Image description: Tweet from Marlee Matlin, “Only in Hollywood is my interpreter counted as a ‘guest’ for a pre-Oscar party saying I can’t bring anyone else. Wise up. It’s called access”

Ugh, Hollywood, you suck.

Love Marlee Matlin, she was fantastic on CSI the other year opposite Jorja Fox.

autisticadvocacy:

A Call for Solidarity with the Community of Ferguson, Missouri |

For the last few days, like many other disenfranchised communities across the country, the disability community has watched what is happening in Ferguson, Missouri. Our hearts are heavy with sorrow, anger, and fear for what is happening to individuals, families, and communities so similar to our own.

Even following the release of the name of the police officer who was ultimately responsible for Michael Brown’s death, we must still come to terms with the tragedy itself. This is a tragedy not just because of the precious loss of life or the actions of one person, but is also a tragedy that is caused by the criminalization and dehumanization of our own citizens. It is a tragedy not only for Michael Brown’s family but for the entire country.

Perhaps, it is more honest to for us to say, it is yet another tragedy that has become all too common for communities viewed as “other” to the American majority – young men of color, people with disabilities, lgbt individuals.

“They didn’t comply.” They were “bad kids.” “They were being belligerent.” “They looked suspicious.”

These statements that have no real discernable meaning often warrant a death sentence for the individuals upon which the observations are based.

Eric Garner, 43, who had asthma, was pulled to the sidewalk onto his chest and restrained in a chokehold by an officer. The medical examiner cited that Garner’s cause of death was “compression of neck (choke hold), compression of chest and prone positioning during physical restraint by police.” (New York)

Robert Ethan Saylor, 26, who had Down syndrome, went to see a movie and refused to leave. It was customary for Saylor to see a movie twice. Deputies put Saylor on the floor, held him down, and handcuffed him with such force that he suffered a fracture in his throat cartilage and died of asphyxiation. (Maryland)

Keith Vidal, 18, who had schizophrenia, was tasered, then shot, and killed when his family called law enforcement for help calming their son down. Vidal’s stepfather said, “”They killed my son in cold blood. We called for help, and they killed my son.” (North Carolina)

Gilberto Powell, 22, who has Down Syndrome, was beaten by police outside his home and was left with horrible bruises and scars on his face when law enforcement suspected he was carrying a weapon and tried to pat Powell down. Powell did not understand and ran. The suspicious bulge in his pants? It was a colostomy bag. (Florida)

Barry Montgomery, 29, who has schizophrenia, Tourette’s syndrome, and is non-verbal ,was harassed and then beaten and tasered for 25 minutes by sheriff officers when he was confronted about the smell of marijuana in his general area, and Montgomery did not respond. Montgomery sustained massive permanent injuries. (California)

Eric Garner, Ethan Saylor, Keith Vidal, Gilberto Powell, and Barry Montgomery – these are the names of a few people with disabilities who were brutally injured and killed because of who they are. There are many who were lost before them, and there are certainly others whose names we will never know because the brutality against them was never reported.

When a system that is designed to protect and serve is fueled by fear and anger, that is not merely a surmountable problem. It is a catastrophic failure of the system, and it demands transformation. Such a failure represents a lack of leadership, a corruption of institutions, and a distressing willingness to purposely and violently silence the voices of entire communities marked as different, non-compliant, and suspicious.

Perhaps what is most disconcerting however, is that the failure to support our young men of color, who are gay who have disabilities, who are poor, is not just to be laid at the feet of an intolerant police force, self-interested politicos or even a sensational hungry media. The fault lies in our own hearts.We have not taken enough of the responsibility to manage and maintain the values that we believe are right. We have been complacent in our engagement and been comfortable enough to declare that the problems are with other people. We have allowed ourselves to be separated into tiny groups of associated individuals rather than communities participating in a collective conversation about the state, direction and makeup of our society.

