Among other things, we'll be discussing...
- recruiting and sustainability,
- spring self-advocacy workshops for autistic teens and youth,
- creating buttons, stickers, and other items, and
- Autistic Pride Day in June.
Showing posts with label Meetings and Community Outreach. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Meetings and Community Outreach. Show all posts
Next meeting: Thursday, 5/12 @ 5:45pm
ASAN-Central Ohio/Ohio State will be holding its next meeting on Thursday, 5/12 at 5:45pm at the campus Barnes & Noble in the coffee shop area (1598 N. High St.).
Among other things, we'll be discussing...
Among other things, we'll be discussing...
Next meeting: Thursday, 2/24 @ 5:45pm
ASAN-Central Ohio/Ohio State will be holding its next meeting tomorrow, Thursday, 2/24 at 5:45pm at the campus Barnes & Noble in the coffee shop area (1598 N. High St.).
Among other things, we'll be discussing and planning for...
Among other things, we'll be discussing and planning for...
- recruiting and sustainability,
- spring self-advocacy workshops for autistic teens and youth,
- a spring reading/art show for and by people on the spectrum, and
- Autistic Pride Day in June.
Upcoming ASAN meetings
ASAN-Ohio State/Central Ohio will be holding its next meeting this Thursday, January 20 from 5:45pm to 7:00pm. We will be meeting in the campus-area Barnes & Noble, located at 1598 N. High St., in the coffee shop area.
All are welcome! Among other things, we'll discuss plans for spring self-advocacy workshops, button designs, and future guest speakers.
Other upcoming meetings are scheduled for Thursday, February 10 and Thursday, February 24 at 5:45pm at the campus Barnes & Noble.
All are welcome! Among other things, we'll discuss plans for spring self-advocacy workshops, button designs, and future guest speakers.
Other upcoming meetings are scheduled for Thursday, February 10 and Thursday, February 24 at 5:45pm at the campus Barnes & Noble.
ASAN-OSU attends Nisonger Autism Institute
On Wednesday, June 23, Benzion Chinn, Patrick Meehan, Melanie Yergeau, Whitney Brooks, and Hillary Spears attended the first annual Nisonger Autism Institute at Ohio State, a day-long conference that focused on transition issues across the lifespan.
Melanie, Benzion, and Patrick
Attendees primarily included service providers and researchers, and to a lesser extent included parents. Out of over 100 people, Benzion, Patrick, and Melanie were the only autistic self-advocates in attendance. Both Benzion and Patrick presented on behalf of Aspirations Ohio regarding transition into adulthood.
During the institute, ASAN members distributed ASAN literature and autistic pride buttons to many in the audience; additionally, the editor of Disability Studies Quarterly distributed information about the journal's recent issue on neurodiversity, which features the work of several ASAN members and supporters.
ASAN-Central Ohio is currently drafting feedback for the institute's organizers. Other recaps of the day's events can be found at Benzion's blog and Melanie's twitter archive.
Attendees primarily included service providers and researchers, and to a lesser extent included parents. Out of over 100 people, Benzion, Patrick, and Melanie were the only autistic self-advocates in attendance. Both Benzion and Patrick presented on behalf of Aspirations Ohio regarding transition into adulthood.
Whitney, Hillary, and Melanie
During the institute, ASAN members distributed ASAN literature and autistic pride buttons to many in the audience; additionally, the editor of Disability Studies Quarterly distributed information about the journal's recent issue on neurodiversity, which features the work of several ASAN members and supporters.
ASAN-Central Ohio is currently drafting feedback for the institute's organizers. Other recaps of the day's events can be found at Benzion's blog and Melanie's twitter archive.
Preventing harmful restraint and seclusion in schools
Hello,
On behalf of APRAIS (the Alliance to Prevent Restraint, Aversive Interventions and Seclusion), the Autistic Self Advocacy Network along with other APRAIS organizations is encouraging you to contact your congressional representatives during our National Call-In Day on February 26, 2010 and tell them to support the Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act (H.R. 4247, S. 2860).
