 Image description: white text against black background with two yellow candles on either side. Text reads "Disability Day of Mourning 2021 Remembering disabled people murdered by their family and caregivers"
On March 1st, 2021, Autistics United Canada will be holding a virtual vigil for the ninth annual Disability Day of Mourning. The International Disability Day of Mourning commemorates people with disabilities murdered by family members and caregivers. We honour and celebrates the lives of our disabled ancestors who met unjust deaths at the hands of their caretakers. The vigil will include several speeches from the disabled community, a reading of victims' names, and a moment of silence. --- ***REGISTER HERE: http://bit.ly/DDOM2021*** Please register by Feb. 24th so we can best accommodate any accessibility requests! --- Date: Monday, March 1, 2021 Time: 11 am Pacific Time / 12 pm Mountain Time / 1 pm Central Time / 2 pm Eastern Time / 3 pm Atlantic Time The event will be held via videoconferencing with Zoom. You will receive an invitation link by email within 24 hours of the event. We are looking into livestreaming options in case we receive more registrations than we can accommodate on Zoom. Visit our Facebook event page for updates: https://www.facebook.com/events/235701151423535 --- ACCESSIBILITY: 1. We have confirmed CART (live captioning) for the event. 2. We have two ASL interpreters confirmed for the event. 3. We are looking into live stream options for the event. 4. We are working on getting emotional support volunteers that can provide one-on-one support in the Zoom breakout rooms. Please let us know your accessibility requests by February 24, 2021, so we can best accommodate you. If you have any questions or accessibility requests, feel free to let us know in the registration form, email us at info@autisticsunitedca.org or message us on Facebook at @AutisticsUnitedCA! --- FUNDRAISER: We have started a fundraiser to offset the costs of hosting this event as a volunteer group. If you can, please donate here! https://fundrazr.com/01m4c0 --- To learn more about Disability Day of Mourning: disability-memorial.org (Note: This website discusses graphic murders of disabled people) --- On March 1st, we will come together—and together, we mourn. In solidarity, Autistics United Canada organizing team
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This year has been one of the most eventful and challenging in our lifetimes. Looking back on what we've done while facing the difficulties of the COVID-19 pandemic, the unifying theme has been what we have accomplished together for our collective well-being—through protest, through friendship, through mutual aid and support. Thank you for supporting Autistics United Canada. We cannot do our work as a volunteer grassroots organization without your support, whether it be donating, providing technical assistance, sharing our work, volunteering with us, speaking up with us, or sharing space with us. For those new to our community: welcome. Let's take on what 2021 brings together. What We’ve Been Up to in 2020 #AskingAutistics about National Autism and Disability Policy Survey   Images: text inside two red boxes. Text reads: "#AskingAutistics about National Autism and Disability Policy bit.ly/AskingAutisticsCanada" and "##OnDemandeAuxAutistes sur la politique nationale en matière d’autisme et de handicap"] The federal government has committed to developing a National Autism Strategy. However, autistic people have not been adequately consulted on what we need in federal policy. This is why we launched an #AskingAutistics about National Autism and Disability Policy Survey. We are still asking autistics to take this survey! It is available:
 Image: text in a red box that reads "Autistics United Canada Community Survey". We consulted the autistic community on what kind of resources, events, and advocacy they would like to see from Autistics United Canada. We did this through two community roundtables in British Columbia and Nova Scotia, along with our Canada-wide survey. This helps us keep our priorities in line with the needs of autistic communities in Canada. We will be releasing a summary document of what we heard later this year. The survey is still open—take it by clicking here! Neurodivergent Hangouts  Image: yellow text against teal background. Text reads "Neurodivergent hangouts online board games & chat!" Yellow stars in the top right corner and the Autistics United Canada logo of eight interlocking infinity symbols in a rainbow of colours in the bottom left. In March and April at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we held weekly online hangouts for neurodivergent people. We knew it was important for neurodivergent people to stay connected however we can. These hangouts are continuing again on the last Sunday of every month! We chat and play online board games in small groups. CART (live captioning) is provided and ASL interpretation upon request. Register for next one (Feb 28) here: tinyurl.com/NDhangout28 We will be posting information about upcoming hangouts up regularly on our Facebook events page. Disability Day of Mourning 2020  Image: candle against black background. Text reads "Disability Day of Mourning Remembering people with disabilities murdered by caregivers
