support autistic people--because, of course, autism is the Worst Thing Ever (tm), and we should be worshipping all those Heroic Autism Moms(tm) who will do anything (even resorting to spreading vaccine conspiracy theories and infantilizing their own autistic children to make the point that "the only acceptable thing is a cure)." Instead, please support the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, an organization actually doing the work to make life better for autistic children AND adults.

Autism didn't triple in 20 years, diagnoses did. I'm neurodivergent and I teach students who are as well. Yes, it's a disability, yes people have different levels of support needs, yes it's possible to create new and better adaptive support devices and working to fund the development of those is noble. However, this post, and in fact, how this person sees autism is seriously outdated and dangerous. Her post originally said that we need to find a cure for autism. She was pressed on it. Closed the comments, edited her post, and denied that it said that. Rather than hearing people, listening to their lived experiences, learning, and trying to understand, she's refusing to have her views challenged, is argumentative, and attempting to gaslight others, including other highly credentialed individuals. Here is why her way of thinking is dangerous; there are still places in this world where a disability is a death sentence. There are people who still think eugenics is a good idea. To be clear, she's not outwardly calling for sterilization or euthanasia but calling the increase in diagnosis an "epidemic" and the insistence on "curing" autism, which is a genetic disorder, taken to its logical conclusion, leads us exactly there. Rather than curing a variation, a natural biological diversity, a far better and more just idea would be to increase accessibility and support. Autism and other disabilities exist, they're going to always exist (even if we practice eugenics). People need support, not extermination.

Autism Acceptance Month is coming up...here's why we WILL NOT be supporting Autism Speaks. Autism Speaks is an American based "charity" set up to support autistic people and their families, but they are widely despised by the autistic community. Why? 📌Autism Speaks have a history of framing autism as a disease. One of their early campaign videos depicted autism as a silent intruder that ruins families. 📌Only a tiny portion of their budget is actually used to support the people they claim to, a huge part of their budget goes towards their CEO. 📌In 2020, only one board member was autistic, out of 28 people! Most of the board are big names in larger companies. 📌Their logo is a puzzle piece to reflect the idea that autistic people are puzzling but this has also been framed as autistic people having a piece missing. This symbol is widely dismissed by the community. 📌They have often pushed the narrative of finding a cure for autism, shared ideas that diet causes autism and overall spread complete lies about it. 📌They have been known to have ties with organisations that use shock therapy. 📌They are huge promoters of ABA (Applied Behavioural Analysis) which in a lot of cases just teaches autistic people to mask rather than manage their struggles. So many people have been traumatised by this therapy. For the most part, this charity has never listened to autistic people, they have never ever listened to the voices of the people they claim to support. They are major contributors to the fear and stigma around autism. Regardless of "positive" individual stories, they are dangerous and charity that needs to be avoided. They have certainly tried to shift this narrative, but their history and impact has been all to damaging to forget. Local charities to me are North East Autism Society and Daisy Chain. Fair Shot are also an amazing cause helping disabled people in the work place. Please share charities and organisations in the comments! Ones that are doing the good work!

Thank you for highlighting the concerns surrounding Autism Speaks. It's crucial for people to understand the perspectives and concerns of the autistic community when choosing which organisations to support during Autism Acceptance Month and beyond. Autism Speaks' approach to autism has indeed been criticised for perpetuating harmful stereotypes, promoting fear and stigma, and prioritising fundraising and corporate interests over the needs and voices of autistic individuals and their families. The issues you highlighted, including framing autism as a disease, allocating a small portion of funds for actual support, lack of autistic representation in leadership positions, and promotion of controversial therapies like ABA, are all significant concerns. It's heartening to see that you're advocating for alternative organisations like the North East Autism Society, Daisy Chain, and Fair Shot, which are dedicated to supporting autistic individuals in more respectful, inclusive, and empowering ways. During Autism Acceptance Month and beyond, it's important to amplify the voices of autistic individuals and support organisations that prioritise their well-being, dignity, and rights. By redirecting support to organisations that truly listen to and uplift the autistic community, we can work towards creating a more inclusive and supportive society for everyone. Thank you for sharing this information and encouraging others to support organisations that are making a positive difference in the lives of autistic individuals. #AutismAcceptance #AutismAwareness #SupportAutisticVoices #AutismCommunity #Neurodiversity #RespectAutism #InclusionMatters #AutisticRights #EndStigma #EmpowerAutisticPeople #AutismAdvocacy #PositiveAutismRepresentation #AutisticSupport #AcceptanceNotAwareness #AutismAcceptanceMonth #MyTraumaIsChronicButIAmIconic #MTICBIAI

Today is World Autism Awareness Day, and I wanted to take this time to share some insights on why we shouldn't be so keen to celebrate it by wearing blue. The wearing blue stems from the American "Autism Speaks" organisation's "Light It Up Blue" campaign. Autism Speaks unfortunately have a history of getting it wrong. They have consistently portrayed autism as a disease and something to be cured, autistic people as broadly incapable of taking care of ourselves, and have spent millions of dollars on books, videos and other marketing perpetuating harmful stereotypes. Instead of wearing blue, consider: • Donating to a local organisation supporting autism • Read about some of the lived experiences of those with autism • Get to know someone with autism; chances are you might already know someone in your family, friendship circles or office with autism • Spend some time volunteering with an organisation working with people with disabilities Although there are those of us with autism that do need higher support, we can participate in society as long as we have the right supports and are encouraged to succeed. I've been very lucky to have many of these supports growing up with autism myself, but there have been too many times where I haven't, especially in university and as I've began my career. If you did wear blue today without knowing this, thank you for showing your support. I deeply appreciate seeing people rally around autism and sharing their stories. But it is important we understand where these traditions come from so we don't perpetuate these harmful connotations and the organisations that spread them. Some further reading and resources: https://lnkd.in/gQptu_kA https://lnkd.in/gaCEBTEh https://lnkd.in/gZ9pN2Sb https://lnkd.in/gfa8Ng6a https://lnkd.in/gR89J3AR https://lnkd.in/gWhiUNdW #autism #livedexperiences