14 Year Old Advocates for His Civil Rights
My name is Christian Ranieri and I am a 9th
My name is Christian Ranieri and I am a 9th
I said a long time ago that I would not only be an real student In a school that supports me but also a self advocate for those lost in segregated settings echoing the dreaded lives of people in the world that are like me without the right supports.
" Talk to people with disabilities. As many as you can: Adults, adolescents, kids. These people are the real experts on disabilities. These are the people that can tell you what life with a disability is like." Renee Salas
This is not directed at anyone in particular. It is about several people I’ve met throughout my life. I sometimes need to remind myself that being me means following my own agenda and not pleasing the ones who will not be part of my story.
Should it matter that some of us are labeled intellectually disabled? Read the definitions, look at us in a realistic way and ask yourself; Does it matter? Aren’t we all worthy?
This is for every person who embodies the meaning of motherhood. This is for the ones who nurture and protect, who never consider their lives more important than the lives of the ones being nourished, educated, protected and loved.
Wretches & Jabberers | Tracy's Blog The big typing of
I love Larry Bissonnette- artist and disability rights activist. If
I am autistic. I choose to use this because of community. Not to tell you what I am or what I am not. This is my choice.
Autism is not a set of deficits. Autism is complex and all of us can self-advocate despite the difficulties we might face. Autism is life. I am Autistic, I self-advocate and I am happy.
Respect for one another is one basic quality if we want to have meaningful conversations and relationships with other human beings. The ableism that disabled people experience is a form of disrespect.
Henry met Tracy, Larry, Harvey Lavoy, and Pascal Cheng on June 9, 2011. It was a very special day, one that would change Henry's life forever.
But after watching Wretches and Jabberers, a film about autism and self-advocacy, Henry’s way of interacting with the world changed radically. He realized that he had a voice, could use it, and had a right to participate in discussions about his education and life.
After “Non-speaking, ‘low-functioning’” was published, lots of people wanted to hear from me. I met so many amazing people, autistic bloggers with so much to share and the smartest people I know. Parents of autistic children also valued my words.
Henry wrote about inclusion for the Autistic Self Advocacy Network,
Why would a parent of an autistic child decide that it is better not to listen to other autistics? Why? I, Too, Want to Understand.
Autistic advocate and poet Amy Sequenzia's message of acceptance and respect for young autistics for 2012 Autistics Speaking Day. "There is nothing wrong with being who you are. You are perfect in your uniqueness."
We hope that young autistics today will be proud of themselves and without shame. The message that boy received at that moment was the opposite of acceptance. It was ableist and it came from someone who is part of our own community.
You look at me But you don’t see me You
What Henry is doing is advocating for his rights, at the same time that he reminds us of our own rights and about how far we still have to go.
Henry takes his bi-partisan message of inclusion and civil rights for all to the Republican National Convention.
Inclusion, Martin Luther King, Jr, The Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and education.
It is a mistaken idea that we, autistics, lack empathy. It is also a myth that we are not social. My friends and I, we understand and respect differences. And we understand that we all have a lot to contribute, in a diversity of manners.
"Storm" a poem by autistic self-advocate Amy Sequenzia.
I am an autistic woman, non-speaking and I have many needs.Yes, dear mainstream media, I am the autistic supposedly too “low-functioning” to deserve to be heard. You pity me and you ignore the facts.
Our three week Roadtrip has begun. Syracuse, then on to New Hampshire and the Autism Summer Institute.
Amy Sequenzia is a poet and autistic self-advocate. Her writing is as beautiful and powerful as she is. She is an extraordinary voice in the disability rights community .
Our first Change Leader is artist and disability rights advocate, Larry Bissonnette. Larry's art, writing, presentations, and films are changing perceptions about disability around the world. His quote in Wretches & Jabberers, "More like you than not" says it all.
Respect, understanding, acceptance.Things that make me happy.Respect, understanding, acceptance. These things make me grow.
I type my words because I am non-speaking. One of
Autism Speaks: Time to Listen by Autistic Self-Advocate Amy Sequenzia
Marcus Titus, top U.S. breaststroker, rallied for change and got it. USA Swimming will allow the use of hand signals to accomodate Deaf swimmers at the summer Olympic trials.