Post by ButterflyLady on Apr 5, 2015 2:07:24 GMT -5
An article explaining how this movement started, thought others might be interested.
SOURCE:#WalkInRed
Right before St. Patrick’s Day of this year, several of us ambitious autistic people gathered with friends and talked about a counter movement to what’s come to be known as autism awareness. In the days following, we joined with other activists and #WalkinRed was officially set in motion. Social networks started to buzz with a new energy, filled with love, hope, and empowerment. People took to the streets, parks, and businesses on the ground in our communities. Business leaders, teachers, students, and doctors went to work and school in their favorite shade of crimson. The alternative to crisis-awareness is finally here. And it’s bold.
Autistics have needlessly struggled for too long. Before the age of autism awareness wrought blue lights and puzzle pieces, we struggled, but we weren’t struggling as much, or in the same ways. For more than a decade, on top of whatever struggles we already had, we became burdened with the need to dispel myths. The hysteria and myths about us have been wrapped up in autism awareness campaigns by several groups. Those campaigns have forcefully invaded our media, our governments, our schools, and our homes. How is pride possible when we are fighting for acceptance on so many fronts?
Autistic people, those who love us, and those who’re educated about civil and human rights, are at least as dedicated as the groups who’ve pushed unhealthy, myth-laden awareness campaigns. It’s about us, after all. No one knows the impact of being referred to as burdens, tragedies, or as missing, better than we do. This is the first year of #WalkinRed and it’s amazing to see how many people around the world have joined in with autistics and allies to take back representation of autism awareness. People from all over the world have been connecting with us to see how they can promote #redinstead.
The goals for our Walk in Red movement include promoting love over fear, empowerment over victimization, and hope over despair. We will help bring acceptance instead of awareness by presenting information that has legitimate educational value about our lives, and our humanity. We will discourage any more promotion of fear–based myths. And we will do our part to make sure that autistic perspectives are not only included, but are at the forefront of any autism related discussions and campaigns. We will achieve our goals by standing together as a committed, united community, and sharing our strengths. We know we face challenges. We know that we need allies. We know that we need to be stronger. We know we must be more dedicated, more organized, and work a million times harder than the movements that have been around longer. Our rights to live, love, and hope for bright futures must outshine their oft–stated commitments to researching us, solving us, curing us, preventing us, and combating us. The world has to know we aren’t tragedies.
Autistic pride isn’t easy for a lot of people. For many autistics, it can be hard if there’s been a lifetime of disrespect, disregard, oppression, hostility, hatred, abuse, segregation, discrimination, fear, and isolation. For people in the general public, the concept of autistic pride might be confusing at first. Maybe they don’t know much about autism. If they know anything, it has likely come from the problematic, myth-filled awareness campaigns. The concept of autistics being proud goes against everything they’ve heard about autism.
The world does need autism education. But it needs to come from autistics first. Many of us are hurt by the years of crisis rhetoric and awareness campaigns. We are very concerned about research efforts, which include prenatal screening tests, prevention, and cures. There isn’t even a sufficient understanding of us yet, so it’s disturbing to see efforts taking place to prevent us. The fear of vaccines brought a new outbreak of measles, and possible other out-dated diseases, which led to deaths of innocent children. People have actually bought the idea that having an autistic child is worse than having a dead one. These are not the results of fact–based, responsible autism awareness. These just some of the results of years of unhealthy, irresponsible, alarmist autism awareness campaigns.
We’ve been talking about this for a long time. Since 2009, we’ve been working to simultaneously promote autistic rights and advancement, while actively opposing the hostile campaigns that work against it. The fact is, the progress will take time. We will need parents to choose love and pride over fear, mourning, or pity. We need educators to advocate for and with their autistic students. We need doctors to see us as individuals who need to be treated as individuals instead of seeing autism as the possible cause for everything that ails us or disables us. We need our friends to stand up for us when we are bullied. We need our loved ones to be proud to stand with us and actively help us as we plan parades, protests, or other events. We need everyone to respect our rights. We are here, and we matter. Autistics and our loved ones are well aware of this, and always have been. But it’s time the world sees us and hears us. Together, we can do it. And we will move forward, because we need to see the day that autistic lives are respected, not seen as dispensable burdens. We need to be seen, and even cherished, as full humans with rights, and gifts. Our challenges should no longer be shamed as something terrible, or attributed to the fact that we’re autistic, but recognized as part of our humanity. Like everyone, we’re fallible. Some of us need more help. Needing extra help, or expressing ourselves in ways other than verbal language can no longer be used as a tool to divide us with functioning labels. Our movement is different. Our lives and our futures depend on this progress. And that’s what drives our mission. Nothing else. We are the opposition to the fearful autism awareness campaigns. We’re not tragedies. We have every right to be ourselves without fear, hatred, or shame.
