Coming of age
What happens when children with autism turn 18?
Sara, author of Living with Asperger’s, writes:
Is he magically cured, or… does he die? You see, autistic adults exist, and there will “be” more of us in a very short time due to the increase in diagnoses made, which again is due to a better understanding about autism. This means that the society will have to “get used to” us in a different way than what has been the norm up until now.
These coming of age questions have been asked at my house: When Jay goes to college will he be ready for the constant changes? How old will he be when he is ready to live independently? Will the world be ready for him? Will I be ready for any of it?
Don’t speak for me
Back in April, when the bloggers for autism awareness banded, I was surprised to find a community, similar to the Deaf community, existing. Discovering that burst the isolation bubble I’d been living in.
That month my goal was to raise awareness. However, each day I read the autism bloggers posts my paradigm shifted. I was the one becoming more aware.
One thing that swiftly came to my attention: A large portion of the autism community was opposed to the charity Autism Speaks.
Currently there’s a petition circulating called “Don’t speak for me.” You can read about why the petition was started here.
The petition states:
Autism Speaks: Don’t Speak For Me
We, the undersigned:
- Utterly repudiate the notion of murder being an acceptable response to disability
- Vehemently deny that most parents of autistic – or otherwise disabled – children harbour thoughts of murder
- Testify that the false ‘reality’ concocted by Autism Speaks film ‘Autism Every Day’ is not a true reflection of the reality of parenting an autistic child
- Call for a public apology from Lauren Thierry for increasing ignorance regarding autism
You can read the full article and find the link to sign the petition here.
Autism bloggers on twitter
I twitter, do you twitter? TLC, author of Send Chocolate, twitters too. Know what we have in common? Yup, that’s right. We’re both apart of the autism awareness bloggers community.
If you don’t know about twitter yet, you can read TLC’s post, “13 Reasons I like twitter Better Than facebook.”
If you twitter, or start, make sure to visit the growing list of autism bloggers who twitter here. Just zap me a note or comment if you wanted to be added to the list.
If another social network has your fancy and you’d like to see a list for that – let me know. I can get one started.
To read more awesome posts by bloggers blogging for autism awareness, visit the BlogNetnews.com Autism section here.
Blog about autism and want to join us? Read this. Looking for one of the new badges or a headline widget click here.
Related posts:
- Autism Reads: From ‘Autism is Hell’ to political correctness
- Autism Reads: From dads to dads, Happy Father's Day!
- Autism Reads: From hiding in the closet to converting bullies
- Autism Reads: From mainstream to moving out
- Autism Reads: From the financial strains of autism to bad parenting as the cause
Genevieve Hinson is a social media coordinator for Children's Hospital Central California. She's also a writer, wife and mom to two boys and a girl. The opinions she expresses here are her own, as is her obsession for coffee.
Isn’t social networking amazing?! I have met so many wonderful people as a result. Of course, there have been a few bad apples in the mix as well. Life!
Loved TLC’s post – thanks for sharing. I went through the Twitter list and added people too. You *could* start a list for Plurk if you are so inclined (it’s quite fun once you get used to the layout, although I can’t figure out how to just search for someone).
I just started up with plurk. Will start a list
Thanks for the linky love, Genevieve!