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» For Parents

I am not your enemy.

If your child is autistic and you want a better life for him or her, I am not your enemy. I want a better life for all autistic people. However they communicate, however well or poorly they score on standardized tests. Whether or not they have medical problems in addition to neurological differences, whether the diagnosis is autism, Asperger syndrome, PDD-NOS or something else altogether, I want the best possible life for every person on the spectrum.

By “better life” I mean physical and mental health and I mean freedom from harassment and discrimination and institutionalization. I want respect for your child and accommodation as needed and I want them to have jobs if they want jobs and friends and partners if they want that. I want your child to be happy and healthy.

By “healthy” I do not mean non-autistic. Autism is a lifelong neurological condition, not a disease.

I have never opposed the legitimate treatment of legitimate medical problems. Most children and adults go to the doctor when they are ill. I object to the characterization of autism itself as an illness. I object to the treatment of intestinal problems being characterized as “curing autism” and I object to the marketing of expensive, experimental treatments to desperate parents. More than that, I object to parents being told they should be desperate.

If you have a child who is autistic, I object to people saying that your child has no soul, or is a train wreck, disaster, walking nightmare or empty shell. I know that your child is a valued human being. I know, too, that you want the best for him or her.

Please click on the title for more information

» The ABCs of Disability Rights TOWARD INCLUSIVE SCHOOLS

Prior to the passage of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA) in 1975 — now the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) — public schools in the U.S. served fewer than a quarter of children with disabilities. With the passage of EHA and through its subsequent renewals and amendments, children with disabilities, 6 million of them today, finally gained access to the public service that is public education.

While the landmark law mandates a free and appropriate public education for students with disabilities, with an emphasis on inclusive classrooms, a report to Congress in 2000 showed that less than half of all students with disabilities experienced inclusive classroom settings for 80 percent or more of each school day. The rates for students with significant disabilities were much lower.

More than 30 years after the passage of EHA, much work remains.

Please click on the title for more information

» Concepts of Normality

by Wendy Lawson

Estée Klar-Wolfond has contributed a chapter to this book .

For those with autism, understanding ‘normal’ can be a difficult task. For those without autism, the perception of ‘normal’ can lead to unrealistic expectations of self and others. This book explores how individuals and society understand ‘normal’, in order to help demystify and make accessible a full range of human experience.

Wendy Lawson outlines the theory behind the current thinking and beliefs of Western society that have led to the building of a culture that fails to be inclusive. She describes what a wider concept of ‘normal’ means and how to access it, whether it’s in social interaction, friendships, feelings, thoughts and desires or various other aspects of ‘normality’. Practical advice is offered on a range of situations, including how to find your role within the family, how to integrate ‘difference’ into everyday society, and how to converse and connect with others.

Accessible and relevant to people both on and off the autism spectrum, this book offers a fresh look at what it means to be ‘normal’.

This book will be available shortly, please click on the title for more information

» The right of individuals with disabilities to live in the community has been well established by the United States Supreme

The Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) is an international organization of adults and youth on the autism spectrum,

including Asperger’s Syndrome, working to promote the interests of the autistic self-advocate community through public

policy and social change advocacy. We are writing as friends of the court to express our concern about the treatment of Nate

Tseglin, a young adult with a diagnosis of Asperger’s Syndrome who has been taken away from his family and placed in an

institution under heavy psychotropic medication.

To read the entire letter please click on the title

» Creating Respite Solutions Workshop

Caregiving is a significant part of life in Nova Scotia, with about 36 per cent of us providing care to another person. Compounding our caregiving needs is our disability rate in the province - at 20 per cent, it’s the highest in Canada. Families taking care of children with disabilities and special needs are among caregivers with the most urgent
needs, particularly for regular respite.
Family caregivers taking care of children or adult children with special needs or disabilities are invited to attend a free workshop on May 31, called Creating Respite Solutions. The workshop takes place at Halifax West High School from 9:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Funding is available for respite care and transportation.
To learn more and to register, call 424-5822. See also the Events section of our website at http://women.gov.ns.ca/calendar.asp .

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