Autistic Self Advocacy Network Announcements

[KenG]

This thread is for announcements by the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization run by and for Autistic people. ASAN was created to serve as a USA national grassroots disability rights organization for the Autistic community, and does so by advocating for systems change and ensuring that the voices of Autistic people are heard in policy debates and the halls of power while working to educate communities and improve public perceptions of autism. ASAN’s members and supporters include Autistic adults and youth, cross-disability advocates, and non-autistic family members, professionals, educators and friends.

 

[KenG]

Webinar on Model Legislation for Supported Decision Making
Wednesday, August 6th
3:00pm EST

The Autistic Self Advocacy Network is excited to announce an upcoming webinar on our recently released model legislation for supported decision making in healthcare contexts:
Webinar on Model Legislation for Supported Decision Making | Autistic Self Advocacy Network

Often, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities are placed under guardianship - and thus lose the right to make their own choices about their lives - based on their need for support when making health care decisions. Doctors and service workers may tell families to seek guardianship because they think it is the only way to make sure that people with disabilities get the support or advice they may need in order to get the health care they need. Sometimes, doctors may even refuse to treat a person with an intellectual or developmental disability who doesn't have a guardian, due to a belief that people with disabilities cannot give "informed consent" to health care.

The model legislation, which ASAN developed in collaboration with the Quality Trust for Individuals with Disabilities, would enable people with intellectual or developmental disabilities to name a trusted person to help communicate with doctors, understand health care information, make informed decisions about health care, and/or carry out daily health-related activities. Unlike guardianship, supported decision-making arrangements let people with disabilities keep the ability to make their own decisions. Advocates can use this model legislation and ASAN's Questions and Answers resource when talking to their state legislators about ways to support people make independent health care decisions:
ASAN Unveils Toolkit for Advocates on Health Care and the Transition to Adulthood | Autistic Self Advocacy Network

In this webinar, ASAN's Director of Public Policy Samantha Crane will lead an in-depth discussion on the model legislation, providing additional explanation and analysis, answering common questions, and explaining how advocates can use this model legislation in their advocacy at a state level:
Webinar on Model Legislation for Supported Decision Making | Autistic Self Advocacy Network

Those interested in participating in the webinar are encouraged to register as soon as possible, as the webinar is open to a limited number of participants:
Webinar on Model Legislation for Supported Decision Making | Autistic Self Advocacy Network

Register now!

 

[KenG]

The Autistic Self Advocacy Network is now accepting applications for the 2015 Autism Campus Inclusion (ACI) Leadership Academy!

The ACI summer leadership training prepares Autistic students to create systems change on their college campuses. Accepted applicants will travel to Washington, DC and participate in advocacy training from May 30 to June 6, 2015. Participants will acquire valuable skills in community organizing, policy formation, and activism. Travel and lodging are fully covered by ASAN.

View our flyer:
http://autisticadvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/ACI-2015-Flyer.pdf

Watch the video of our 2013 alumni sharing their experiences:

Applicants must identify as Autistic and be current college students with at least one year remaining before graduation. The Autistic Self Advocacy Network will cover travel and lodging costs for all ACI students. We specifically encourage students of color, LGBT students, students with intellectual disabilities, AAC users, and students from other or multiply marginalized communities to apply.

To apply, please submit a completed application by February 15, 2015 to Natalia Rivera Morales with the subject line “2015 ACI Application”.

View and download the application here:
ACI 2015 Applications are Now Open | Autistic Self Advocacy Network

If you need assistance or accommodations at any stage, please contact Natalia Rivera Morales.

 

[KenG]

In December of 2014, 49-year-old Katherine Lavoie was shot by her husband. A month earlier, 29-year-old Daryne Gailey and 6-year-old London McCabe were both killed by their parents.

In the year since our last vigil, our community has lost at least twenty more victims.

In the past five years, over seventy people with disabilities have been murdered by their parents.

Sunday, March 1st, the disability community will gather across the nation to remember disabled victims of filicide–disabled people murdered by their family members or caregivers.

We see the same pattern repeating over and over again. A parent kills their disabled child. The media portrays these murders as justifiable and inevitable due to the “burden” of having a disabled person in the family. If the parent stands trial, they are given sympathy and comparatively lighter sentences, if they are sentenced at all. The victims are disregarded, blamed for their own murder at the hands of the person they should have been able to trust the most, and ultimately forgotten. And then the cycle repeats.

But it doesn't have to.

Here's what you can do in your own community to help spread awareness of these tragedies - and help stop more from happening.

1. Read and share our new Anti-Filicide Toolkit.

This toolkit is intended to provide advocates and allies with concrete tools and resources to use in their own communities, including in response to local incidents. The toolkit includes information about how to understand and respond to filicide, frequently asked questions about filicide, and a guidebook for Day of Mourning vigil site coordinators:
2015 Anti-Filicide Toolkit | Autistic Self Advocacy Network

2. Sign up to be a Day of Mourning vigil site coordinator

For the last four years, ASAN, ADAPT, Not Dead Yet, the National Council on Independent Living, the Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund, and other disability rights organizations have come together to mourn the lives lost to filicide, bring awareness to these tragedies, and demand justice and equal protection under the law for all people with disabilities.

On Sunday, March 1, 2015, ASAN and the wider disability community will be holding vigils to mourn the lives of those we've lost and bringing awareness to this horrific trend of violence against our community.

If you're interested in leading a vigil in your area, please sign up to be a Day of Mourning vigil site coordinator here: Day of Mourning 2015 Site Coordinator Sign-up | Autistic Self Advocacy Network

 

[KenG]

Sunday, March 1st, the disability community will gather across the world to remember disabled victims of filicide–disabled people murdered by their family members or caregivers. We ask you to join us.

Current Vigil Sites:

Anchorage, AK

Tempe, AZ

Berkeley, CA
The Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund (DREDF), co-sponsor

Washington, DC

Kissimmee, FL

Captain Cook, HI

Chicago, IL

Gurnee, IL

Medford, MA

Salem, MA

Ypsilanti, MI

Albuquerque, NM

Edison, NJ

Brooklyn, NY

Flushing, NY

New City, NY

Rochester, NY

Springfield, OR

Pittsburgh, PA

Sultan, WA

AZERBAIJAN

Baku

CANADA

New Westminster, BC

NETHERLANDS

Amsterdam