Person First Language and Ableism
by Amy Sequenzia If you are not Disabled and
by Amy Sequenzia If you are not Disabled and
I told Professor Wurzburg's class in March and April about
Please join us and take The Autistic Self Advocacy Network's
I spoke at Hillsborough County School District's board meeting on
Accessibility is a right not a privilege. 20 posts
Dillan Barmache, a 14 year old autistic student, delivers his powerful 8th grade commencement speech using his iPad and brings the crowd to their feet.
We first saw Who Cares About Kelsey ? at the National Center on Inclusive Education’s Summer Institute and instantly connected to the film's message of empowering students.
The Autistic Self Advocacy Network and the Autism Now Center have created "Welcome to the Autistic Community! " It is a must read for anyone who wants to learn about autism.
AAPD's PSA features three real students sharing a simple message: people with disabilities are powerful, self-determined individuals—not victims.
"The research shows that when a child who is not academically gifted is included in a regular school, not only do the academics improve across the school, and I did say that, I didn’t say “in the classroom”, I said “across the school”, not only do the academics improve, but drug use and violence goes down."
“People with disabilities are the largest minority in the world and we are the most under-represented in entertainment.” Maysoon Zayid
"One of the treasures of IDEA is that it provides children with disabilities the luxury of just being students. Unfortunately there are still many school districts where students with disabilities are denied their right to an education." Haben Girma
"If we invested a mere one-tenth of the amount of money that we currently pour into causation into empowering Autistic people to communicate, that young man and hundreds of thousands more like him would be able to communicate their needs to us today. I am not here today to speak for every Autistic person – that’s impossible. What I am here for is to argue for every Autistic person to have the same opportunity to communicate that I have come to enjoy thanks to the support that I have been lucky enough to receive in my life." Ari Ne'eman
CALLING ALL SENATORS .It’s time for the U.S. To
Kari Wagner-Peck ,the author of A Typical Son blog, and
Know you are not a burden or trouble for being. You are a person who has every right to be. A family that is saying love but saying you are so hard so wrong for not being as they wanted. The family is wrong. Not You. A school segregating is wrong. Not You.There are many if the disability community that are here for you.
Comments from Autistic Self-Advocacy Network President Ari Ne’eman, delivered on
"Polite society often tells us that we need to take the 'dis' out of disability, but maybe... just maybe, we should spend some time putting it back in. Take the "dis" out of disability and you remove the core of what has shaped my life. Disability puts the "D" in diversity, but in order to make that a real difference we've got to own that spot. It took me 35 years to respect and honor that truth. Others shouldn't have to wait that long..." Lawrence Carter-Long
White House Champion of Change recipient Mia Mingus is writer,
"So let us remember that when we teach, when we educate, we make policy, we make decisions that we do it with a conscience and that we remember that we are leaving fingerprints on forever." Keith Jones
Kelsey Carroll lived with homelessness, self-mutilation, abuse and ADHD. She was a likely high school dropout — until she encountered an education revolution that’s about empowering, not overpowering, teens with emotional and behavioral disabilities. Kelsey’s story, a story of trying to be seen for her potential rather than her past behavior.
Her activism is clearly rooted in a strong sense of
Judith Snow, MA is a social innovator and an advocate for Inclusion – communities that welcome the participation of a wide diversity of people. Inclusion is an opportunity for EVERYONE!
"Thasya", a mini film by Dan Habib, highlights the power of presuming competence, differentiated instruction and augmentative and alternative communication. Inclusion works.
"And we’re going to develop leadership, that has a fundamental difference and that is, it's inclusive . It believes in people, and in our strengths together . And we are going to change our society. " Ed Roberts
As a deaf-blind student with very limited sight and hearing, Haben Girma '13 learned that you must be a self-advocate and come up with creative solutions to the problems you face. If that fails, she says, then the law can be a strong ally.
Upon passage of the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) on July 13th, 1990, Senator Tom Harkin delivered a speech on the Senate floor in American Sign Language. Harkin, whose brother Frank was deaf, was the lead Senate author of the ADA, which was enacted later that year. His speech is the first in American Sign Language to be delivered from the Senate floor.
"If we were to go back to the 1960s and we were to talk to those leaders who were vehemently against desegregation, we would hear the conviction in their voices of them stating why they believe their decisions and what they were doing to those children were just. Just as I believe that some of you and some of the board members that have spoken believe that their decisions are just. But, I fear that the Hillsborough County School Board is standing on the wrong side of history."
Inclusion is not only socially just, but research shows it improves academic outcomes for all students.
"I am here to make a difference for my people. I hope that you listen to what I have to say. I want people like you to stop judging me." Tres Whitlock
Join the Stop Hurting Kids campaign to end restraint and seclusion abuse in schools.The easiest way to make a meaningful contribution is to take a stand.
Autistic people are people. Autistic people are complex. Autistic people