On March 1st, 2020, Autistics United chapters held local vigils to honour the lives of disabled people murdered by their caregivers. This annual international event works to bring awareness to these tragedies and to send the message that disabled lives are worth living. Our next DDOM vigil is happening online on March 1st, 2021. Visit our Facebook event page and stay tuned for more details. All Brains Are Beautiful Workshops Twice in May, we hosted our All Brains are Beautiful workshop, an introductory workshop on neurodiversity, autistic identity, disability justice, collective access, inclusive event planning, and more. We will be hosting this workshop again in the future. Keep a look-out on our social media pages and our mailing list for when the next one will be! If you attended the workshops and didn’t receive the follow-up materials, please contact us to let us know! International Day of Protest Against ABA August 31st is the International Day of Protest Against ABA. Started by an Autistics United Canada organizing member, Protest ABA Day grows bigger every year. Last year, we started a Facebook page, @ProtestABA, and received submissions from autistic survivors of ABA, autistic activists, and allies to continue speaking out against ABA. Have an article, piece of art, or writing to share about ABA? Send it to us via e-mail or our @ProtestABA Facebook page! Infodump: Sharing Our Interests In May, we hosted Infodump, an online social event where autistic people gave 5 minute talks on a topic they were passionate about! We had 8 presenters presented on a variety of topics! We hope to host this type of event again in the future. COVID-19 Resource List As the COVID-19 pandemic set in, we worked with Autistics for Autistics Ontario to create a COVID-19 resource list for autistic people. If you have a suggestion for a resource to add to our list, please contact us! Violence against Autistic People & AAC users (Content: filicide, abuse) The past year, autistic people and otherwise disabled people have had our lives uniquely threatened by COVID-19 and the societal inequities that it exacerbated. We have felt the effects of COVID-19 through ableist policies around access to healthcare, education, and basic needs--including essential visitors and AAC access in hospitals. Child abuse rates have risen; filicide of autistic people remains a pressing issue to our community. Autistics United Canada organizers continue to meet with policymakers to advocate on behalf of our communities. We also know that state violence cannot be entirely solved with state solutions, and we’re working to build online peer support and mutual aid through Facebook and Discord. #DisabledPeopleForBlackLives #DisabledPeopleForIndigenousLives In June, we released a statement in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, and included a resource list for people to learn, support, and take action. People of colour, particularly Black and Indigenous people, face disproportionate state violence, which can be compounded by disability status and also create disability. Disability justice and the liberation of all disabled people requires racial justice. Black lives matter and Black disabled lives matter. Indigenous lives matter and Indigenous disabled lives matter. Nova Scotia: Petition Against New Institution In July, Autistics United Nova Scotia petitioned against a Cape Breton institution that was being built for autistic children as young as 2 years old. Autistics United opposes institutions and other forms of segregation and believes that autistic people and their families should be given support to lives within their communities. Protests Against Anti-Vaccination Film Screening In February, members of Autistics United Manitoba, Autistics United Nova Scotia, and Autistics United BC protested the screening of an anti-vaccination film that spread misinformation about autism. Vaccines are safe, effective and save lives. We oppose the misinformation and fear-mongering about vaccination and autism perpetuated by anti-vaxxers. Auto-Captioning Guide An Autistics United Canada organizing member created an auto-captioning starter guide, which you can find in our resources list, and was interviewed about it and the importance of captioning recently on CBC. Taking on 2021 Together Volunteer Training If you are interested in getting more involved with Autistics United Canada, consider signing up for our volunteer training! We will be hosting workshops on accessible activism, disability justice, goal-setting, and other skills for volunteers. This training is only open to autistic people. Sign up: http://bit.ly/AutisticOrganizerTraining Discord Server for Autistics We’re setting up a Discord server that will be open to autistic people! This will serve as an online community for discussion, activism, and peer support. If you would like an invitation to the Discord, please email us at info@AutisticsUnitedCA.org or contact us on our social media. Upcoming Events: Disability Day of Mourning and Neurodivergent Hangouts On March 1st, 2021, Autistics United Canada will be hosting the 9th Annual Disability Day of Mourning, a vigil that celebrates and honours the lives of disabled people murdered by their caregivers. This year, the vigil is being held virtually. Visit our Facebook event for updates: https://www.facebook.com/events/235701151423535 We will continue to host our Neurodivergent Hangouts on the last Sunday of each month. Visit our Facebook page for updates: https://www.facebook.com/AutisticsUnitedCA/events/ We're Looking for Autistic Artists and Graphic Designers! To fundraise for future projects, we’re commissioning autistic artists and graphic designers to work with to create merchandise (prints, t-shirts, cups, etc.) with positive messages about autism! The funds will be used to help us host accessible community events with ASL interpretation and CART. This is a paid opportunity. Autistic BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Colour) are especially welcome. If you are interested, please contact us at info@autisticsunitedca.org or through our social media. Continued Advocacy, Resource-Building, and Community