Our updated Tumblr URL name reflect the steps we’re taking toward our official name change on July 1, 2018. We will also be releasing a new mission statement, and transitioning to our new website URL. Here’s a snippet of what one of our moderators and community members, Court Alison, has to say:
“…As a person who is both non binary and autistic, I am really excited about this change. It re-affirms our commitment to the work we do and the community we serve. I didn’t have the names to put to my feelings and experiences when I was growing up. It was really challenging not knowing what made me, me.
As a young adult, with relief and pride I realized that I am autistic. Soon after, I learned what it means to be non binary. That happily fit perfectly too. It is my personal hope that the name change will ensure autistic non binary and transgender women of all ages will come to us for support and resources.
Not only does our name change express the ongoing inclusive nature of our work, but also that of the members of the community we serve. The name change is demonstrative of our commitment to inclusivity. This announcement is the first in the steps we are taking towards our legal name change.”
Image description: [pale purple and yellow background with dark text] This April, don’t support an organization that harms autistic people. [crossed out logo for Autism Speaks] Support one built by autistic people, for autistic people. [logos for the Autistic Self Advocacy Network and the Autism Women’s Network]
This Black History Month, we’re featuring quotes from contributors from the AWN anthology All the Weight of Our Dreams: on living racialized autism (editors Lydia X.Z. Brown, E. Ashkenazy, and Morénike Giwa-Onaiwu)
Image descriptions from top down.
[First image text:
“Claiming a heritage and culture is not only about color. It’s about lived experience, attachment, feelings, tradition, home, and love.”
-E. Ashkenazy, “Foreword: On Autism and Race,” All the Weight of Our Dreams: on living racialized autism, an AWN anthology available now on Amazon
Background photo in low-saturation color is a group of tree roots]
[Second image text:
“I came to understand that autism was not something tragic or shameful…. I was born right the first time.”
-Finn Gardiner, "Letter to People At the Intersection Of Autism and Race,” All the Weight of Our Dreams: on living racialized autism, an AWN anthology now available on Amazon
Background photo of a blooming flower in purple hues]
[Third image text is
“We who exist anyway, Our selves proof of a revolutionary survival power. We who must keep breathing and breaking bleeding recreating.”
-Mikael Lee, “Revelation,” All The Weight of Our Dreams: on living racialized autism, an AWN anthology now available on Amazon
Background image is a grayscale dandelion]
[Fourth image text:
“Yeah, I notice. I notice that I’m different from other blacks because I’m autistic. I notice that I’m different from other autistics because I’m black I notice Do you?“
-COBRA, “Confessions of a Black Rhapsodic Aspie,” All the Weight of Our Dreams: on living racialized autism, an AWN anthology available now on Amazon
Background photo in low-saturation color shows the back of a person’s head and shoulders]
[Fifth image text:
“If I had a time machine and could go back to my school days, I wouldn’t try so hard to mold myself into a person whom I was not meant to be.”
-Kristy Y., “Burnout in Recovery,” All the Weight of Our Dreams: on living racialized autism, an AWN anthology available now on Amazon
Background is a faded photo of a chalkboard]
[Sixth image text:
“I’m Black. I’m a woman. I’m the child of immigrants. I’m a mother. I’m autistic. And I know there are more people like me somewhere.”
-Dee Phair, "Unpacking the Diagnostic TARDIS,” All the Weight of Our Dreams: on living racialized autism, an AWN anthology available now on Amazon
Background is a closeup photo of a small child’s hand holding an adult’s hand]
What is Autistic Burnout?
a guide from Autism Women’s Network
Signs:
• Lack of motivation (hard to care about goals when everyday life is overwhelming)
• Loss of executive functioning abilities (decision-making, organization, etc.)
• Difficulty with self-care
• Easier to reach overload or meltdown
• Loss of speech, selective mutism
• Lethargy, exhaustion
• Illness, digestive issues
• Memory loss
• Inability to maintain masks or use social skills
• Overall seeming “more autistic” or stereotypical
• May have period of high energy before collapse
Causes:
• Passing as neurotypical / suppressing autistic traits
• Doing ‘too much’, too much stress
• Aging: needing more downtime, having less energy
• Changes, good or bad (relationships, jobs, living arrangements, belongings, environment, routines…)
• Sleep deprivation, poor nutrition, dehydration
• Illness
• Sensory or emotional overload
Strategies:
• Time
• Scheduling breaks, managing spoons
• Leave of absence
• Stimming, sensory diet
• Exercise
• Massage
• Reminders and supports
• Routines
• Better environment/job/etc.
• Boundaries, saying ‘no’
• Dropping the mask/façade
• Solitude
• Absolute quiet
• Creative projects, passions, special interests
• Paying attention to reactions and your body
Image one has a pride flag and AWN logo, with black text on a gold block: “When we chose acceptance and love over fear, we teach our children that they can make this world a better place.” – Lei Wiley-Mydske, What Every Autistic Girl Wishes Her Parents Knew
Image two is the AWN logo with pride rainbow stripes.
Image three reads Happy Autistic Pride Day from Autism Women’s Network with pride stripes, and has the AWN logo.]
Image description: [pale purple and yellow background with dark text] This April, don’t support an organization that harms autistic people. [crossed out logo for Autism Speaks] Support one built by autistic people, for autistic people. [logos for the Autistic Self Advocacy Network and the Autism Women’s Network]
We matter. We invite you to support us in amplifying the voices of autistic people of color.
Lydia Brown and Autism Women’s Network is raising money to produce an anthology on Race and Autism! Please check it out and consider donating- it should be a very valuable resource for the community, particularly for members of the community who are often over shadowed and under represented.
From Lydia’s Facebook timeline:
Submissions will be due before the end of this year — stay tuned for more detailed information on how to submit.
Submissions will be welcome from anyone who identifies as both autistic (self-identified regardless of formal diagnosis) and some kind of person of color, including indigenous and mixed-race people.
Please consider sharing with your networks!
I am not of colour, personally, but I am signal boosting it in the hopes that someone who *is* will see this and want to participate! There isn’t much out there by autistic people (compared to parental and clinical accounts) and there’s even less from non-white sources, so let’s spread the details of this around to help change that and get this published.
knitting in the dark 