Recently, the House Committee on Education and Labor voted H.R. 4247 out of committee with a vote of 35 to 10. Your hard work has certainly made a difference, but we need your continued efforts to advance this important legislation. Specifically, we need your assistance to get the bill moved to the floor for a full House vote and to obtain Co-sponsors for the Senate version, S. 2860.
Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) introduced the Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act in the Senate, but we need to increase the number of Senate Co-Sponsors and get this bill out of committee as soon as possible. Once passed, this legislation will provide students with and without disabilities vital protections against abuse in schools.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Ask your Congressional Representative to Co-sponsor H.R. 4247 and your Senators to Co-Sponsor S. 2860 on Friday, February 26th!!
- To find out the names of your US Senators and Representative, click here [link to www.congress.org]
- Dial the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask for the offices of your US Senators and Representative
- Ask to speak to the person working on education issues
- Identify yourself as a constituent and the organization that you represent (if any)
Regards,
Ari Ne'emanPresident
The Autistic Self Advocacy Network
http://www.autisticadvocacy.
info@autisticadvocacy.org
(202) 596-1056
Meeting & Protest against Autism Speaks
Meeting
The Autistic Self-Advocacy Network (ASAN) - Ohio State/Central Ohio chapter will be meeting on Thursday, October 1st at 5:45pm at the campus Barnes & Noble (1598 N. High St.). We'll be meeting in the coffee shop area. This will be our first meeting of fall quarter, and we're hoping to see some new faces! Among the things we'll be discussing: our upcoming protest of the autism walk, generating more signatures for our petition to President Gee, planning for the year, and proposing a session on autism, employment, and/or education for the Multiple Perspectives conference. OSU students, faculty, staff, and community members are welcome to attend!
Protest against Autism Speaks
Additionally, ASAN will be protesting the Autism Speaks walk for autism on Sunday, October 11 from 8:30am to 12:00pm. We'll be meeting at the corner of Fred Taylor and Borror Drive, right by the 4-H Center, and this is where we'll carry out our protest. We are actively looking for volunteers and fellow protesters. Our protest has been sparked by, among other things, Autism Speaks' recent PSA, titled "I Am Autism," which presents autistic individuals as kidnap victims, burdens, and inhuman. In the video, autism is presented as a soul-stealing entity that ruins marriages, causes bankruptcy, triggers embarrassment, and erodes morality. Please join us (even if only for a short while) as we speak back to Autism Speaks and the discrimination that such a campaign perpetuates.
Please contact us at asan.ohiostate@gmail.com with questions.
Petition to President Gee
Finally, ASAN-OSU has drafted a petition to President Gee, who is co-chairing the walk, asking him to withdraw his support from Autism Speaks. The petition describes Autism Speaks' unrepresentative leadership, its eugenic aims, and its harmful advertising. The petition is pasted at the end of this blog post. We're hoping to gather as many signatures from students, faculty, staff, and community members as possible. If you are an Ohio resident and would be willing to attach your name to the petition, please email us at asan.ohiostate@gmail.com with your name, email (we won't spam you), and position (e.g., student, staff, faculty, parent, Ohio resident, etc.).
Links
Email contact: asan.ohiostate@gmail.com
ASAN-Central Ohio blog: http://asancentralohio.
Why Autism Speaks Does Not Speak for Us: http://asancentralohio.
ASAN's response to "I Am Autism": http://asancentralohio.
