Autism Acceptance Day 2013: "What are you doing to make the world more accepting of autistics?"

Leo grooving on the sandstone at La Jolla Cove

That's what autistic advocate Kassiane Sibley asked today.

So, for those who missed yesterday's Al Jazeera English The Stream Autism Spectrum segment: Ari Ne'eman, Steve Silberman, and I were part of a group discussion on autism rights, acceptance, inclusion, and education. Video below:

...and if you want to continue exploring the themes of the Al Jazeera segment -- rights, acceptance, you can watch and listen to my Autism Parenting and Gratitude Webinar for The Reading Clinic. I also talked about finding role models in the autistic and parent communities, and about parents being kind to themselves so they can be the parent their kid needs. And, oh, a lot more -- the webinar is just a bit more than an hour long.

Also today on BlogHer, I wrote Do the Right Thing: April 2 Is Autism Acceptance Month. Excerpt:

You don't want to be on the wrong side of history, do you? That's a question we're hearing a lot just now. And I think it's a particularly important question to ask yourself today, during Autism Acceptance Day, and throughout April, which is Autism Acceptance Month. It's important for you to accept and then help other people understand that autistic people like my son are your fellow human beings, with your same inalienable rights to live happy and pity-free lives. That whatever their needs and abilities, autistic people are not "less" than other people.

The Autistic Self-Advocacy Network just launched its e-book And Straight on Till Morning: Essays on Autism Acceptance [Kindle Edition]. It contains the work of many wonderful Autistics and allies, including Kassiane Sibley, Zoe Gross, Shain Neumeier, and Lydia Brown, and was edited by Julia Bascom. It also includes my essay "All Done Autism Acceptance." From Steve Silberman's review:

"Rethinking social conventions in light of autism is precisely the goal of another just-published ebook called And Straight On Till Morning: Essays on Autism Acceptance. The third title published by a non-profit group called the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network, it is an anthology of essays about autism written from the inside. Each of the contributors to the book is on the spectrum themselves, the parent of an autistic child, or an ally in the disability rights movement."

I also contributed to autism & apps posts for Parenting.com and Tech in Special Ed, but I talked about those already, on today's previous post.

Since Autism Acceptance Day is just the lead-in to Autism Acceptance Month, here are some AAM projects for you to keep on top of during April 2013.

• At Thinking Person's Guide to Autism
• The Autistic Self-Advocacy Network's Autism Acceptance Month project
• Paula Durbin-Westby's Autism Acceptance Month initiative

To quote Victor/Victoria, that is what I have done about it. What are you going to do about it? Let me know, so we can promote your Autism Acceptance Efforts on Thinking Person's Guide to Autism!

TPGA on Special Needs Talk Radio

Yesterday the entire TPGA editorial team -- me, Jen Myers, Liz Ditz, Emily Willingham, and Carol Greenburg -- was interviewed by Elise Ronan on Special Needs Talk Radio. It made me incredibly proud to be part of such a smart team of ass-kicking women.

Listen to internet radio with SpecialNeedsTalkRadio on Blog Talk Radio

We talked about the forthcoming TPGA book, why it is so important for both our team and our project to represent an autism cross-section -- parents, Autistics, and professionals; what we hope to accomplish; the fact that the only investment in this all-volunteer project is our own blood, sweat, and tears (and, OK, occasionally the blood of non-critical-thinkers); and that we created this project to be a one-stop resource for families and individuals new to autism, to help them fast-forward pass the negativity and misinformation from organizations that may appear legitimate to new autism parents and the newly-diagnosed. And oh, a lot more.

A correction: rather horrifyingly, and in my nervousness, I bungled the name of ASAN -- the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network, www.autisticadvocacy.org -- and want the org referred to made absolutely clear. I cited ASAN in highlighting their new project for helping people with autism navigate college -- appropriately enough called www.NavigatingCollege.org. Please check out the new site and broadcast it widely!