#Communication is a right
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When you can’t show what you know, people assume you just don’t know anything.
At least that’s how it works for most autistic kids who can’t speak, or can’t control their bodies as much as they’d like to, or can’t answer things “fast enough,” and so on. Because the people who give the tests really don’t want to entertain the idea that their tests might just be garbage sometimes.
Non-speakers who have gained access to communication later in life all tell a similar story: that they experience a mind-body disconnect that makes it hard for them to control their own bodies. That means that they struggle to perform tasks on command, whether it comes from other people or their own minds, and that their bodies will just do things that the person didn’t even mean to do.
And despite the growing number of people who are able to share these stories, most of the People In ChargeTM are still operating under the assumption that if you can’t answer a question or follow an instruction correctly, it’s because you didn’t understand it.
Which means that kids who can’t show what they know because their bodies won’t cooperate are assumed to just not know anything.
Which means they never get to move to the next level of education.
Which means there are millions of children who languish in educational settings that are not academically challenging enough for them- because the problem they have with their bodies is assumed to be a problem with their mind.
But the inaccessibility of assessments is the problem here. As well as the assumptions people make about those who are thought of as “low functioning.” As well as the fact that the majority of autistic kids who can’t speak are still not given alternative means of communication soon enough, if at all.
We can do better. Presume competence. Treat communication like a basic human NEED and a RIGHT, not an optional privilege to be earned. And believe the people who keep telling us as soon as they can, “It’s our bodies, not our minds!”
NOTE: I’ve been wanting to do something on this for a while, and this particular cartoon came together a couple weeks ago while I was listening to “Ido in Autismland” by Ido Kidar. Please do check it out, along with the work of other non-speakers, to learn more about this experience from the people who actually live it.
https://www.amazon.com/Ido-Autismland-Climbing-Autisms-Silent/dp/0988324709
https://www.amazon.com/Autistic-Boy-Unruly-Body-Autism/dp/B0B7XF3CVT
https://neuroclastic.com/directory-of-nonspeaker-pages-blogs-media/
#autism#autistic#actually autistic#nonspeakingdoesnotequalnonthinking#nonspeaking#nonverbal#communication is a right
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Before January 2025:
If you are a USAmerican in a relationship that might be affected by legislation that dissolves same-sex marriages, who may no longer be recognized as next-of-kin, especially if you have children, get your rights in writing!
Your marriage certificate may not be enough to prove you have rights to make medical decisions for non-biological children or for a same-sex spouse or partner.
Go to a lawyer, get it spelled out as clearly as possible that you have a voice in emergency medical and legal situations.
#I'm so scared for all of us right now#lgbtq community#us politics#we need to care for each other#queer community#project 2025#welcome to gilead#bonnet fittings begin in January
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Not socialist in a “I won’t have to work” type of way but socialist in a “I’ll still be working but I won’t be worried I won’t make the rent” type of way. In a “billions won’t be hoarded by one person” type of way. In a “janitors, fast-food workers, child care workers, preschool teachers, hotel clerks, personal care and home health aides, and grocery store cashiers, will live comfortably” type of way. In a “the sick and elderly will be cared for” type of way. In a “no child should work” type of way.
#socialist#socialism#communism#anti capitalism#the belief that we won’t work under capitalism genuinely makes me so mad#like#you realize the goal of social reform is to abolish imperialism right?#there won’t be good just showing up out of nowhere without slavery and/or imperialism
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#right wing bullshit#lgbtq#lgbtq community#lgbt pride#sapphic#nonbinary lesbian#gay girls#lesbian#nonbinary#lgbtqia#right wing terrorism#right wing extremism#right wing politics#right wing women#conservatives#conservatism#queer#spiderman#spiderman comics#spiderman fanart#spidey#peter parker#mary jane watson#spidypool#comic books#comics#comic art#original comic#fan comic#web comic
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Hey, if you have half a minute and care about the LGTBQIA+ community in the EU, I'd suggest you take a look at this initiative to ban conversion therapies in the EU.
1 million people are required to sign, but there's barely 100k. The form takes less than a minute, it only requires your ID, name and surname.
Please, help spread the initiative so that it can reach the goal ASAP! If you're not from the EU and can't sign, at least reblog! Thanks in advance.
#lgbtq community#queer#queer community#eu initiative#Europe#mine#please share#please spread#against conversion therapies#ban conversion practices#lgbtq rights
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asking people to be mindful of others when sharing a communal space (especially one you cannot just up and leave from) is not selfish or misanthropic. come on now
#like we are human beings who have to coexist. i don’t think it should be so much to ask for some courtesy#but some of you guys act like being asked to be civil to the people around you is like being asked to sever a body part#idk it’s just a respect thing. i’m not being very coherent right now but we have to act like we can share communal spaces!#abandon ethical egoism please 🙏
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goddamn gender inflation, can’t have shit these days
#funny#satire#silly#joking#shitpost#lighthearted#queer#gender#gender meme#transgender#trans#trans memes#transblr#trans humor#trans men are real men#trans women are real women#trans rights#lgbt#lgbtq#lgbtqia#lgbtq community#lgbt pride
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well 🧍♀️ as a reminder this blog is NOT a safe space for trump supporters but it IS a safe place for women, queers, trans ppl, people of color, undocumented people, and any marginalized group.
#if youre feeling upset or disillusioned i am right there with you#but now more than ever#i want to remind you of the importance of community#check in on your friends#advocate for your friends#protect your friends#protect your community and who you love and care about#and we will get through this#my dms and inbox are always open#even if you just want to vent#im also so sad right now but we have to be strong and stick together right now#(also if youre not american pls understand this affects us all and to not invalidate the feelings of americans)
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If you are trans I need you to stay alive.