Petition
Dear President Gee and the Board of Trustees:
We, the undersigned students, faculty, staff, and community members, urge you to reconsider your support of Autism Speaks. Autism Speaks is an organization that does more damage to the lives of autistic people than good through its unethical advertising, support for eugenic research, and unrepresentative leadership. We here pledge to refrain from supporting Autism Speaks, and we encourage you do to so as well, for the following reasons:
The Autistic Self-Advocacy Network (ASAN) - Ohio State/Central Ohio chapter will be meeting on Thursday, October 1st at 5:45pm at the campus Barnes & Noble (1598 N. High St.). We'll be meeting in the coffee shop area. This will be our first meeting of fall quarter, and we're hoping to see some new faces! Among the things we'll be discussing: our upcoming protest of the autism walk, generating more signatures for our petition to President Gee, planning for the year, and proposing a session on autism, employment, and/or education for the Multiple Perspectives conference. OSU students, faculty, staff, and community members are welcome to attend!
Protest against Autism Speaks
Additionally, ASAN will be protesting the Autism Speaks walk for autism on Sunday, October 11 from 8:30am to 12:00pm. We'll be meeting at the corner of Fred Taylor and Borror Drive, right by the 4-H Center, and this is where we'll carry out our protest. We are actively looking for volunteers and fellow protesters. Our protest has been sparked by, among other things, Autism Speaks' recent PSA, titled "I Am Autism," which presents autistic individuals as kidnap victims, burdens, and inhuman. In the video, autism is presented as a soul-stealing entity that ruins marriages, causes bankruptcy, triggers embarrassment, and erodes morality. Please join us (even if only for a short while) as we speak back to Autism Speaks and the discrimination that such a campaign perpetuates.
Please contact us at asan.ohiostate@gmail.com with questions.
Petition to President Gee
Finally, ASAN-OSU has drafted a petition to President Gee, who is co-chairing the walk, asking him to withdraw his support from Autism Speaks. The petition describes Autism Speaks' unrepresentative leadership, its eugenic aims, and its harmful advertising. The petition is pasted at the end of this blog post. We're hoping to gather as many signatures from students, faculty, staff, and community members as possible. If you are an Ohio resident and would be willing to attach your name to the petition, please email us at asan.ohiostate@gmail.com with your name, email (we won't spam you), and position (e.g., student, staff, faculty, parent, Ohio resident, etc.).
Links
Email contact: asan.ohiostate@gmail.com
ASAN-Central Ohio blog: http://asancentralohio.
Why Autism Speaks Does Not Speak for Us: http://asancentralohio.
ASAN's response to "I Am Autism": http://asancentralohio.
Petition
Dear President Gee and the Board of Trustees:
We, the undersigned students, faculty, staff, and community members, urge you to reconsider your support of Autism Speaks. Autism Speaks is an organization that does more damage to the lives of autistic people than good through its unethical advertising, support for eugenic research, and unrepresentative leadership. We here pledge to refrain from supporting Autism Speaks, and we encourage you do to so as well, for the following reasons:
- Autism Speaks claims to speak for autistic people without a single autistic person on its board of directors or leadership committees. This is far out of line with the mainstream of the disability community, where individuals with disabilities work side by side with family members, professionals, and others to achieve quality of life and equality of opportunity. Moreover, those who do make decisions in Autism Speaks are far removed from the realities of our lives. It is worth noting that Autism Speaks’ highest paid employee, Chief Science Officer Geraldine Dawson, has an annual salary in excess of $600,000, more than the fundraising total of last year’s walk in Columbus.
- Many autistic people and their families find Autism Speaks’ advertising to be offensive. Their ads compare a life on the autism spectrum to a car accident, being struck by lightning, a terminal illness, and other fatal situations. Rather than work to decrease stigma and increase respect for autistic people, Autism Speaks’ advertising fosters pity, shame, and fear, suggesting that our very lives are mistakes and burdens.
- Autism Speaks’ fundraising goes toward genetic research aimed at developing a prenatal test with potentially eugenic applications. Given the fact that 92% of fetuses that test positive for Down Syndrome are selectively aborted prior to birth, we are concerned by the prospect of a similar result with respect to the autism spectrum. This is an issue of ethics and discrimination, wholly separate from typical abortion politics. We believe that money raised in the name of autistic people should go toward opportunities for quality of life, not toward our elimination. Autism Speaks’ research agenda is overwhelmingly focused on causation and prevention rather than research initiatives that might support quality of life for all autistic people.
