50 Best Blogs from OnlineUniversities.com

Edit: I've been notified that the whole 50 Best lists thing may be a scam. For the safety of my readers, I've removed the link to the post until further investigation.

I got this email sometime after my last post, and was first distracted by jubilant glee, the fact that I have two assignments due Friday, and a complete emotional crash that I'm not going to get into on here. Let's just say I had my hands full, and bounced around the entire range of human emotions, and almost the entire spectrum of functionality, within less than 12 hours.

Anyways, the email I got is this:

Hi Corina, We at “Onlineuniversities.com”, wanted to let you know that we featured your blog in one of our recent articles on our own blog. 50 Best Blogs for Special Needs Teachers, is linked below and could be a fun way to share this announcement with your readers. Either way, I hope you continue putting out great content through your blog. It has been a sincere pleasure to read. Thanks, Kaitlyn cole

I'm number #26, in the Neurodiversity section, where I am described as such: "In spite of its relatively lax update schedule, No Stereotypes Here still provides special education teachers with straightforward talks about the autism spectrum."

I'm mentally adding "from an autistic adult" onto the description, but am fairly pleased (and laughing; I have an update schedule?).

There are also some other interesting blogs on the list, some which I know, others than are new and which I'm hoping to get to know soon.

Questioning Autism Speaks

I recently had a discussion with the Autism Speaks twitter account, which was an interesting experience. It is very easy, I think, to generalize when talking to an organization's account. I was constantly editing myself from saying "you" to "your org" (org stands for organization), and remind myself that while the person on the other side is speaking on the behalf of the Autism Speaks, that person is not the whole of Autism Speaks.

That aside, the conversation was started when I found Autism Speaks following me on Twitter, and a friend and I were discussing why, even though I strongly dislike the organization, I wasn't outright blocking it. This is because although I oppose a lot of what Autism Speaks says and does, I still maintain that it's possible for the organization to change and become something that I might actually support, and part of that is keeping lines of communication open.

What sparked a rather heated discussion was when the Autism Speaks twitter asked me why I disliked them so much. Some of the reasons included the censorship of an autistic teen's parody website; the many "awareness" videos that have demonized and offended not only Autistics around the world, but over 60 disability organizations; the fact that according to their own IRS 990 forms for 2009, only approximately one cent from every dollar raised when to providing assistance to Autistic families and most of the money goes to CEO salaries, first class expenses, advertising, and research for things that many of us disagree with, such as a "cure" to Autism; and the resounding fact that despite it's slogan of Autism speaking and listening, Autism Speaks ignores a lot of what Autistics say and have made some public relations attempts to appease us, without addressing the fact that there is not one Autistic individual on the Board of Directors or in any major influential position that indicates that Autism Speaks is actually speaking for Autism.

It is the opinion of myself and many others in the Autism and cross-disability community that until these issues are met and dealt with, that Autism Speaks has no right to claim to be the voice of Autism, and that it is a corrupt organization posing as a non-profit.

I went into the conversation thinking that maybe I could at least talk to one person in Autism Speaks about the issues I had with it, and found myself becoming increasingly angry. Despite the links to their own website, the person on the Autism Speaks account denied everything, and said that my facts were wrong. That because the Better Business Beau gave them a high rating, that my facts on where the money goes, and how Autism Speaks treats Autistic individuals, is wrong. They refused to make discuss anything else regarding my disagreements with them, ignoring my questions on how Autism Speaks is changing for the better and just repeatedly stating that I was wrong, wrong, wrong.

Which, if you imagine, doesn't endear them to me any more, and if anything, has only re-enforced to me the issues that I have with them.

What I wonder is this, is it really bad PR for Autism Speaks to admit that they've done wrong? To say "Yes, we did this this and this badly; this is what we plan to change about ourselves"? I understand not wanting to admit that they made a mistake; no one really does. But I think that Autism Speaks will gain far more by being more open about these issues.

