Autistics Speaking Day

Post Reply New Topic

I originally posted this on my website No Stereotypes Here, and thought I'd share it here.




November 1st is Communication Shutdown, and from the responses, it seems that more and more people are questioning the method of this Autism awareness event. As has been pointed out by bbsmom, it spreads the myth that autistic people don't communicate, when in truth, we communicate in many different ways. While the attempt to understand our difficulties is admirable, I don't think that a non-autistic person can fully understand an autistic reality, even with some intense simulations.

Not that I'm against letting them try to understand us, as much as we try to understand non-autistics. However, from a community perspective, we should be listening to the different ways that Autistic people communicate.

At the end of my last post [of No Stereotypes Here], I stated that on November 1st, Autistic people should speak up and be heard. That in the absence of NT voices, Autistics should reclaim the Autism community by communicating in our own ways on our life experiences.

Yet, I must also add caution, to be mindful of the subject matters, as some subjects are triggers for people. I would hate to hear that a person had a panic attack, flashback or meltdown and suffered due to something in the information shared.

I would like the day to acknowledge our difficulties, yes, but also share our strengths, our passions, our interests, our "obsessions".

And so, for the intent of raising Autism awareness and battling negative stereotypes about Autism, I call that November 1st be Autistics Speaking Day.

Who will join me?


note: when I say "speaking", what I really mean is communicate in whatever way you communicate, sign language, typing, writing, speaking, etc.

I like that idea. I think that it's been long overdue. I'm with you on this one.

Count me in.

How does this work?

I'll participate.

If the NTs are going to keep quiet then we should speak.

It could also be a kind of autism coming out day for those of us at the high end of the spectrum. If we haven't disclosed to friends or coworkers, this might be the right day to do so.

Great idea. The social communication blackout day was particularly offensivene because a lot of Autistics use the internet as their only form of communication.

I like the idea.

Yeah, it's kind of ironic because the internet is the one place where I feel comfortable communicating, seriously...

Autistics Speaking Day on facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=140107279369668

An autism organization in Australia is running an event called "Communication Shutdown" on November 1st. The event is meant to make non-autistic people understand the social isolation that autistic people feel. But this event has been called into question by autistic bloggers for many reasons.

1. Autistic people are not silent, online or offline.
2. Non-autistic people will have no more clue what autistic people's lives are like simply by staying off of Facebook for a day, because while they are avoiding their computer, they are still not autistic.
3. The invention of the Internet has prevented autistic people from feeling so isolated. Autistic people use social networking sites, forums, and blogs to talk to other autistic people, and even nonverbal autistics or autistics who have difficulty effectively communicating have an opportunity to socialize online.

Corina Becker, an autistic woman who runs the blog No Stereotypes Here ( http://nostereotypeshere.blogspot.com/2 ... g-day.html ), has proposed to make November 1st Autistics Speaking Day. Autistic people will be using the day to speak out and it is time for non-autistic people to listen. To paraphrase Rachel Cohen-Rottenberg's post, saying that we are silent makes our voices even more unheard, and we will not be silent if the rest of the world listens to us. ( http://www.journeyswithautism.com/2010/ ... ember-1st/ )

If you want to know what it is like to be autistic, please listen to us and learn. This, not Communication Shutdown, will make autistic peoples' voices heard.

IS SOMEONE GOING TO TELL ME WHAT THIS IS?! I speak every day. How is this supposed to be different?!

Autistics Speaking Day is sort of like a counter-protest to the Communication Shutdown day. In Communication Shutdown, they're signing off of Twitter and Facebook and other social networking sites in an attempt to understand our difficulties communicating.

But some of us feel that this won't be a good way to understand us, especially since a lot of us use those sites to communicate, and have decided that on the same day, we will post messages on what it's like to be autistic, our passions, strengths and experiences.

We think that this will be a better way to raise Autism awareness.

This is happening November 1st.

This is a great idea!

I wrote this Facebook note a few days ago and it's very critical of Communication Shutdown. There's also little jokes about mercury in there because a lot of people on my FB are anti-vaccine.

Mind it's my type of humor and at the end when I say 'if you want to feel what it's like to be autistic then do this' - I'm referring to myself, not other autistics.

You have been warned:

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_i ... 9&comments

@Koryna, thanks for explaining!

Autistics Speaking Day is today!

