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Archive for March, 2012

National Symposium on Neurodiversity at Syracuse University:

Symposium 2012


Call for Proposals


The National Symposium on Neurodiversity is a yearly conference at
Syracuse University that seeks to promote academic inquiry into
neurodiversity as a concept and social movement.  The 2012 conference
will take place in October 2012 at Syracuse University.  More details
about specific dates and locations will be forthcoming.


Proposal deadline: June 1, 2012.  Please submit all proposals to
neurodiversitysymposium@gmail.com .


If you need any assistance creating or submitting a proposal, please
contact Rachael Zubal-Ruggieri at the Center on Human Policy, Law, and
Disability Studies, at razubal@syr.edu .


Types of presentations wanted: We are interested in presentations that
deal with issues currently being explored within the neurodiversity
community.  While this conference will focus largely on issues
affecting the Autistic community, individuals are welcome to present
on topics that investigate a broader application of neurodiversity as
a framework.


In an effort to create an environment that is as universally
accessible and egalitarian as possible, we do not require individuals
submitting proposals to be associated with a college or university.
Participants do not have to identify as disabled/having a disability
or as part of a neurological minority to present, although we highly
encourage those who identify as members of these groups to submit
presentations.  We welcome presentations by individuals with a wide
variety of educational backgrounds.


Please note: Although this conference is intended to promote critical
inquiry into the current state and future of the neurodiversity
movement, we are not interested in presentations that reinforce
stereotypes about neurodiversity or individuals who identify as
neurological minorities.  The intended audience of this conference is
individuals who identify as disabled or members of a neurological
minority, and their neurotypical and/or nondisabled allies.
Nondisabled parents and medical or service professionals are welcome
to attend, as allies.


Structure: The Symposium will take place over a period of one or two
days, and will include opening and closing keynote presentations by
invited speakers, and up to 8 presentation sessions chosen from the
proposals submitted.  Each of these presentation sessions will be
followed by a discussion of up to 1 hour in length.  There will also
be space and time designated for participants who wish to create their
own roundtables/discussion groups.


Other events at the Symposium may include: exhibitions of
neurodiversity-associated organizations; musical and non-musical
performances; and an award ceremony honoring individuals helping to
advance neurodiversity and the neurodiversity movement in academia,
the service-provider realm, and greater society.  (Details are not
finalized, and may be subject to change.)


Topics of interest:


Identity


*Autism, gender, sexuality, and sexual identity


*Neurodiversity in disability communities beyond the Autistic community


*Applying current understandings of disability rights, theory, and
community to the autism & Autistic communities, and to our
understanding of neurodiversity


*Mental health, psychiatric disability labels, and neurodiversity


Advocacy/Rights Issues


*Independent and interdependent living: developing alternatives to
state-supported service models


*Technology, advocacy, communication, and neurodiversity


Neurodiversity in Different Settings


*Neurodiversity and popular culture


*Rhetoric used in conversations about autism and/or neurodiversity


*Neurodiversity in higher education


*Neurodiversity in the PreK-12 school system


Note: We may consider robust proposals for presentation topics that
fall outside of those listed above.


Accommodations: We are committed to universal design, and will do our
best to accommodate any needs you may have.  In order to make sure we
can do so effectively, contact Rachael Zubal-Ruggieri
(razubal@syr.edu) with access needs as early as possible.


Travel: Due to budget constraints, we are unfortunately not able to
provide funding for travel to this year’s Symposium.


If you have any questions, please feel free to email us at:

neurodiversitysymposium@gmail.com

 


Forwarding and cross-posting off-list is permitted and encouraged.


Please spread far and wide!  If anyone would like a copy of the Call
for Proposals in Word or PDF formats, please send an email to
neurodiversitysymposium@gmail.com .



Proud of her family: Charlotte Moore at home with her autistic sons, George (left) and Sam (right). Her youngest boy, Jake (second right) does not have the condition


By CHARLOTTE MOORE

|


The call from the kitchen was the high-pitched screech used for real emergencies.


George, the eldest of my three sons, was begging for someone to come quickly to his aid. Although he is a 5ft 10in grown man of 22, he sounded terrified.


Was his younger brother attacking him again? It wouldn’t have surprised me — it happens often enough.