We have allowed problems of marginalization, exclusion, inaccessibility, dissemination, sexism and bigotry — problems that affect us all — to instead be addressed by a few, and have been content to say that it is a disability problem, or a race problem or gender problem or sexuality problem rather than admit that it is a problem for all of us. As members of a community that supports justice and inclusion we do not have the luxury to stand by when injustice is blatantly taking place in any form, and nor should we be satisfied to wait for other communities to ask for our help.

Civil rights, respect, and justice are due to all. We will not remain silent. The disability community, like the LGBT community, and so many others around the country, stands with the family of Michael Brown and with the people of Ferguson, Missouri. We call on the national and local media to be responsible and steadfast in their coverage of this story and others like it. We call on policy makers on all levels of American government not to shrink from action, and we are deeply grateful to Attorney General Eric Holder and the Department of Justice for their immediate commitment to a thorough investigation. Let us all come together, not only to rally and mourn but also to plan for action and collaboration.

Lastly, we specifically invoke the words of Justin Dart in “a call for solidarity among all who love justice, all who love life, to create a revolution that will empower every single human being to govern his or her life, to govern the society and to be fully productive of life quality for self and for all.”

The Lead On Network

Autistic Self Advocacy Network

Ollibean

Washington Metro Disabled Students Collective

Queerability

Ramp Your Voice!

Helping Educate to Advance the Rights of the Deaf (HEARD)

If you are a disability organization and interested in signing on to this statement, please contact us at LeadOnUpdate@gmail.com. If you are an individual with a disability who cares about this issue and supports this statement please share it widely. Also, we know you have your own thoughts to express and urge you to do so in the comments. We will not remain silent! The events of the last week touch us all.

We are honored to join leadonupdate, queerability, and others in signing on to this letter of solidarity with the Community of Ferguson, MO. Not only do we face related struggles, but there are undoubtedly Autistics in Ferguson, and definitely Autistics of Color who face the issues being struggled with and protested against in Ferguson across the nation and the world.

If you are a disability org, please join us in signing on to this letter. Instructions are at the end of the text.

crookednose:

minimum wage doesn’t even TOUCH a living wage, racism and sexism are alive and well, children are killed in schools on a regular basis, those who make it to college end up with hundreds of thousands in debt, our basic rights are being stripped from us daily, and adults actually believe that SELFIES are the cause for this generation’s demise

jabberwockypie:

youneedacat:

ufod:

heres an idea: instead of trying to “fix” autism try to fix the way allistic people react to austic people because saying you want to cure autism and trying to find a way to make sure autistic children arent born is just like saying that you want to cure gay people and thats :///////

They actually did that.

As in, there were studies.

They found that when they tried to improve the social skills of the autistic kids, nothing much happened.

When they improved the social skills of the nonautistic kids (by telling them how to properly interact with autistic people without freaking us out and overloading us), then the autistic kids’ social skills suddenly improved.

Why? Because we were reacting to being treated with respect for the first time ever, by other kids. Because other kids were making room for our sensory sensitivities and our social differences. Because they were making an accessible environment for us, and in an accessible environment, suddenly we thrived socially.

And that says everything about where the social skills problems actually lie.

How about making things that autistic people need more accessible and not cost WAY more money than most people can afford? If people are nonverbal much of the time but, say, have a much easier time typing, how about we just ACCOMMODATE THAT with electronic thingies that talk or whatever works best for that person?

My brother is 15 and autistic. He also has some cognitive impairments. Sam is … I don’t know a good way to say “more autistic than me” (which sounds awful) without resorting to a Functioning label, unfortunately, and I don’t want to do that. (I’m afraid I avoid looking up autism stuff like the plague because it makes me want to set the cure and anti-vaxxer types on fire and I don’t need that added stress.) *considers* Sam consistently has more difficulties than I do, though we’re both on the Autism Spectrum. How’s that? (Seriously, if you can help with terminology, I’d appreciate it. iamshadow21, do you have anything for me that doesn’t sound terrible?)