This is the first wave of blogs, as well as two videos:

Craig Thompson posted a video about autism and communication:
http://www.facebook.com/l/55655MaTlgviQ ... wEO2oJ-qKc

Elspeth Thorne on growing up with autism:
http://www.facebook.com/l/55655IPV-2KQC ... among.html

Julian Edward Frost posts on his own experience with autism:
http://www.facebook.com/l/55655xwBihnRy ... -listened/

Melissa Fields on not feeling welcome in the non-autistic world:
http://www.facebook.com/l/55655p3qlK3Ww ... -i-am.html

Savannah posts poems about her experiences with autism:
http://www.facebook.com/l/55655dBrkbrQg ... rticulate/

Tony Belcastro writes about what autism is like for him and how it has affected his life:
http://www.facebook.com/l/55655BMrinerI ... &Itemid=43

Zachary Lassiter on why many autistic people won’t be participating in Communication Shutdown:
http://www.facebook.com/l/55655IwPypyz6 ... HwgbMTmR3I

And here is the ABC news article:
http://www.facebook.com/l/55655xHeXR5_u ... ion=justin

And in case you didn’t get the message, we now have a permanent page for Autistics Speaking Day. Like here if you would like to participate again next year. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Autistics ... 619?ref=mf Thank you all so much for participating, and we wish you all an awesome Autistics Speaking Day.

Second Wave of Posts for Autistics Speaking Day:

Amanda Forest Vivian on problems with the kinds of things non-autistics are trying to “fix” in autistic people. This is really awesome and you should read it if you’re not familiar with the concepts of “ableism” and why it’s not necessary or even beneficial to “pass” for non-autistic:
http://adeepercountry.blogspot.com/2010 ... -post.html

Ari Ne’eman from the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network on Communication Shutdown and Autistics Speaking Day:
http://www.autisticadvocacy.org/modules ... itemid=122

AS Parenting has an awesome article on autism (including nonverbal autism) and advocacy:
http://www.asparenting.com/2010/11/01/a ... aking-day/

A.S.S.G.O. (AS Support Group Online)’s post for Autistics Speaking Day:
http://www.assupportgrouponline.org/app ... eaking-day

Bev from Asperger Square 8 on communications and other things:
http://aspergersquare8.blogspot.com/201 ... quare+8%29

Corabelle Li Crol on the power of the Internet and autistic people:
http://aspiegirlworld.blogspot.com/2010 ... -post.html

Corina Becker’s guest blog on things she knows as an autistic person, and her post on her own blog for Autistics Speaking Day:
http://blogs.plos.org/neurotribes/2010/ ... no-thanks/
http://nostereotypeshere.blogspot.com/2 ... -loud.html

Darcy Reed is an autistic writer who writes beautiful poetry:
http://spectrumhouseart.com/5Darcy1.html

Emily on autism and bullying:
http://daisymayfattypants.blogspot.com/ ... nary%3F%29

Gaynell on the harm that society has allowed to be done to autistic people, particularly on physical abuse and restraint. This is an important issue in the community right now:
http://wildflowersforjade.blogspot.com/ ... m-mom.html

Heather Sedlock on her autistic son’s life:
http://heatherbabes.autisable.com/73487 ... om-part-2/

Jennefer explains what she would like people to know about her three-year-old autistic son, referred to here as HRH:
http://www.thekingandeye.com/2010/11/co ... utism.html

John Elder Robinson posts his support here:
http://www.facebook.com/JohnElderRobison

Kathleen on autistic people and communication:
http://autismherd.blogspot.com/2010/11/ ... icate.html

Kevin Healey shares the voices of autistic people:
http://www.kevinhealey.net/?p=1056

Matt Friedman explains how social media has helped him and why autistics must speak for themselves:
http://dudeimanaspie.blogspot.com/2010/ ... th-to.html

Nicole Nicholson shares an awesome poem with us for Autistics Speaking Day. She is also sharing other poems, so check them out:
http://ravenswingpoetry.com/2010/11/01/ ... #more-2517

Ole Ferme L'Oeil on the wide range of people in the autism spectrum; also includes some awesome links to other important blog posts that you should check out:
http://humainsvolants.blogspot.com/2010 ... arole.html

Rachel Cohen-Rottenberg on empathy and communication:
http://www.journeyswithautism.com/2010/ ... and-heart/

Shanti writes about her life, selective mutism, and her obsessions:
http://latedx.wordpress.com/2010/10/31/ ... ng-autism/

Socrates from the New Republic on Autistics Speaking Day:
http://the-newrepublic.blogspot.com/201 ... g-day.html

Sunday Stillwell writes an informative post on Autistics Speaking Day:
http://www.extremeparenthood.com/2010/1 ... proud.html

Sullivan from Left Brain/Right Brain will be returning to Facebook today:
http://leftbrainrightbrain.co.uk/2010/1 ... t+Brain%29

If you are participating, We’ve received a message from Joel Manzer that participants can submit their posts to Autisable and they’ll be happy to highlight them on the first page. Autisable is here:
http://www.autisable.com/

And in case you didn’t get the message, we now have a permanent page for Autistics Speaking Day. Like here if you would like to participate again next year:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Autistics ... 619?ref=mf
Thank you all so much for participating, and we wish you all an awesome Autistics Speaking Day.

I had forgotten about this. The irony is, the the internet and a lot of on-line media are some of the things that a lot of autistic people, including the non-verbal ones, do use to communicate. The Communication Shutdown won't necessarily help NT's understand the difficulties that autistic people have. It's a nice idea though. The Autistics Speaking Day idea was a good one as well.