Although two years younger than George, Sam was by no means beyond delivering a good thump to his brother when irritated. And George can be very irritating.


In the sanctity of the next room where my partner Simon, youngest son Jake and I were eating lunch, we all exchanged looks. ‘I’ll go,’ said Jake, putting down his plate.


Simon and I felt a pang of pride, grateful that Jake, at 14, has the confidence to tackle such an incident and the empathy to allow his poor old mother a chance to get on with her lunch without interruption for once.


Moments later, all was quiet and Jake returned from the kitchen.

 

Was it Sam? No, Jake reported. Sam was calmly sitting on top of the Aga, decorating his stomach with a felt pen, oblivious to his brother’s screams for help. It was a pitta bread that was causing the distress.


I’d set out a lunch of cold meat, salad and pitta for them and George was hollering as if a live tarantula had crawled across his plate — screaming and demanding that the ‘profitta’, as he called it, be taken away.


George has enjoyed pitta bread in the past, but for some inexplicable reason that day it horrified him. Just telling him that he didn’t need to eat the ‘profitta’ wasn’t enough. The hysteria didn’t subside until the offending item had been removed to the safety of the bird table.


Sam and George have autism, a life-long disability that affects how they relate to others and the world around them, and meal times over the years have seen some colourful scenes.


And the real reason why we, the three ‘non autists’ in the house, choose to eat our lunch in another room?


It’s not the tantrums, the shouting and outbrusts. It’s not even the interrupted meals.


It’s because George likes to sing along to a CD of Christmas carols while he eats, and while Sam puts up with it, there’s only so much O Little Town Of Bethlehem we can take in early spring. We retreat next door to eat and talk in peace.


If there’s one thing raising two autistic boys has taught me, it’s that a sense of humour is essential.

 

Ten years ago, I wrote a newspaper column called Mind The Gap, which chronicled the highs and lows of life with autistic children.


From the columns grew a book, George And Sam. When the book was first published, the older two were on the brink of adolescence, while Jake was barely out of infancy.


It’s just been reissued, including the Mind The Gap columns and a new, updating chapter. How have we all fared in the intervening years?


The ‘profitta’ incident illustrates some progress. The fact that I can now leave the older two alone together is good, even though I still have my ear cocked for problems.


The fact I can set reasonably healthy food in front of them knowing that at least some of it will get eaten is miraculous, after years of George’s quasi-anorexia and Sam’s difficulties with swallowing — he couldn’t eat without gagging and spitting some out until he was in his late teens.


That George can now use language to express his needs is very important, even though it still doesn’t occur to him to seek out the person he wants and speak directly to them. And the fact that Jake can move easily between the autistic and the ‘normal’ worlds safely, and without my protection, is a tremendous help.


Sam and George were both diagnosed when they were four years old. I don’t remember what I was told to expect at the time but, whatever it was, it would have been inaccurate. 


This is because with autism you can only expect the unexpected. The daily demands have always been so constant that I’ve rarely had time to worry about the bigger picture — I’m too busy dealing with the here-and-now. ‘We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it’ has been my most coherent coping strategy.

 

Read in Full:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2116948/Autism-One-mother-talks-life-bringing-disabled-sons.html




Dear friends,


On March 6th, 2011 George Hodgins, a 22-year old autistic man living in Sunnyvale, California, was murdered by his mother. In the aftermath of his killing, I and other members of the local disability community were concerned by the fact that the media covering his death focused mainly on expressing sympathy for his killer. Because he was disabled, George had been written out of the story of his own murder.


This past Friday, I helped organize a vigil for George and other disabled people killed by their family members. One of the names we read was Tracy Latimer’s a disabled teenager killed by her father in 1993. Little did we know that as we spoke Tracy’s name, her father was speaking on a television panel for the Canadian Global News, arguing for legalizing the killing of disabled people – in the name of “mercy.” Our vigil received sympathetic coverage in the press, but so did Robert Latimer’s call for legalizing the murder of disabled children.


It’s obvious that many in our society still regard the murder of disabled people as unimportant, or even desirable. But I’ve also learned that disabled activists can also have an effective on public perception, if we can find a way to get our voices heard.


