Making Space to Filter Out the Nonsense

What a month!

I wish I could say that I had the time to write a post filled with tidbits of fabulous information this week, but yikes, this month being autism acceptance month has me running a bit ragged 😬

In case you didn’t happen to see it, Monday night I had the honor of hosting a webinar with autistic self-advocate, Elizabeth Bonker. Elizabeth is a non-speaking woman with autism who happens to have been the valedictorian of her graduating class at Rollins College. If you’re not familiar with Rollins College, it is not a “special education school”, or a university that reduces its standards because a person happens to have a disability. Elizabeth’s story proves that there are many individuals who have nonspeaking autism, but who also have a tremendous amount of potential for greatness if given the opportunity.

Even though the world has changed drastically over the last 20 years when it comes to mass communication, there are interventions like Spelling to Communicate that almost feel like they are undercover or squelched by a system that doesn’t want it to surface. When my son was young and we didn’t have Facebook, Instagram or, heck, even home computers, we rallied together at conferences to find out all the newest research, which was often being done by parents and not by so-called professionals. We counted on one another because we knew that the system was never going to come out with a silver platter for us to choose from. Not only does the same hold true today, but even with social media, websites, and cell phones that can bring us information in an instant, parents are still isolated, denied information and continuously told to accept the way things are. If I had done that 27 years ago, not only would my son not be the man he is today, but I would not be who I am either.

As you consider advocating for your children, consider this….. The first time that you speak up to make things better is going to be the hardest. Each time after that, it will be easier and easier and easier. But, if you don’t, the exact opposite will happen, and years later you will have forgotten what your gut was trying to tell you way back when.

I encourage you to check out Communication4all.org and watch the movie Spellers on YouTube. I have no doubt that it will at the very least cause you to question the unfounded negative beliefs imposed on you or your child by the systems that can’t even seem to manage itself.

Enjoy!

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Happy Advocating!