By admitting their mistakes, they show humility, compassion, and respect towards the Autistic individuals who they've wronged. It sparks not only healing and commitment to change towards those individuals, but within the organization itself, and prompts it to be responsible.

By committing and then doing those changes, Autism Speaks will actually win over all the Autistic and supporting activists, bringing together the community for the better.

So really, I wonder, how can they afford not to do this? Or are they that paralyzed by fear? Or are they really as corrupt as we think they are?

Poverty and Affordable Housing

This may seem a bit off topic-ish, especially with the news about Wakefield going on. To be perfectly honestly, I'm not entirely surprised that he's been found to have changed the children's data and it really hasn't changed my opinion about him (see The Triggering of Wakefield). So I'm going to continue on and address an issue that affects a lot of people, not just Autistic people.

Poverty and homelessness is an issue that face Autistic people, as well as people with and without other disabilities. A concern for those with disabilities is whether homeless shelters, women's shelters and other services are supportive of their disabilities, and uncertainty may be a big factor in whether disabled people access such services. Which kinda creates a cycle unless it's specified that services are accessible to disabled people.

My government has been working to create unique programs and services for people with disabilities specifically. One of these has been the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP), a social assistance program that provides the basics: a little over $500 for living costs such as food, telephone, etc, and up to $450 for rent, per month. It's basically a safety net for people with disabilities if they are between jobs, or recovering from a bad period, and the program even includes an Employment Support services, and will cover some additional medical costs, such as service dogs, diabetes supplies, breathing machines, etc.

For the other services it doesn't cover, being on ODSP qualifies people to other programs. There's a lot of paperwork involved, of course, and it requires people to be as productive as possible while describing their worst days. But one of those programs in my city is the centralized housing list for subsidized housing, since $450 doesn't get you a decent place to live in this area.

The problem is that there's a lot of people on that wait list. My city does a magazine, profiling restaurants, venues, and highlighting city issues. In the latest issue, it reports that as of July 2010, there are 1,133 applicants currently waiting for access to social housing. With the given rate of vacancies in the city, it can take at least six months for a three- or four-bedroom unit, or up to eight years for a single-room unit.

Obviously, there needs to be more available units and in the magazine article, the issues surrounding making decisions on where to build mixed-income housing is discussed. However, due to various difficulties (such as the city's own zoning and building restrictions), it can take up to eight years for many housing units to start being built. In the meanwhile, there's still a lot of people waiting for places to live and call home.

I faintly recall a few years ago a plan to start a portal subsidized housing. The idea is that people on the housing list can find a place to live on their own and get off the housing list a lot quicker.

It's like this: say I'm on the housing list. I've gone through the application process and have been approved for social housing. Instead of spending eight years couch-surfing or hopping between shelters or enduring abusive situations, I can look around for a place that meets my needs.

After some looking, I find a nice apartment that's easy for me to access the public transit system, a grocery store, as well as other services, or at least to be able to get to other services. I'm on ODSP though, and can only afford $450 a month, and the apartment is $750 a month.

I talk to the landlord/lady/person, and make an agreement with him that he'll hold the apartment while I apply to the housing list. Then I fill out a form, asking for support for the other $300 for rent from the social housing program. The landlord/lady/person and I fill out the details of the place, sign it, and submit it. If everything checks out, the housing list approves of it, and there you go, I have a place to live and I'm off the housing list a lot quicker.

Of course, I don't know all the specifics that this would have to be put into place, but I think it's better than a waiting game where one never knows when they're going to have a place to live. Also, it gives the people a sense of respect, dignity and control over their own fate.



Edit: minor editing over the difference between rent and ODSP; I really can't do math in my head.

A year in review: 2010

It has been a pretty intensive year, so busy that I think I missed the first anniversary of No Stereotypes Here!