- As the president of the largest university in the country, your support of Autism Speaks sets precedent for other colleges and universities. We worry that other universities and other university leaders will follow suit and continue support for an organization that seeks to “eradicate,” in the words of Autism Speaks co-founder Suzanne Wright, autism and autistic people. While we applaud your desire to help autistic individuals and their families lead productive and fulfilling lives, supporting Autism Speaks does no such thing.
Next Meeting: Thursday, September 10 @ 5:45pm
Our next meeting will be held this Thursday, September 10, at 5:45pm at Barnes & Noble (1598 N. High St.). We will meet in the coffee shop area on the first floor. OSU students, faculty, staff, and community members are welcome to attend!
Our agenda includes (but is not limited to) the following items: generating signatures for our petition against the Autism Speaks walk; setting up a meeting schedule for the school year; discussing employment; finishing a grant application; dividing flyers & advertising tasks for the new school year; and planning for the student involvement fair (petition, flyers, poster, making playdough, setting up, etc.).
Our agenda includes (but is not limited to) the following items: generating signatures for our petition against the Autism Speaks walk; setting up a meeting schedule for the school year; discussing employment; finishing a grant application; dividing flyers & advertising tasks for the new school year; and planning for the student involvement fair (petition, flyers, poster, making playdough, setting up, etc.).
Next Meeting: Thursday, August 13 @ 5:45pm
Our next meeting will be held this Thursday, August 13, at 5:45pm at Barnes & Noble (1598 N. High St.). We will meet in the coffee shop area on the first floor. OSU students, faculty, staff, and community members are welcome to attend!
Our agenda includes (but is not limited to) the following items: discussing a September event in Fremont, OH; discussing a letter-writing campaign about President Gee and the Autism Speaks walk; and brainstorming ideas for an event that involves handing out ASAN flyers in a pedestrian-heavy area.
Our agenda includes (but is not limited to) the following items: discussing a September event in Fremont, OH; discussing a letter-writing campaign about President Gee and the Autism Speaks walk; and brainstorming ideas for an event that involves handing out ASAN flyers in a pedestrian-heavy area.
June 30: Protest Ohio's funding of institutions/nursing homes and Ohio's funding cuts for community-based living supports
ASAN-Central Ohio/Ohio State is trying to gather as many people as possible to attend a protest on Tuesday, June 30. The event has been organized by Sue Hetrick and other disability organizations to protest Ohio's funding of institutions/nursing homes while cutting funding for community-based living services. (See more details below.)
ASAN-Central Ohio will be meeting at the campus Barnes & Noble on Tuesday morning at 9:00am to make some signs. We will then bus down to the state house for one or two hours (and those who wish to stay longer may do so).
If you are interested in joining our group, please leave a comment or email us at asan.ohiostate@gmail.com by Monday, June 29.
JOIN US AS...
WE PROTEST
OHIO’S FUNDING OF COSTLY INSTITUTIONS/NURSING HOMES WHILE CUTTING MORE ECONOMICAL HOME AND COMMUNITY BASED SUPPORTS AND SERVICES
WE PROTEST
OHIO’S FUNDING FOR SEGREGATION OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES AND THE ELDERLY THAT DENIES CHOICE IN WHERE ONE WORKS, LIVES AND SOCIALIZES
ALL OHIOANS HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE PRODUCTIVE, CONTRIBUTING, INDEPENDENT CITIZENS AND OHIO TAXPAYER’S HAVE THE RIGHT TO RESPONSIBLE USE OF ITS PUBLIC DOLLARS
When: Tuesday, June 30
Where: Ohio Statehouse, Third Street Side, Columbus
When: 8:30AM to 5 with “primetime” from 11AM to 2PM
Who: People with Any Disability, the Elderly, families, friends, advocates, and concerned Ohio taxpayers
Bring a chair, blanket, water, lunch, sunscreen or raingear! Be prepared for a peaceful demonstration, but one that is persistent and vocal!