You know what would be really great for Sam? A service dog. Even though we’ve been working on the “Sam, you have to look both ways before you cross the street. Stop look and listen!” thing for years, Sam just can’t get it down. That’s a serious safety hazard! And I think it’d help him feel less isolated, too. AND it’d help his anxiety and stress levels in loud, crowded public places when he starts to feel overwhelmed. But there’s no way we can pay thousands of dollars for that. AND a lot of service dog programs are focused around little kids with nothing for teens or adults.

Most of the autism programs – at least in our area – stop around age 10. MAYBE a couple go to age 12. But … apparently autistic kids aren’t going to grow up to be autistic teens and autistic young adults? There is quite literally NOTHING for a kid Sam’s age. There isn’t in most places. And I’m not talking about a cure thing, but being able to socialize with other people his age who GET IT.

Sam knows he’s different. He’s a pretty happy kid, but he does know that. He’s lumped into a general special ed class for his first and last hour at school and mainstreamed for the rest with an aide and I HATE IT. I hate it SO MUCH. Half the time they just dick around and show the kids movies. That is not educational in any way whatsoever – it’s not like they talk about the content in any way. They don’t even seem to have anyone trained properly in Special Ed – based on my observations at any rate.

You know what Sam needs to learn that ISN’T stupid movies? Real life skills like practice with money and how much money is worth. (We work on that at home with his allowance for chores, but we can’t do it completely alone.) Telling time – though he’s actually not bad at that and I try to work with him, but I’m not a trained teacher and I can’t quite figure out which part is tripping him up. IN THEORY his actual teachers should be able to help with that.

I threw a hardcore temper tantrum – tears streaming down my cheeks and repeating sentences over and over and rocking A LOT, and screaming over my mom using the telephone – when I found out that in high school they were putting him in the “Vocational Training” class. That’s a polite way of saying “They have the Special Education kids empty the trash and the recycling bins and sometimes work in the cafeteria serving school lunch so they don’t have to pay somebody to do it.” And if Sam is doing that, he should damn well be getting paid. I went to that high school (before I dropped out). I saw the way the other assholes at high school treated those kids!

The ONLY reason that I’m putting up with it at all is that my mom has been sick/injured enough to require a lot more of my attention and doesn’t have the energy to deal with it and *I* can only handle so much – especially since I’m Sam’s sister and not his legal guardian. And Sam likes it, but he’s being taken advantage of horribly and it infuriates me. I want to rip their faces off with my teeth.

Goddamned fucking circle people.*

*Again to quote House: See, skinny, socially-privileged white people get to draw this neat little circle. And everyone inside the circle is “normal”. Anyone outside the circle needs to be beaten, broken and reset so that they can be brought into the circle. Failing that, they should be institutionalized. Or worse – Pitied

If he can tell you, I’d ask him how he categorises his autistic experience and respect that, but basically, disability is not a dirty word. If particular aspects of his autism are disabling, if they affect his life in ways that need accommodation or support, then disability or difficulty are the right words to use. You are both autistic, but your patterns of dis/ability will be different from each other, as they would with any two autistic people, especially if either of you has other diagnoses to factor in. Sam may struggle with things you can manage, and vice versa. Many autistic people object to functioning labels because they imply a line, with ‘severe’ at one end and ‘neurotypical’ at the other and all the bullshit assumptions that go along with that flawed viewpoint, when really, neurodiversity is like a colour wheel scattered with buckshot. Everyone’s skills and difficulties form a different constellation.

progressivefriends:

huffingtonpost:

For more influential women’s response to the Hobby Lobby ruling go here.

Get angry at the court! Don’t back down. I haven’t seen this sort of outrage towards the court before Citizen’s United. Keep it up. This shit is unacceptable…. and fuck Hobby Lobby.

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE PARALYSED TO USE A WHEELCHAIR

kath-ballantyne:

http://cheezburger.com/8236856576

This stupid joke on Cheezburger shows people in wheelchairs at the World Cup who have stood up to cheer with the caption “Miracles Happen Every Day at the World Cup!”

