Wednesday, April 29, 2009

CCA petition on change.org

http://www.change.org/autisticadvocacy/actions/view/pass_the_community_choice_act_with_comprehensive_health_care_reform

Today is CCA day. Please support cross-disability efforts and sign the petition if you have not already.

Monday, April 27, 2009

The Autistic Community Mourns the Passing of Alyric

The Autistic Community Mourns the Passing of Alyric, a long-time activist and supporter of autistic rights and neurodiversity. She passed away on April 18, 2009, after a long and courageous battle with cancer. Her blog A Touch of Alyricism will remain intact. With her incisive commentary, Alyric was unwavering in her commitment to defend the rights of autistics to respect, honesty and accuracy in science and reporting, and was unafraid to take a strong stand about issues she believed in. Alyric touched many lives. She was always ready to help advocates with research, support, and encouragement. She was a well-respected advocate who made profoundly important and meaningful contributions to our community. We will miss her vibrant presence. Several bloggers have posted tributes to Alyric; here is one that describes her advocacy efforts in more detail.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

End the Hate: Petition to Tony Attwood and Isabelle Hénault

A petition created by the Autistic Self Advocacy Network is asking clinical psychologists Dr. Tony Attwood and Dr. Isabelle Hénault to stop giving their support to hate groups such as FAAAS and ASPIA that portray Autistics and people with neurological disabilities as violent by nature and abusive toward family members. In promoting the pseudoscientific concept of Cassandra Affective Deprivation Disorder, which is a completely groundless claim that being involved in a relationship with an Autistic person causes depression and other psychological harm, these groups seek to encourage discrimination against Autistic people in family law and relationships. Stereotypes and falsehoods like these can cause people with disabilities to face discrimination in divorce and child custody matters and, in some cases, to be denied their parental rights. Drs. Attwood and Hénault are closely associated with FAAAS through their membership on its Professional Advisory Panel and regular presentations at its conferences, and they recently presented at a conference sponsored by ASPIA.

Please join us in signing this petition to help secure the rights of all people to be treated equally under the law. E-mails can also be sent directly to tony@tonyattwood.com.au for Dr. Attwood and to ihenault@internet.uqam.ca for Dr. Hénault. ASAN President Ari Ne'eman has issued a statement to the community asking for support and signatures on the petition to Dr. Tony Attwood and Dr. Isabelle Hénault. It's time to end the hate!

Monday, April 20, 2009

ASAN Group for Autistic Teens

The Autistic Self Advocacy Network has created a new online group for autistic teenagers and would like to invite interested people to participate. More details below:

A new yahoo group has been created exclusively for adolescents and teens on the autism spectrum, offering an opportunity for autistic adolescents and teens to interact in a supportive, autistic-friendly internet environment. The group is sponsored by the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network, an international non-profit organization run by and for autistic adults and youth, working to advance neurodiversity, disability rights and autistic culture.

Group Rules:
1. To join you must be on the autism spectrum (self-diagnosed individuals are welcome) and at least 13 years of age.
2. Be respectful of your fellow list members.
3. Do not repost messages outside of the list.
4. If you have a question, feel free to ask.
5. Do not engage in personal attacks against other list members.

The list will be closely moderated by adults from the Autistic Self Advocacy Network to ensure that all list content remains legal, age-appropriate, free of spam and solicitation, and in compliance with the group rules.

To join the group, visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ASANTeens , click the "Join this group" button, and follow the instructions.For more information, contact list moderator Dora Raymaker at dora@aaspireproject.org.

Please pass this information along to any adolescents and teens you know who would be interested!

Friday, April 17, 2009

No Myths Autism PSA: A Different Kind of Autism Awareness

ASAN worked with the Dan Marino Foundation and Kent Creative to develop the following autism PSA.




Youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_dPZDcX_ck
Captioned Version: http://www.overstream.net/view.php?oid=udtvrbt0rlao

Go to http://www.nomyths.org/ to learn more. This PSA is brought to you by the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (http://www.autisticadvocacy.org/), Kent Creative (http://www.kentcreative.com/) and the Dan Marino Foundation (http://www.danmarinofoundation.org/).

About the Public Service Announcement:

The "No Myths" PSA offers a refreshingly positive and optimistic view about life with autism. And it was written and performed by people who should know--individuals who are on the autism spectrum themselves. The purpose of the PSA is to tell society that, with the right supports, people with autism can do anything anybody else can do, even if it isn't in the same way. Ari Ne'eman, president of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, leads a cast that includes {in order of appearance} Dena Gassner, Ben Liske, and Jacob Pratt.

The Dan Marino Foundation of Weston, FL sponsored the piece, which was filmed by Nashville-based Kent Creative. Jon Kent directed the PSA and Britt Simmons was the Director of Photography.

"No Myths" was filmed inside the Parthenon in Nashville, TN. The Nashville Parthenon, which was built in 1897, is a full-scale replica of the ancient Greek Temple. The two bronze doors, used as a symbol throughout the PSA, weigh 7.5 tons each, and are thought to be the largest pair of matching bronze doors in existence. The producers wish to thank Citation Film Support and the Filmworker's Club of Nashville for their generous support of this project.

Regards,

Ari Ne'eman
President
The Autistic Self Advocacy Network
1660 L Street, NW, Suite 700
Washington, DC 20036
http://www.autisticadvocacy.org/
732.763.5530