Comments | nightengalesknd: What if no one came? Blogging Against Disablism Day 2016

nightengalesknd

What if no one came? Blogging Against Disablism Day 2016

Apr 30, 2016 23:35

My prior Blogging Against Disablism Day posts are (2006), (2007) (2008) , (2009), (2010), (2011), (2012), (2013), (2014) and (2015)

The local branch of the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network threw a party this afternoon. It was officially billed as a Celebration of Autistic Community. Autistic children, adults, families, professionals ( Read more... )

Comments 4

Thoughts ysabetwordsmith May 3 2016, 03:08:34 UTC

>> The local branch of the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network threw a party this afternoon. <<

That sounds like an awesome party. I've been keeping an eye out for descriptions of party types other than the typical noisy-crowded ones. Autistic parties with fidgets and stimming. Introvert parties with little clusters of people doing puzzles or sharing a couch just reading. Cuddle parties for touch-dominant people. That sort of thing. So thanks for adding to the diversity of parties that exist.

>> What if you threw a party and no one came? <<

Yeah, that happens, especially to people who aren't popular to begin with. But consider that this was the first time. What if next year, those 30 people have all told their friends "wow I went to a party and it DIDN'T SUCK!" and then everyone wants to come? That can happen too.

>> It is OK to sort people in studies under "good" or "poor" outcomes. ... )

Re: Thoughts nightengalesknd May 4 2016, 01:56:12 UTC

Oh 30 people was great. It was more of a "what if NO ONE come except the event organizers" worries in the lead up. Because parents and professionals will come to a resource fair. They will bring their children and clients to a therapeutic session. But we had to hope some of them would have the imagination to come to a party ( ... )

Re: Thoughts ysabetwordsmith May 25 2016, 05:52:39 UTC

>>The official materials on autism are often actively harmful.<<

I have observed this. Sadly it is true of many other things as well. >_<

>> I've given up finding the time to write a book but I am trying to write a pamphlet. One I can hand families of newly diagnosed toddlers. One that says basically, your kid is autistic AND it's going to be OK. ... )

Thoughts ysabetwordsmith May 3 2016, 03:08:46 UTC

>> And it’s the same in media articles written about disability. Typically the author has an ableist slant. Often, people with disabilities show up in the comments to complain. And they are shouted down by other ableist people telling them they couldn’t possibly understand. <<

This is why we need more diversity among reporters, in the media generally, in entertainment, and so forth. I really like the "nothing about us without us" rule. If you're talking about something, ideally, people involved should be part of the presentation, not just the audience.

>>What if the people saying and doing ableist things had to worry as much about getting others to listen as the advocates do now?<<

I keep telling people: You get what you permit, you get what you reward. If you encourage diversity, you'll get more of it. If you let people get away with being obnoxious, you'll get more of it. You can't control the whole world. You can control your little corner of the internet, and usually also your own choices about where to be and who to be ( ... )