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SQUARE 8:Squawk about disability and society

Friday, May 1, 2015 Autism Acceptance Challenge 20: Executive FunctioningI often get stuck in a loop. Having a good organized list can help, but not always. Sometimes my inbox has 431 unread messages. I struggle with how to return a phone call, never sure how much access I'm going to have to speech. I start a project with enthusiasm and get derailed when the next big thing comes along, demanding 100% attention. Deadlines are my best friend and archenemy. I sometimes need help with staying on task and I resent that I need help and I resent the people who help me. It's all part of the package.

Challenge 20 is for me. You can share it if you want to. It's not an easy one. I need to find better ways of balancing acceptance of my autistic style of tasking with actually delivering work while it is still useful. Taking on fewer tasks is not always an option. I'll be checking in here (eventually) to let you know what happens.

I did pretty well with this, coming through with 90% of the promised challenges by the deadline. I'm counting this as a win.

Speaking of winning, the winner of the Squawkers McCaw Autism Acceptance Challenge is Jennifer Vail, who completed 15 of the 18 actual challenges (#19 was not a challenge, and #20 is a day late.) 30 people participated in the official challenge, and many others took part without ever posting a comment. I noticed those people who signed petitions and liked pages without entering the competition. I appreciated these responses every bit as much as those who made themselves known here.

Squawk.

Jennifer Vail, please send me your mailing address. Your parrot will be released on Monday.
Squawkers McCaw telling his friend that he
is soon to be released to a new home.
Posted byBevat9:55 AM3 comments: Labels:Autism Acceptance Challenge,executive functioning,Squawkers McCaw Wednesday, April 29, 2015 Autism Acceptance Challenge 19 Cannot HappenThis cant happen. Not today. Not yesterday. I made acommitment to write 20 challenge posts this month and there is only one moreday. Maybe tomorrow.
Should I ask you to watch Wretches and Jabberers or Citizen Autistic? Participatein scripts? Respect boundaries? Yes. I should. None of this is trivial. But today,they are not the most important things.
Supporting acceptance of autism and autistic people mattersand will always matter to me. The truth is that our lives depend on it. Onanother day, I will talk about what that means.
Today I have to look beyond autism, beyond myself, beyondthe people I know best. Other people are hurting more. Other lives are indanger, immediately and always. I donthave a lot to say about it, except to other white people. Some of you won't like it. I don't like what I've been hearing from some of you either.
Stop saying thug. Stop saying like animals. Stop saying butthey are destroying their own neighborhoods. Stop saying violence is not the answer. Stop hijacking hashtags to includeyourselves. Everyone already agrees thatyour white life matters. Stop it. Stop acting like you know something. Stop sayinganything and start listening to and boosting the messages of Black people.
Think about why this should matter toanyone who cares about justice for autistics/disabled people/people with disabilities. Think about how empty and meaningless ouradvocacy is if it doesn't. Talk about that. But first,listen. Listen more.Support and boost. If you came here looking for a challenge, let this be that. But don't think this is part of some contest or game. Freddie Gray deserves better than that.
#BlackLivesMatter
#JusticeforFreddieGrayPosted byBevat9:27 PM2 comments: Labels:acceptance,Freddie Gray,police,racism Monday, April 27, 2015 Autism Acceptance Challenge 18: Take Back April with StimtasticBeing autistic in April is not usually a happy experience.Every year, we are surrounded by reminders that we are not welcome on theplanet. The lit up blue buildings and puzzled lapel pins and endless paradingof tragic statistics and devastating costs contribute to an already toxicand willful misunderstanding of what autism is, denying our very right toexist. There have been Aprils whenleaving the house was nearly impossible. What could I say that would not be metwith scorn or derision? I have felt truly alone in the world.
This year has been better (for me, anyway.) Autistic peoplehave made it better. From #WalkInRed to ASANs #AcceptanceIs campaign to theA-Z postings of Unstrange Mind and the Autism Acceptance Month events hosted byAutism Womens Network, Ed Wiley Autism Acceptance Lending Library and many others, autistic people have worked together andseparately to take back April. Squawkers peeks through a chewable
"donut" necklace from Stimtastic.
Today I want to highlight a month long promotion that hasbeen going on at Stimtastic. Stimtastic is an autistic owned company that makesfidget toys, chewable necklaces, spinnable rings and other cool stuff.Throughout the month, Stimtastic has been giving away items via social mediaoutlets including Tumblr, Twitter, and Facebook.

