Yep. And like other communities, we fight, disagree, and have divergent opinions, besides our divergent experiences. And that also means that you have to stop trying to find that one person or united voice to represent us, but listen to MANY of us, many orgs, and see the trends.
Hey, #INSAR2021 researchers, those who specialise in researching what helps nonspeaking autistic people with high support needs:
Who are your favourite nonspeaking autistic activists, and how have they informed your work?
Hey, #INSAR2021 biologists, who are the #ActuallyAutistic people who have brought research requests to the table in respect of your discipline, and what was it that they wanted researched?
How many of those projects have you undertaken and completed?
What are the steps that other autistic people must take to have research done in the discipline of biology?
I did ask a biologist, but apparently that question is a grave faux pas. Do you maybe have a social story for me on who or how to ask?
Thanks to lobbying by nonspeaking autistic people and their allies, professionals who work with autistic people in South Africa are becoming increasingly aware of apraxia as a major factor in the struggles of autistic people with high support needs.
Apraxia is a problem with purposeful movement. In nonspeaking autistic people, this typically affects the whole body. Many nonspeakers call it the body-mind disconnect or the brain-body disconnect.
A variety of methods help nonspeaking autistic people learn better control of their movements. Some of these methods, such as Spelling to Communicate, involve prompting, i.e. guiding an apraxic person through simple instructions to help them learn control.
It's #EDSAwarenessMonth and I am one of those people who bizarrely feels like I don't 'deserve' a diagnosis because I don't have a full house of Beighton symptoms and I am not as badly off as my friends, even though I subluxate my shoulders every night, live in constant pain...
...and have been worried for the last five years that I may dislocate my jaw.
Right now I am fundraising for a woman in my city whom I have never met who is dying from the cascade of health issues that comes from being medically gaslighted for so long (even though she worked in a hospital before)...
SUICIDE RISK: 3 6-year-old Autistic guy in Denver, Colarado. He's being evicted and he can't cope. He has nowhere to go. Couldn't earn enough for rent, couldn't find a place to stay. Who should he contact please? It's urgent.
That's 36, not 6.
I'm not American, but I have known him for many years, then lost contact. I now appear to be the only person left he's talking to. I said the @TheArcUS and @NationalADAPT may be able to help but I don't know if they do crisis help. Who should he contact? It's urgent.