On behalf of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, I am asking you join us in taking action. On March 30th, help us organize a nation-wide day of mourning for disabled people killed by family members and caregivers. Our goal is to hold vigils in cities across America to memorialize murder victims. Through your help, we hope to amplify our message: that disabled people deserve to live fulfilling lives free of violence.


We’re calling for volunteers to organize vigils in their local communities on or around March 30th. You may never have organized this kind of event before, but please know that you’ll have support – our first vigil was a success, and we can help you as you work to organize yours. If you want to help us take a stand against the violence facing our community, please write to me at zgross@autisticadvocacy.org.


Send a message to society that the disability community has no place for the kind of “mercy” offered by Robert Latimer and others who view us as having lives not worth living. The time has come for us to fight back. On March 30th, help us make it happen.


In solidarity,


Zoe Gross
Autistic Self Advocacy Network




Last week, George Hodgins, an autistic adult living in Sunnyvale, CA, was murdered by his own mother. In the aftermath of his death, much of the public discussion surrounding his killing focused on expressing sympathy for his killer. ASAN Member Zoe Gross of Oakland, CA objected to this and helped organize a candlelit vigil in memory of George and all disabled people who have been murdered by their family members. The vigil will take place tonight at 6 PM PST, rain or shine, in front of the Sunnyvale City Hall building. Details can be found here: http://www.facebook.com/events/199680943470301/.

 

We urge supporters of disability rights and neurodiversity to join Zoe and other local Autistic people and allies in the California bay area in remembering George this evening. For those who can not make it, we are printing Zoe’s prepared remarks below:

 

Last Tuesday, George Hodgins was shot and killed by his mother, who then killed herself. George lived here in Sunnyvale and he was 22 years old. I didn’t know George, but I can’t stop thinking about him. Maybe it’s because we have a lot in common – we lived near each other, we were the same age, we’re both autistic, although we led very different lives. I would like to have met George, but I can only mourn him. And I can try to make sure that his story isn’t forgotten.

 

In the wake of this tragedy, I read a lot of articles that asked the readers to imagine how George’s mother must have felt. But I didn’t see a single article that asked the reader to empathize for George, to imagine how it feels to see your mother point a gun at you. I’ve seen a lot of people talking about how hard it must be to live with an autistic relative, but I didn’t see anyone talking about how terrible it be to die knowing that your parent, who you love and depend on, has decided to hurt and kill you.

 

Because he was autistic, George is being erased from the story of his own murder.

 

The story of George Hodgins’s death is being discussed and presented as a story of a mother who snapped, and the story of other parents who have felt the same way. It’s being told as a story about a lack of services for families with special-needs children, as though a lack of services is a justification for murder.

 

When disabled people are murdered by their families, this is the story people want to hear. It’s the same story that we saw in newspapers after Katie McCarron was murdered, and after Jeremy Fraser was murdered, and after Glenn Freaney was murdered, and after Zain and Faryaal Akhter were murdered. The story goes like this: it is understandable that someone would kill their disabled relative if they don’t get help to care for them.

 

I don’t think this is a true story.

 

Why is the story being told this way? Because we live in a world that doesn’t acknowledge the value of our lives as disabled people. Because so many people in our society can’t imagine a disabled person living a fulfilling life, so they don’t see the tragedy and the wasted potential when one of our lives is cut short.

 

As disabled people, we have to take a stand against this kind of thinking. We have to get the word out that our lives matter, that our lives are our own stories and not just the stories of our non-disabled parents and relatives and caretakers. We have to let people know that they are missing part of the story.

 

Because the story of George Hodgins’s murder is also the story of the disabled community losing one of our own. It’s the story of the other disabled people who were murdered by their family members, and it’s the story of the society that thinks so little of people with disabilities that these murders are all too often justified as “understandable.” Most of all, it’s George’s story – the story of a young man who enjoyed hiking, who was always looking to learn new skills, who had his whole life in front of him.

 

Now George is gone, and only his memory remains, and already that memory is being distorted by people who want to tell his story and leave him out. That’s not going to happen tonight. We’re here to remember the real story.




The response to our call for applications for the Autism Campus Inclusion project’s Summer Institute has been wonderful. With 3 more weeks to send in an application, it’s not too late to be considered for the program.