Todays challenge is to like Stimtastic on Facebook andcomment on the post there offering a free item to a randomly chosen commenter.Thats it! Let me know that you did this, what item you requested and why. Itcan be something you want yourself or a gift for an autistic person in yourlife.Posted byBevat11:30 AM4 comments: Labels:April,Autism Acceptance Challenge,Squawkers McCaw,stimming,stims,Stimtastic Saturday, April 25, 2015 Autism Acceptance Challenge 17: One Sentence Stories of AcceptanceAcceptance happens sometimes. When it does, I like toacknowledge and celebrate it. Here are a few of my one sentence stories aboutautism acceptance:
On April 2, everyone in my office was wearing red.

The cake said Good luck Bev and Squawkers.

Share your one sentence stories of autism acceptance in thecomments to complete this challenge.Posted byBevat11:46 AM1 comment: Labels:acceptance,Autism Acceptance Challenge,one sentence stories,Squawkers McCaw Thursday, April 23, 2015 Autism Acceptance Challenge 16: Ask an AutisticNot long ago, I sat in a meeting composed of parents andprofessionals. The group was interested in learning more about what supportsautistic people need. How would they find out? You can probably guess whattheir solution was: Lets survey all the parents! Not one person suggestedtalking to autistic people themselves. I wasnt having a good speech day and itdidn't get any better from there. I wish I could say that I quickly anddiplomatically pointed out the error in their groupthink. Some days I can. Somedays I justcant. It left me feeling all powerless and Twilight Zoned. My identity as an advocate/activist was ajoke. There was no point to my presence in the meeting and I was never goingagain.
And then it was another day. I remembered that beingautistic sometimes means not being able to get words out and I made a plan tocommunicate with the group in a way that would work for me.

CHALLENGE: What do autistic people need? Ask us. Ask an autistic person in your life these questions:
1.What would you most like people to know aboutautism?2.What supports do you need to do the things youwant to do?
IMPORTANT: The person you ask is under no obligation toanswer you. Do not go out there demanding responses and tell them I sent you.The point of this to get used to seeing people as the experts on their ownlives. Any time or information the autistic person gives to you is a gift. Youhave no idea what it may be costing them.
If you are autistic, complete this challenge by answeringthe questions in the comments here. But only if you want to and have the spoonsto do it.Posted byBevat7:59 PM2 comments: Labels:autism,Autism Acceptance Challenge,autistic,experts,parents,Squawkers McCaw Wednesday, April 22, 2015 Autism Acceptance Challenge 15: What's Your Squawkers McCaw?Why do you have that bird? Lots of reasons! See below.



What's your Squawkers McCaw? What is uniquely yours that helps you get through the day? Is your chosen support seen as acceptable? Age appropriate? Weird? Controversial? Do you even know that you have it?

Discuss.Posted byBevat7:47 AM9 comments: Labels:autism,Autism Acceptance Challenge,Squawkers McCaw,video,Whats Your Squawkers McCaw,work Tuesday, April 21, 2015 Autism Acceptance Challenge 14: (Neuro)Queering the ConversationTodays Challenge is to interact with puzzle pieces in thewild. This goes for other offensive images and rhetoric too. Heres an examplewhere a graffiti artist decided not to let Autism $peaks have the last word. Image from HockeyDrunk
Photoshop? Maybe. But there are plenty of more accessibletargets around, especially during April.
You can NeuroQueer any reachable flyer or poster by adding your own text or art. Heres Squawkerscovering up a puzzle piece ribbon for the Unpuzzled blog.
Squawkers should have added a link to an informational website.And this is a more recent conversation entered using aPost-It.
Before picture shows a person with Down syndrome and the caption: Because my boss encourages me...I am a valuable employee. After picture says: Whether or not my boss encourages me...I am a valuable employee.
There are many ways to do this. A transparent no symbol ona sticker can quickly flip the meaning of any image. I have also been known toplace informational flyers like this next to A$ advertising. Nothing isdestroyed or defaced and no one is harmed using these methods. Im not saying I'venever used a permanent marker. Not saying I have. But for those of you takingthe challenge, thats not what Im suggesting.
Let me know in the comments if you have used any of these ways of interacting with symbols and rhetoric. What other methods have you used?
Note: I am using the word NeuroQueer in this context to meansubvert. I am using it as a corollary to queer as a verb. For more on thebasic or actual meaning of NeuroQueer, here is some reading.Posted byBevat10:49 AM4 comments: Labels:Autism Acceptance Challenge,NeuroQueer,puzzle piece,rhetoric,Squawkers McCaw Older PostsHomeSubscribe to:Posts (Atom)Square 8BevBevEmail meSubscribe in a readerComment PolicyThis is a moderated blog. Civil debate is welcome; personal attacks are not. Comments may be rejected for a number of reasons including threats, harassment, gossip or links to same.
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Followers"Do I contradict myself? Very well, then I contradict myself, I am large, I contain multitudes" Walt Whitman

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