I know this is a joke but it’s part of this trend to call anyone who uses a wheelchair but can also walk, a fake.

Paralysis is really not the only reason someone is in a wheelchair. There are many, very legitimate reasons to use a wheelchair that don’t involve someone not being able to stand. A wheelchair is a mobility tool for people who have trouble with pain, fatigue, balance or joint problems not to mention broken bones or dislocations. Most of these people can stand up and even walk a short way this does not mean they shouldn’t use a wheelchair. People really need to get this. The media (and I know this is not a news article but there have been some) needs to stop convincing the public that anyone who is not paralysed is not disabled.

You CAN NOT tell by looking at someone if the they have an invisible illness. You can not tell if they have heart trouble, if they have Lupus or arthritis or EDS. You can not tell by looking at someone if they are in pain.

Going to a sporting event is massively painful and exhausting. If you are running on very little energy to begin with there is no way you can manage it without assistive devices and why should people have to miss out on things they love because they are disabled? Why should going grocery shopping be something that takes all week to recover from? If walking and standing are something you take for granted then I am happy for you but it is not something I have ever done.

I’ll use myself as an example. I have EDS so my joints are prone to dislocation. Have you ever dislocated something? Have you had a bone shift and pinch a nerve? It’s not fun. My joints hurt all the time and they are unstable. My blood vessels are too stretchy so if I stand still for any length of time I pass out. My balance is terrible and I fall a lot and that causes more damage. I also have Fibromyalgia so all my pain signals are amplified and much of my soft tissue is effected. And just to make things extra difficult I have CFS/ME. I only have the energy to shower once a week most of the time. Moving around the house is often exhausting. Sitting upright can be too much on bad days. Walking around the shops is so, so exhausting. Getting to a sporting event or a concert is a major undertaking.

I look fine. I am a fat woman in her 30s who can walk and stand for short amounts of time. I am not lazy. I am in pain and running on empty and trying not to pass out.

To go to a major event a wheelchair would help stop dislocations (not entirely stop, I dislocate fingers often while driving), it would help keep my pain more managable. It would help reserve what little energy I have so I can make it through the day. I will still need a week to recover. A week of massive pain and migraines and fevers and sleeping 12 hours a night. A week where I can’t shower or cook food or do household tasks.

A wheelchair would help stop me falling over. When you have bad balance it’s hard enough to walk on your own. In a crowd it can be awful. You get bumped all the time but if you can’t correct your balance after it you fall and falling can do so, so much damage.

A wheelchair is often more suited to sitting in than a plastic chair at a sporting event. Hard chairs with no lumbar support can cause pain and muscle strain in your back and neck, they can put pressure on joints to move ways they shouldn’t, they just hurt. Sitting for hours in a chair like that is uncomfortable for anyone but for someone with underlying problems can cause massive pain and dislocations and muscle spasms and migraines.

So don’t judge that person on the scooter or in a wheelchair or parking in a disabled parking space if they have a permit. Just because you can not see any problem with them does not mean they are faking it or rorting the system. One day of joy at an even is not representative of how people live their lives. I go to the Mardi Gras parade each year in Sydney. I get drunk and take a lot of pain killers. I spend the weeks before reserving my energy. I spend many, many weeks afterwards recovering. I know how much I pay to spend the night leaning on a barrier and cheering on the parade. If you don’t see my cane you may not know I’m disabled but that doesn’t stop the pain and the price I pay. Don’t judge my life by what you see that one day. A wheelchair or scooter would be fantastic for such a big day out but they are expensive and I can not afford one.

Invisible illnesses and disabilities are invisible but they are still there! Not everyone is lucky enough to be able to take things like walking and standing and going places for granted. Remember that.
Read the spoon theory by Christine Miserandino and stop judging people by what you can see. People could be dealing with all sorts of pain and complications and really struggling to have a day out or just get enough food to get through the week and comments and muttering and ‘looks’ and taunts just make it all so much worse. it’s none of your business.