Note: As this is a grassroots demonstration no one group or individual can or will be responsible for attendant care though attendees are usually willing to support their brothers and sisters in this fight! Signs are permitted and encouraged -- however, they cannot be attached to sticks or poles!
Contact: Sue Hetrick 866-575-8055
ASAN-Central Ohio will be meeting at the campus Barnes & Noble on Tuesday morning at 9:00am to make some signs. We will then bus down to the state house for one or two hours (and those who wish to stay longer may do so).
If you are interested in joining our group, please leave a comment or email us at asan.ohiostate@gmail.com by Monday, June 29.
JOIN US AS...
WE PROTEST
OHIO’S FUNDING OF COSTLY INSTITUTIONS/NURSING HOMES WHILE CUTTING MORE ECONOMICAL HOME AND COMMUNITY BASED SUPPORTS AND SERVICES
WE PROTEST
OHIO’S FUNDING FOR SEGREGATION OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES AND THE ELDERLY THAT DENIES CHOICE IN WHERE ONE WORKS, LIVES AND SOCIALIZES
ALL OHIOANS HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE PRODUCTIVE, CONTRIBUTING, INDEPENDENT CITIZENS AND OHIO TAXPAYER’S HAVE THE RIGHT TO RESPONSIBLE USE OF ITS PUBLIC DOLLARS
When: Tuesday, June 30
Where: Ohio Statehouse, Third Street Side, Columbus
When: 8:30AM to 5 with “primetime” from 11AM to 2PM
Who: People with Any Disability, the Elderly, families, friends, advocates, and concerned Ohio taxpayers
Bring a chair, blanket, water, lunch, sunscreen or raingear! Be prepared for a peaceful demonstration, but one that is persistent and vocal!
This is not a RALLY it is a PROTEST!
Note: As this is a grassroots demonstration no one group or individual can or will be responsible for attendant care though attendees are usually willing to support their brothers and sisters in this fight! Signs are permitted and encouraged -- however, they cannot be attached to sticks or poles!
Contact: Sue Hetrick 866-575-8055
Next Meeting: Thursday, May 28 @ 5:45pm
The Central Ohio/Ohio State University chapter of ASAN will be meeting on Thursday, May 28 at 5:45pm at the campus Barnes & Noble/Long's Cafe, 1598 N. High St. We will meet in the coffee shop area on the first floor. OSU students, faculty, staff, and community members are welcome to attend!
The main goal of this meeting is to plan for a small event commemorating Autistic Pride Day in June.
The main goal of this meeting is to plan for a small event commemorating Autistic Pride Day in June.
Next meeting: Thursday, May 21 @ 5:45pm
The Central Ohio/Ohio State University chapter of ASAN will be meeting on Thursday, May 21 at 5:45pm at the campus Barnes & Noble/Long's Cafe. We will meet in the coffee shop area on the first floor. OSU students, faculty, staff, and community members are welcome to attend!
At our meeting on Thursday, we hope to discuss the following: a possible activity for Autistic Pride Day (June 18), encounters with another campus autism organization and how to address these issues, our funding situation, staying connected with the Columbus/central Ohio community, and any issues that others in our group would like to address.
Questions? Leave a comment or email us at asan.ohiostate@gmail.com.
At our meeting on Thursday, we hope to discuss the following: a possible activity for Autistic Pride Day (June 18), encounters with another campus autism organization and how to address these issues, our funding situation, staying connected with the Columbus/central Ohio community, and any issues that others in our group would like to address.
Download PDF flyer:
Questions? Leave a comment or email us at asan.ohiostate@gmail.com.
Notes from our 4/30 meeting
The ASAN-Central Ohio/Ohio State University chapter held its first meeting on Thursday, April 30. Those interested in joining us for future meetings, either online or face-to-face, can leave a comment here or can email us at asan.ohiostate@gmail.com for more details.