Stay alive for every other trans person fighting, stay alive for every trans person who is no longer here, and most importantly stay alive for yourself.
They don’t get to erase us! They don’t get to take away our rights, and treat us as less than human. Don’t let them erase us, and don’t let them make you a statistic. Don’t let them win.
Stay alive
If you won’t do it for yourself, then do it for others. Do it out of spite.
#I’ve been seeing trans people talking about ending it if Trump wins#transgender#trans#trans woman#mtf#trans men#ftm#trans masc#trans femme#nonbinary#queer#trans rights#queer rights#us politics#political#political punk#punk#kamala harris#donald trump#lgbt#lgbtq community
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Y’all want Taylor Swift to be gay so bad but you won’t even write femslash about her
#I was curious so I looked it up 1038 fics on ao3 tagged Taylor Swift and f/f#like I’m not necessarily encouraging people to go out and write rpf#but it’s wild that arguably the biggest musical artist right now who has a huge community speculating about her sexuality has so little fic#like this isn’t a good or bad thing I just think it’s interesting#idk I’m not actually a swiftie like that#like I listen to her music and keep up generally with what she’s doing but I’m not really in the fandom#so there might be something I’m missing
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so, today we, russian queers, may become "extremists" by decision of russian supreme court and thus our existence will be silenced and erased. any queer activism will be impossible for us. I don't know what to do anymore. I was heartbroken when they passed the laws about "gay propaganda" and transgender people, now I'm just numb. I don't want to escape. I just want to live safely in my own country.
please hear us.
#lgbtq#lgbtqia#lgbtq community#lgbtqia rights#lgbtq rights#lgbt+#lgbt rights#russia#russian lgbtq#lesbian#gay#bisexual#trans#transgender#queer#queer rights#russian queers
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Part 5 of a 5 part series about the ways harmful practices are being made to sound more appealing and how to spot the differences between helpful and harmful approaches.
Communication support is a desperately needed thing for so many autistic people and their families. So unlike some of the other things I’ve posted about this week, this is 100% a worthy goal. Unfortunately, many places that claim they can offer it are not delivering.
In some cases, they simply don’t have the education to properly support communication needs (I’m looking at you, ABA). Other times they do have the proper education (ie Speech Language Pathologists) but they will gatekeep certain methods of communication, either because they believe harmful myths about them or they haven’t been trained in that particular method. Also, not every SLP knows about Gestalt Language Processing, so even an otherwise great therapist could be missing some information.
So here are some questions to ask when trying to figure out if someone is truly capable of offering well-rounded, neuro-affirming communication support:
Are they more concerned with making the client easier to deal with for others, or are they focused on the client’s rights, needs, and wishes? (We’re looking for the second one.)
Do they address the client directly, or do they speak as if the client isn’t even in the room? (We’re looking for the first one.)
Do they see speech and language as a behavioral thing? (Verbal Behavior and PECS are dead giveaways - and we want a NO.)
Do they understand that an inability to produce speech has no bearing on a person’s ability to think and feel? (YES✅)
Do they only push for speech, see speech as the end goal, or value speech above all other methods of communication? (NO✅)
Do they honor things like echolalia, pointing to objects, and bringing an adult over to something they want as valid communication? (YES✅)
Do they honor things like refusal to participate, crying, and meltdowns as valid communication? (YES✅)
Do they believe that things like pacifiers, AAC, or responding to “non-functional communication” discourages speech/“functional” communication? (NO✅)
Do they know about Gestalt Language Processing and believe it is a thing? (YES✅)
Do they require “pre-requisites” before they will try alternative communication methods? (NO✅)
Do they require the client to earn time on their AAC device or remove the device when they deem it a distraction, essentially taking away their voice? (NO✅)
Do they know who to send you to if they aren’t personally trained in an approach they think would be more helpful? (YES✅)
Obviously, trying to find someone local to you with all the green flags and no red ones is kind of like trying to find a unicorn for most people. But if you have a choice between two or more therapists, you can at least go with the one who has more right answers and be ready to advocate/educate when needed.
If you literally have only one option available to you and it’s not a good one, you can either be ready to advocate at every turn or just choose not to use their services. Yeah, that’s allowed! Not every autistic person needs speech therapy, and not all communication support has to be directly administered by a professional. You as the parent or caregiver will play a huge role in supporting your person with their communication needs, and luckily there are online resources and virtual trainings that can help you do that.
P.S. What’s the difference between PECS and picture cards, you ask? PECS is a whole ABA-based program that uses a limited set of picture cards and should be avoided for several reasons. Meanwhile, plain old picture cards are something that can be made and used by anyone without any specific program.
P.P.S. Zero debates about the legitimacy of Spelling to Communicate (S2C) or Rapid Prompting Method (RPM) will be entertained (translation - it will be deleted so don’t waste your time).
#autism#autistic#actually autistic#apraxia#nonspeaking#nonverbal#aac#communication is a right#gestalt processing
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#ghana#this is one of the most distressing nights of my life#im so sorry to all my friends in the lgbt community in ghana right now
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"there are only two sexes, it's literally third grade biology!" and pronouns are taught in kindergarten and you dont seem to understand those either
#lgbt#lgbtq#queer#queer pride#pride#lgbt pride#gay rights#lgbt rights#lgbtqia#lgbtq community#trans#transgender#trans pride#nonbinary#nonbinary pride#intersex#intersex rights#dantes talking again
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