Applicants should be current Autistic college students who have a passion for disability rights and want to implement systems change on their college campuses. Any current Autistic student, certificate, undergraduate or graduate, with at least one year remaining on campus will be considered with applications due March 30, 2012.


What does it mean to implement systems change? It’s about creating a community with Autistic students and others with disabilities. It’s about making a meaningful impact to allow for a more inclusive education experience. With some of the top leaders in community organizing, disability rights and Autistic rights, participants are sure to take away the skills they need to do all of this and more.


If you feel you would like to participate, please fill out the application and submit it with your responses to the essay questions and your resume to Melody Latimer at mlatimer@autisticadvocacy.org . All questions and accommodation requests should also be directed to Melody.


We look forward to hearing from you.


Sincerely,

 

The Autistic Self Advocacy Network



Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae move to OTC market

With our first round of internships underway, we are seeking additional autistic applicants to intern with Freddie Mac for summer 2012.


We are very excited to see that our first interns are on their way with great support by their managers and human resources at Freddie Mac. This has led the pilot program between Freddie Mac and the Autistic Self Advocacy Network to continue on and make available two more intern positions for autistic adults for the upcoming summer.


Interested parties must be able to work in the Washington, DC metro area. Internships are paid positions and will include a small housing stipend.


If you feel you meet the following, please send your resume to resumes@autisticadvocacy.org. Internships are due to begin during the month of May.


Portfolio Analytics Internship


Required Skills:

        Knowledge of:

                Microsoft Excel

                Visual Basic for Application (VBA) language

                 Microsoft Access

                 Structured Query Language (SQL)


Job Description:


Assisting portfolio analytics and strategy area in improving documentation of the periodic processes

Assisting the members of team for running analysis required to support the portfolio and risk management activities in Investment & Capital Markets (ICM)


Image File Processor Internship


Required Skills:


      Basic computer skills, including but not limited to:

WinZip

Excel

Access

DOS


Job Functions:

Batch processing CDs received from customers to initiate receiving process

Verification of delivered files

Analyze files for totals of incoming and outgoing

Transferring files to LAN Drives

Creating and Analyzing Vendor Reports

Submit reports to vendors



Press Association

7th March 2012


More than half of factories employing mainly disabled workers are set to close, with the loss of 1,700 jobs in a move attacked as “barbaric”.

The Government announced that Remploy is proposing to close 36 of its 54 factories, with potential compulsory redundancies of 1,752 people, including 1,518 disabled employees.


Minister for disabled people Maria Miller said the Remploy board was proposing to close the sites by the end of the year because they were unlikely to achieve independent financial viability.

She said the £320 million budget for disability employment has been protected, adding that the money will be spent more effectively.


Politicians and union leaders hit out at the Government, warning that many disabled workers might never find another job, especially with unemployment moving towards three million.

Unite general secretary Len McCluskey said: “This is a barbaric decision. The Government has sunk to a new low. To choose to cut these jobs only a few days after the Government passed the welfare Bill is proof it has no intention of helping the most vulnerable in society. Instead the coalition is only making life worse.


“In the worst economic crisis since the 1930s, these workers’ prospects of finding work are almost zero.”

Shadow work and pensions secretary Liam Byrne said it was “disappointing” the Department for Work and Pensions announced the closures in a written statement rushed out after Prime Minister’s Questions, denying MPs the chance to quiz David Cameron on the “callous decision”.


Ms Miller said she had assessed “very carefully” the needs of Remploy workers, as well as the 6.9 million disabled people of working age who could benefit from greater specialist employment support.

She said: “The Government will reduce its current subsidy to Remploy from the beginning of the new financial year so that we cease funding factories which make significant losses year after year and restrict funding to those factories which might have a prospect of a viable future without Government subsidy.”

Source:


Related Articles


Guardian: Do Disabled People Fare Better In The Open Market?

https://www.aspie-editorial.com/2011/01/22/guardian-do-disabled-people-fare-better-in-the-open-labour-market-2/


NAS and Remploy Work To Improve Job Opportunities For Autistic People/Chanc ellor Announces Future Changes To DLA

https://www.aspie-editorial.com/2011/01/22/nas-and-remploy-work-to-improve-job-opportunities-for-autistic-peoplechancellor-announces-future-changes-to-dla/