Share this page!

Thinking Person's Guide To Autism Profile picture
Twitter logo
19 Apr, 7 tweets, 3 min read
Why do good people fall for bad autism charities & related efforts like #ColorTheSpectrum? A thread.

Mostly? "Our media conditions its audiences to fear & pity people with disabilities.”

medium.com/the-establishm…

#AutismAcceptanceMonth
#AutismAcceptance
#Neurodiversity

1/
And it’s not just sensationalistic, clickbait media outlets that impugn the rights and basic humanity of autistic people. Respected, progressive publications and writers can be just as reactionary. 2/
But because we tend to trust “thought leaders” as both intellectually rigorous and socially fair, their ableism often goes unchecked and is far more dangerous than that of their unapologetically prejudiced counterparts.

3/
This priming of progressive readers and listeners, this permission to view autistic people as subhuman, explains a lot: Why all those big-hearted celebrities don’t know any better than to support Autism Speaks and its stigmatizing campaign to find a “cure”…

4/
…rather than desperately-needed supports and services for the autistic people who are already here.

Why journalists openly scoff at #neurodiversity activists, and accuse them of not understanding the plight of the “truly” disabled. 5/
Our progressive thought-shapers need to stop treating autism and disability as rare and tragic exceptions, instead of commonplace, both now and throughout history. Parents-to-be need to be aware that autism is a possibility they can prepare for, not a tragedy. 6/
To make this mental shift happen, media outlets and autism organizations must ensure that the people who best know what autism is all about — autistic people — are always part of the conversation.

#NothingAboutUsWithoutUs isn’t just a slogan. It should be a mandate. 7/7

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
　

Keep Current with Thinking Person's Guide To Autism

Thinking Person's Guide To Autism Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @thinkingautism

Thinking Person's Guide To Autism Profile picture
8 Apr
Hey Parents of Autistic Kids: Here Are Five Big, Avoidable Mistakes! A thread based on a TPGA post by @shannonrosa, parent of an autistic now-adult:

thinkingautismguide.com/2017/04/hey-pa…

#AutismAcceptanceMonth
#neurodiversity

1/
As I have become increasingly devoted to 'learn from my mistakes, so you don't repeat my mistakes,' here are five bonks I made during the early years of parenting my autistic son, and how you can avoid repeating my fails.

2/
If you're the parent of an autistic kid, you probably get advice thrown at your head from every angle, all day long. You may even be all done with advice. And I hear you, because I am you. 3/
Read 37 tweets
Thinking Person's Guide To Autism Profile picture
20 Jan
On this joyous inauguration day, we're republishing our Letter to President Biden @POTUS on Disability Policy, with renewed enthusiasm and hope for how the Biden Administration can best serve its autistic and disabled constituents.

thinkingautismguide.com/2020/06/a-lett…

#neurodiversity 1/
Your disability policy makes us hopeful about the future for our autistic children with high-support needs. Thank you for taking the ADA, disability rights, inclusion, and QoL issues seriously, and also for addressing how the COVID-19 pandemic impacts the disability community. 2/
Many of our children are already adults, and many require full-time supports, which means we share your concerns. We also want to emphasize areas in which the Biden Administration can deepen and reaffirm its commitment to disabled people of all ages, and do the most good. 3/
Read 17 tweets
Thinking Person's Guide To Autism Profile picture
29 Dec 20
We talked with epidemiologist and all-around great guy Dr. Rene Najera @EpiRen about #COVID19 vaccine myths and facts—to both counter misinformation, & also answer community members’ questions. Some of the things we covered (a thread!):

thinkingautismguide.com/2020/12/we-ask…

#VaccinesWork 1/
@EpiRen Dr. Najera’s particulars include (but are not limited to): a doctor of public health degree from Johns Hopkins and a master's in public health, in epidemiology & also in biostatistics. He also works for a large DC-area county health department. So, yes, he knows his stuff. 2/
As COVID vaccine prioritization is on everyone’s mind: They want to vaccinate everyone who can be vaccinated, so "Prioritization was done with the recommendation of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which is a CDC committee of scientists and citizens.” 3/
Read 31 tweets
Thinking Person's Guide To Autism Profile picture
12 Nov 20
So what is it that parents of autistic people, especially those of children/adults with higher support needs, want from the @JoeBiden & @KamalaHarris administration, in terms of disability policy? Well, we’ve got high hopes! And also concrete goals. A thread.

#Neurodiversity

1/
@JoeBiden’s campaign’s disability policy makes us hopeful for our high-support autistic children. It also takes the ADA, disability rights, inclusion, & quality of life issues seriously, & also addresses how the COVID-19 pandemic impacts the disability community. All good! 2/
Many of our children are already adults, & many require full-time supports, which means we share your stated concerns. We also want to emphasize areas in which your administration can deepen and reaffirm its commitment to disabled people of all ages, and do the most good. 3/
Read 20 tweets
Thinking Person's Guide To Autism Profile picture
31 Oct 20
Why do some parents of autistic people attack #neurodiversity advocates for appearing less disabled than their own kids? Especially when those advocates are fighting to ensure a better future for all autistic people—including those parents’ kids?

An eyebrow-cocked thread. 1/
These outraged parents say "...that those who argue the Neurodiversity position do so out of ignorance," which is not merely offensive but untrue: those who support Neurodiversity tend do so because Neurodiversity is their reality, and the neurodiverse their community. 2/
Plus many parents whose children experience a "trifecta of autism, intellectual disability, & dangerous behaviors" support the Neurodiversity movement. Including the editors of this very volunteer org. Some of these parents are even autistic themselves! 3/
Read 14 tweets
Thinking Person's Guide To Autism Profile picture
20 Oct 20
Autistic Commonality and the Illusion of “Quirky”: A thread from a TPGA article by @epballou!

Some people insist on describing the autistic spectrum as ranging from the non-speaking and very profoundly disabled, to the “just quirky.”

(Ed.: Emily will explain why this is BS.) 1/
@epballou Or, during discussions about the need for acceptance and accommodation, the same people might tell autistic self-advocates, “That may be fine for autistic people like you who are just quirky, but you're not like my child.” 2/
@epballou Some of those same people even insist that autistic people who are “just quirky” should probably have a different label than 'autism' altogether.

But I actually wouldn’t mind if the word “quirky” were to disappear entirely from autism discussions… 3/
Read 41 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

Like this author's thread?

Get emails when @thinkingautism has new unrolls!

Check out other threads from @thinkingautism!

Read all threads by @thinkingautism