Participate in Walk In Red with us all month long. Snap a photo of you, or someone you love in red and share it with us. Let us know why you choose red instead. This can be shared with us here, on Facebook, or on Twitter. You can also connect with us at info@autismcouncil.org for information about on the ground events.
Autistics have needlessly struggled for too long. Before the age of autism awareness wrought blue lights and puzzle pieces, we struggled, but we weren’t struggling as much, or in the same ways. For more than a decade, on top of whatever struggles we already had, we became burdened with the need to dispel myths. The hysteria and myths about us have been wrapped up in autism awareness campaigns by several groups. Those campaigns have forcefully invaded our media, our governments, our schools, and our homes. How is pride possible when we are fighting for acceptance on so many fronts?
Autistic people, those who love us, and those who’re educated about civil and human rights, are at least as dedicated as the groups who’ve pushed unhealthy, myth-laden awareness campaigns. It’s about us, after all. No one knows the impact of being referred to as burdens, tragedies, or as missing, better than we do. This is the first year of #WalkinRed and it’s amazing to see how many people around the world have joined in with autistics and allies to take back representation of autism awareness. People from all over the world have been connecting with us to see how they can promote #redinstead.
The goals for our Walk in Red movement include promoting love over fear, empowerment over victimization, and hope over despair. We will help bring acceptance instead of awareness by presenting information that has legitimate educational value about our lives, and our humanity. We will discourage any more promotion of fear–based myths. And we will do our part to make sure that autistic perspectives are not only included, but are at the forefront of any autism related discussions and campaigns. We will achieve our goals by standing together as a committed, united community, and sharing our strengths. We know we face challenges. We know that we need allies. We know that we need to be stronger. We know we must be more dedicated, more organized, and work a million times harder than the movements that have been around longer. Our rights to live, love, and hope for bright futures must outshine their oft–stated commitments to researching us, solving us, curing us, preventing us, and combating us. The world has to know we aren’t tragedies.
Autistic pride isn’t easy for a lot of people. For many autistics, it can be hard if there’s been a lifetime of disrespect, disregard, oppression, hostility, hatred, abuse, segregation, discrimination, fear, and isolation. For people in the general public, the concept of autistic pride might be confusing at first. Maybe they don’t know much about autism. If they know anything, it has likely come from the problematic, myth-filled awareness campaigns. The concept of autistics being proud goes against everything they’ve heard about autism.
The world does need autism education. But it needs to come from autistics first. Many of us are hurt by the years of crisis rhetoric and awareness campaigns. We are very concerned about research efforts, which include prenatal screening tests, prevention, and cures. There isn’t even a sufficient understanding of us yet, so it’s disturbing to see efforts taking place to prevent us. The fear of vaccines brought a new outbreak of measles, and possible other out-dated diseases, which led to deaths of innocent children. People have actually bought the idea that having an autistic child is worse than having a dead one. These are not the results of fact–based, responsible autism awareness. These just some of the results of years of unhealthy, irresponsible, alarmist autism awareness campaigns.
We’ve been talking about this for a long time. Since 2009, we’ve been working to simultaneously promote autistic rights and advancement, while actively opposing the hostile campaigns that work against it. The fact is, the progress will take time. We will need parents to choose love and pride over fear, mourning, or pity. We need educators to advocate for and with their autistic students. We need doctors to see us as individuals who need to be treated as individuals instead of seeing autism as the possible cause for everything that ails us or disables us. We need our friends to stand up for us when we are bullied. We need our loved ones to be proud to stand with us and actively help us as we plan parades, protests, or other events. We need everyone to respect our rights. We are here, and we matter. Autistics and our loved ones are well aware of this, and always have been. But it’s time the world sees us and hears us. Together, we can do it. And we will move forward, because we need to see the day that autistic lives are respected, not seen as dispensable burdens. We need to be seen, and even cherished, as full humans with rights, and gifts. Our challenges should no longer be shamed as something terrible, or attributed to the fact that we’re autistic, but recognized as part of our humanity. Like everyone, we’re fallible. Some of us need more help. Needing extra help, or expressing ourselves in ways other than verbal language can no longer be used as a tool to divide us with functioning labels. Our movement is different. Our lives and our futures depend on this progress. And that’s what drives our mission. Nothing else. We are the opposition to the fearful autism awareness campaigns. We’re not tragedies. We have every right to be ourselves without fear, hatred, or shame.
Participate in Walk In Red with us all month long. Snap a photo of you, or someone you love in red and share it with us. Let us know why you choose red instead. This can be shared with us here, on Facebook, or on Twitter. You can also connect with us at info@autismcouncil.org for information about on the ground events.
SOURCE:#WalkInRed
No one can teach me how to love again 'cause you left a permanent stain on my heart and I've been feeling it 