Support In 2021, we will continue our advocacy for autistic people during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly on our right to access safe and accessible healthcare. We will continue to call for provincial and national policies to be made in consultation with the most marginalized of our communities. We will continue to create and build resources and spaces by autistic people, for autistic people. Let’s take on the next year together! In solidarity, Autistics United Canada organizing team  RSVP here for Dec 27: https://tinyurl.com/NDhangout27 We will be playing online or Jackbox games, watching videos, or just chatting--whatever everyone feels like doing. These are difficult times for all of us. Let's connect and hold space for each other! These hangouts are open to all neurodivergent people, including Autistic people, ADHDers, people with developmental and intellectual disabilities, people with mental health challenges, etc. The event will be held via videoconferencing with Zoom. You will receive an invitation link by email within 24 hours of the event. --- Time: Last Sunday of every month 3-5 PM PST / 4-6 PM MST / 5-7 PM CST / 6-8 PM EST / 7-9 PM AST --- For more information and updates, visit our Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/297479948326080/ --- To sign up for future neurodivergent hangouts every month, see our Facebook events listing: https://www.facebook.com/autisticsunitedca/events  [Image description: An aqua blue background with black text that says "Happy International Day of People with Disabilities!"
Below the text is: a blue-attired person tan skinned person with black curly hair in a wheelchair with a speech-generating device; two hands using sign language; a silhouetted blind person with sunglasses and a white cane; the neurodiversity rainbow infinity symbol; a light brown service dog with a red vest and leash; a person using an AAC device; a person in a green sweater and purple head scarf signing; and a person with shoulder length brown hair wearing an oxygen mask.] Happy International Day of People with Disabilities! Today, we're speaking out about the importance of approaching disability from human rights and disability justice lenses. 'Nothing about us without us' and intersectionality are two frameworks we must use to reflect on this day within the context of the Black Lives Matter movement and the COVID-19 pandemic highlighting many inequities, not only ableism. Disabled community is diverse with disabled people coming from many different sites of additional privilege and oppression. We form one-fifth of the world's population. Disability crosses borders, genders, races, ethnicities, classes, faiths, sexual orientations, and body sizes. The world of disability is as diverse as the global community. Yet around the world, we face similar issues: inaccessibility, segregation, institutionalization, seclusion, sterilization, exclusion, discrimination, homelessness, police brutality, incarceration, poverty, abuse, and the assumption that our lives are not worth living. Ableism affects us all. 'Nothing about us without us' means 'nothing about us without ALL of us', including disabled people historically and continually forgotten and excluded from disability movements. Working toward collective access and collective liberation means then working towards racial justice, environmental justice, decolonization, feminism, police abolition, anti-capitalism, 2SLGBTQIA+ justice, and anti-oppression in all forms, as they are all part of an intersectional disability justice movement. The International Day of Disabled Persons is a day where we ask again, who is being left behind? Who is most vulnerable to ableism, eugenics, institutionalization, state violence, torture, and abuse? Who do we still have to work to not just support, but to work alongside, whose voices we must elevate rather than silence? How do we create communities of care and mutual aid that do not perpetuate further oppression? As a grassroots autistic-led organization, Autistics United Canada is trying to put these values in practice. We are ever growing and ever learning. We are struggling together to build a just movement for all disabled people.  [Image: blue, pink, and white candles in front of a transgender flag. Text reads "Transgender Day of Remembrance 2020"]
Today is the Transgender Day of Remembrance. We honour and commemorate our trans siblings who have lost their lives to trans-antagonism, hate and violence. In the last year, 350 trans and gender-diverse people were reported murdered, and many more deaths go unreported. Trans women, trans people of colour, trans sex workers continue to be the largest groups of victims. Trans people are up to six times more likely to be autistic. Our community includes trans people; as trans autistics, particularly trans autistics of colour, many of us face additional violence from institutions, police forces, hospitals, schools, caregivers, prisons, and detention centres. We must come together as a community to resist, to survive. We cannot forget our trans autistic ancestors who came before us, who were pathologized like we are for our autistic truths and joys, for their trans truths and joys. We mourn in solidarity with the trans community. --- Ways to learn more and support:
 [Image description: black text outlined by a red box that says "What changes do you want to see in Canada to improve the lives of autistic people? bit.ly/AskingAutisticsCanada"] We are #AskingAutistics for your feedback! This is a survey by and for autistics about the changes you want to see in Canada to improve the lives of autistic people. Your thoughts and experiences will help us advocate on the policies that affect our lives.