Attendance: 23 people attended altogether, at least 9 of whom were on the spectrum. There was a combination of OSU and other students (in high school and other colleges), OSU faculty and staff, parents, relatives, and other community members.
Some things we discussed:
Other notes from the meeting (RE: staying connected):
Attendance: 23 people attended altogether, at least 9 of whom were on the spectrum. There was a combination of OSU and other students (in high school and other colleges), OSU faculty and staff, parents, relatives, and other community members.
Some things we discussed:
- We really want to take advantage of the web. We decided that we will meet once a month online and once a month in person so that we can be as accommodating/accessible as possible. (Hillary Spears, our secretary, has volunteered to come to Barnes & Noble with her laptop during the online meetings so that people who prefer communicating f2f can participate more easily.) We talked about using Skype, Windows Messenger, or IRC.
- Gmail chat seems like a very real possibility. You can sign up for Gmail for free, and you don’t have to download anything. (Which means that it will work for Macs and PCs, etc.)
- Melanie and Ben will work out which option seems best and will send an email to everyone with more details ASAP. Any other suggestions?
- Our next face-to-face meeting will be at 5:45pm on Thursday, May 21 at Barnes & Noble on High St. We will hold our online meeting before then, but we've yet to determine the date/time.
- In addition to using the this blog, Noranne suggested creating an LJ community so that multiple people can post more easily and more frequently. We have created an LJ community: http://community.livejournal.com/asancentralohio
- We should advertise this community, especially in online venues. We have posted a link to LJ on the blog. We should also advertise on relevant listservs, and possibly other LJ communities (such as asperger, autism, ask_an_aspie, aut_grads, etc.) Any other suggestions?
- Dylan Bias is attending the Ohio Youth Leadership Forum.
- We think we want to do something for/on Autistic Pride Day, though we're not yet sure what. This will be our first and main talking point during our online meeting.
- We talked about how we might combat misinformation that is spread by groups such as Autism Speaks, especially on campus. One suggestion was holding a panel discussion of some sort. We also talked about political involvement and letter writing.
- We want to make sure that the group is not wholly Ohio State-centric but incorporates the central Ohio community broadly. This was brought up by Stephanie and Justin and was affirmed by others.
Other notes from the meeting (RE: staying connected):
- Pat Cloppert, who is on staff at OSU, briefly talked about federal support and the combating autism act (and the problematics of the language/ideology in the very name of the act)... she offered to connect us with people;
- Robert Meier, who directs behavioral health services for OSU health services, has been advocating for coverage reform at OSU in regards to autism, and he wants to talk with people on the spectrum to get a better sense of what supports/services are needed and desired, yet are lacking;
- Deb Ballam, faculty and director of The Women's Place @ OSU, said that if we wanted to have a woman speaker on neurodiversity, The Women's Place might be able to contribute some funding;
- Tom Fish, faculty at OSU's Nisonger Center, suggested connecting us (as mentors) with teenagers on the spectrum who attend a support group @ Nisonger;
- Cindy Selfe (our faculty adviser) also mentioned that disability studies @ OSU might possibly be able to help with funding for a speaker.
- Guest speaker ideas: a couple people really wanted Ralph Savarese, who happens to be guest-editing the upcoming special issue of DSQ. Also suggested were Jerry Newport and John Elder Robison.
ASAN Central Ohio Chapter Forming
We are seeking new members who are interested in creating opportunities for social interaction and community involvement in and around the Columbus area. Our first meeting took place on Friday, July 18th, as a joint meeting with the ASAN Southwest Ohio chapter. We discussed the need for more social and community organizations run for and by autistic people in Central Ohio.
If you are interested in learning more about the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, please contact us at asancentralohio AT live DOT com. We'll be glad to answer any questions that you may have.
If you are interested in learning more about the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, please contact us at asancentralohio AT live DOT com. We'll be glad to answer any questions that you may have.
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