About this time last year, the board of directors and myself at the Autism Women's Network was preparing to launch the website for the first time. Since then, it's been non-stop excitement working on various issues. I'm actually surprised I found time to blog and keep track of it all, especially with the new DSM drafts, our board members working with the White House, and the whole Pepsi refresh contest. It's a lot to try and keep up with and blog about.

As for my own events, it's been a little tipsy turvy, with two moves, the drama of new house mates, the usual fussing over medical issues, and my own personal studies.

In the beginning of this year, I had been studying in a Library and Information Technician program, but after all the blogging I've been doing, I decided to sit back, give myself a summer vacation, and think.  I thought about being employed, and how much energy and resources that would cost me.  I thought about trying to balance work with what I do the most, writing.  Writing novels and writing about Autism.

And then I made another decision.   I decided that I would be perfectly miserable if I could not write, and was not involved with Autism issues.  And if I was miserable, I would be setting myself up to fail, crash and burn out, over and over again.  And I do not like those experiences.

So I decided to dedicate myself more to Autism and disability issues, and to educate myself more.  Because it's all good that I sit here and write my opinions and thoughts, and I hope that even that has made a difference for at least one person.  But I'd like to try and make a large difference, because I see things that don't seem right, and I don't see anyone stepping up to change things for the better.  And to do that, I need to know more things about how to make changes in my own country, province and town.

And so, I applied for the Disability Studies program at Ryerson University.  Earlier this month, I was accepted and am preparing to take courses on-line, starting in January.  For me, this is a big and exciting step towards being an active citizen, despite financial difficulties. I hope that I'll be able to share with all my readers the things that I'll be learning, and how I plan to apply them to practical use. 

As the year draws to a close, I think back on what has happened on this blog over the year, the success of ASDay, and everyone I've met online.  And I think about the year to come with hope that as good as this year has been, that next year will be even better!!!

Happy New Year everyone!

Merry Christmas!

Two characters from my webcomic Amhelaki and I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Recipes for Autism Hope

I'm going to be extremely honest; there are some things about myself I don't like, and one of them is how I'm still angry and hurt over the Autism Speaks "Autism Every Day" video, especially the parts with Alison Singer.  However, I understand that she's changed, left Autism Speaks, and started the Autism Science Foundation.  Recognizing this, I am working towards healing the hurt I feel and beginning the process to forgive her.  I hope that one day I'll be able to fully forgive her, and I am very glad that I've made this decision.  

Because really, there needs to be more science-based knowledge about Autism, and I think that the Autism Science Foundation plays a key part in "providing funding and other assistance to scientists and organizations conducting, facilitating, publicizing and disseminating autism research" and contributing to Autism Awareness. 

They consider strict scientific standards and values to be essential in Autism research.  This is crucial to understanding Autism as it makes as sure as possible that the results are accurate, and better understanding means better approaches and supports in our communities.  Truly, this is one of the best gifts that can be given to families and individuals on the Autism Spectrum.

Currently, ASF is raising funds with Recipes4Hope, and every dollar raised will go towards science-based Autism research dedicated to discovering better ways to recognize Autism and implement better supports and enhance the lives of Autistic persons.

With the hope of a better future for all Autistic persons, I encourage everyone to contribute as you wish, to donate if you can, and to spread the word as far as you can.  

Meeting the Autistic Artist

I don't think I've mentioned it a lot here, but I also do quite a bit of artwork, and sometimes I let people see my work. For the past month and a half, I've had a lot of my work at the Kerry's Place Autism Services Resource Centre in Belleville, Ontario, as part of the Spectrum Art Show. I kinda started the Show five years ago when I worked for KPAS.

Tomorrow, November 30th, I'll be at the Resource Centre from 2pm to 6pm for a "Meet the Artist" event. I'm being presented as an Autistic artist and Autism advocate.

If any of my readers are in the area, and have the time, it'll be awesome to meet some of you!


(yeah, a little last minute, I know. I'm sorry)