You can take the online survey here: bit.ly/AskingAutisticsCanada It will usually take at least 15 minutes to fill out. You can also give feedback in two other ways: 1. Downloading and filling out the survey in Microsoft Word or PDF format from our website: https://www.autisticsunitedca.org/AskingAutisticsCanada.html 2. Using your preferred communication method (e.g. video call, audio call, text chat, email) during an interview. Please contact us at info@AutisticsUnitedCA.org to set up an interview or to send your completed Word format surveys.  [Image description: red text in yellow box reads "Autistics United Canada Community Survey" Red background with yellow stars.] Autistic United Canada is hoping to hear from you! As we're in a process of restructuring, we wanted to reach out to our wider community and get your feedback. We want to see what sort of events or resources you want to see. We are committed to inclusion and accessibility, and want to know if there are ways we could make being involved easier for you. We are a grassroots, volunteer-run organization. We will not have the person-power to do everything suggested, but we hope to get a sense of the types of opportunities our community most wants to see. Click here to take the survey! Autistics United Canada is hosting two community roundtables in British Columbia and Nova Scotia! We want to hear from you about your priorities, hopes, and dreams for autistic-led advocacy and support in these two provinces. There will be a presentation from Autistics United Canada organizers about who we are as a group and what we have been up to, followed by a community discussion of what people would like to see from their provincial chapter. Join to get involved and have your ideas heard! This community roundtable is open to autistic people and allies, but we will be centering autistic voices, particularly those of autistic BIPOC, LGBTQ+ autistics, autistic women, low-income autistic people, and other multiply marginalized autistic people. The two events will be held via Zoom videoconferencing, with phone-in options available. We are currently booking ASL interpretation and CART (live captioning). See below for details to register!  [Image description: Red text in a yellow circle on a red background with stars. Text reads: "BC Community Roundtable Nov 7, 2020 | 2-4 pm via Zoom" In the bottom right, the Autistics United Canada logo of 8 interlocking infinity symbols in a rainbow of colours] Date: Saturday, November 7, 2020 Time: 2 to 4 pm Pacific Time ***Please RSVP using this form by Nov. 4 forms.gle/EPDhU4GtBdjJ3gxD6*** The event will be held via videoconferencing with Zoom, with phone-in options. You will receive an invitation link by email within 24 hours of the event. This event is special as we are hoping to expand to establish a province-wide chapter, while retaining our existing local hubs in Vancouver and Comox Valley. The discussion will inform the direction we will take in expanding to a BC-wide chapter! Accessibility: 1. We are currently booking CART (live captioning for the event). 2. We are currently booking ASL interpretation for the event. 3. Please let us know your accessibility requests by Nov. 4, so we can best accommodate you. 4. You can choose whether to speak, type, or sign to communicate with us. Turning on your video and/or audio is optional. If you have any questions or accessibility requests, feel free to email us at VancouverAutistics@gmail.com. If you cannot attend this community roundtable but are interested in future ones, please let us know by emailing us at VancouverAutistics@gmail.com Facebook event: www.facebook.com/events/415433482806046  [Image description: Red text in a yellow circle on a red background with stars. Text reads:
"NS Community Roundtable Nov 21, 2020 | 6-8 pm via Zoom" In the bottom right, the Autistics United Canada logo of 8 interlocking infinity symbols in a rainbow of colours] Date: Saturday, November 21, 2020 Time: 6 to 8 PM Atlantic Time ***Please register using this form by Nov 17: forms.gle/Xso1vJ4enW1R7kbBA*** The event will be held via videoconferencing with Zoom, with phone-in options. You will receive an invitation link by email within 24 hours of the event. Accessibility: 1. We are currently booking CART (live captioning for the event). 2. We have two ASL interpreters requested but not yet confirmed or the event. 3. Please let us know your accessibility requests by Nov 17, so we can best accommodate you. 4. You can choose whether to speak, type, or sign to communicate with us. Turning on your video and/or audio is optional. If you have any questions or accessibility requests, feel free to email us at NovaScotiaAutistics@gmail.com or message us on Facebook @AUNovaScotia! If you cannot attend this community roundtable but are interested in future ones, please let us know by emailing us at NovaScotiaAutistics@gmail.com Facebook event: www.facebook.com/events/353841439162281 Autistics United Canada organizers have asked a fellow organizer to step down from their role after a number of their actions negatively impacted the safety of other AUC members, particularly multiply marginalized members. Over the past few months, Autistics United Canada organizers have been in conversation with this person, calling them in with the help of a friend of theirs and fellow organizers. At this time, we still welcome this person as a continued general member.
We are also trying to take accountability for our responsibility in this as a group and are taking steps to prevent similar incidents in the future. This includes building capacity among organizers by:
All of this is part of our efforts to make Autistics United Canada a safer space for our current and future members, particularly autistic BIPOC, women, and non-binary folks. We further recognize that a balance needs to be made between avoiding cutting people off from community (harmers and harmed), and at the same time ensuring that people doing harm in positions of power are removed from those positions of power. If anyone would like clarification on this post or would like to share resources - please reach out to us by emailing us at info@autisticsunitedca.org or messaging us on our social media. Thank you for your understanding and support as we struggle together to create safer and more just spaces inside and outside of AUC.  [Image description: red text on white background that says "International Day of Protest Against ABA #ProtestABADay #SayNoToABA @Protest ABA". White text in a red circle that says "Aug 31"]
August 31, 2020 will mark the third annual International Day of Protest Against ABA. This event takes place on August 31 to mark the anniversary of the Cardgate scandal. This scandal involved "Cards Against Humanity"-style cards based around ABA. The cards were created by an ABA therapist very active on social media, and made light of abuses such as physical restraint and skin shocks. After years of advocacy by disabled advocates like Lydia X.Z. Brown, Jennifer Msumba, Emily Titon, Shain Neumeier, Cal Montgomery, Ari Ne'eman, Sam Crane, Julia Bascom, and Anita Cameron against the Judge Rotenberg Center (JRC) and its use of electric shock torture, the FDA has finally banned the electric shock devices used by the JRC. Unfortunately, the FDA decided to stay the ban last month when the JRC appealed. We have also seen more studies come out against ABA, including: --one from the US Department of Defence demonstrating that ABA doesn't work; --one from the Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal outlining the ethical problems with ABA; --and one from the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry calling out the many conflicts of interest in autism early intervention research. We have also seen an article from education expert Alfie Kohn criticizing ABA for being harmful to those subjected to it. As with previous years, this will be primarily an online event, but in future years we hope to have some physical events. We invite autistic people and allies to share or retweet writings, videos, and art by ABA survivors, neurotypical and autistic parents of autistic children, and former ABA therapists, using the tag #ProtestABADay. Want to submit a piece of writing, art, or other media about ABA to be shared on our @ProtestABA Facebook page? Send it to info@autisticsunitedca.org! We will be prioritizing and amplifying voices from ABA survivors in particular, but all submissions are welcome for consideration. #ProtestABADay #SayNoToABA #MoreWaysThanABA #YesAllABA |