#The Autistic People of Color Fund

[helicoprinus]

i wish vacationing to another flight didn't come with a 1500g price tag. i'm partially considering switching flights but i don't want to go through the whole deal only to find out i don't like the new one and want to go back but have to wait 6 months And scrounge up *1500* gems on top

(tags of this post veer into a personal vent about my first time being a sheet attendant, just a head's up)

[iguanodonwildman]

I am making this post on behalf of my friend, @hashembadr. Hashem is #102 on @gazavetters’ spreadsheet.

Hashem is currently raising money for his family in Gaza. There are 26 people in his group, including himself. 13 of them are children between the ages of 3 to 16. Among these children is Hashem’s neice, Suhaam, who is 9 years old.

(The above redraw of Suhaam was drawn by astraios-art to avoid triggering tumblr’s mature content filters with blood.)

Suhaam was injured on October 22, 2023 and had to have surgery on her left arm. Due to the war and repeated displacement, she was not able to receive follow up treatment or rest as needed. Now, her arm has healed badly and she needs a revision surgery. She experiences pain and has trouble moving it. She has trouble holding toys. It is possible she may lose the arm if she does not get this surgery soon.

GoFundMe takes a 2% commission from donations, and the transfer fees to Gaza take another 30% off of that reduced number. In order to pay for his neice’s surgery, Hashem will need to raise $5,920. ($4,700 for the operation and treatment, plus $111 for the GFM commission fee, plus another $1,110 is the price of transferring the amount to Gaza 30% for the transfer fee.)

A large portion of the current GFM funds (about £6,000, give or take) were used to pay for two replacement tents after the three they were living in were destroyed by shrapnel in an attack, a bed and mattress for Suhaam, and daily living expenses. I have tracked those expenses here, but the links are broken because tumblr terminated Hashem’s old blog. As such, the GFM must reach at least £11,000 for Suhaam to get her surgery, though Hashem may be forced to use some of the current funds to purchase food for the rest of the family.

Hashem is a good friend and we have been chatting almost daily (when he has internet) for months now. There isn’t much I can do for him except to make his voice louder. Please share this post and donate if you are able!

Update: Hashem is also now without a phone. It was damaged on June 8th, 2025, when he was attacked after leaving the aid station.

I’ve also included some examples of art from artists who are offering commissions in exchange for donations to Hashem below if you need further incentive to give.

If you donate any amount of money, you can get a cute lil dragon doodle from @shadowfoxsilver! Here's a cutie she drew for me! They also offer additional tiers for more complex drawings.

For at least $3, you can get a doodle from @artobotsrollout! Here's is a $10 sketch I got from her. The sketch tier includes progress shots, line art, and a full color piece.

If you donate at least $5, you can get a sketch from @astraios-art! Here's one he did for me of Tenzou helping Sakura chase Kakashi down for a check up! He also drew me this picture of Johnny and Roy from Emergency!, and this picture of Slim and Jess from Laramie!

@orilifiel is also offering $5 donation sketches! Here is one he drew for me of my favorite Resident Evil Head canon where Leon finds a cake from the welcome party mid game and eats it with a blank stare.

@derelictheretic is also offering $5 sketches on this post! They also offer additional tiers for more complex drawings.

For at least $7, you can get a sketch from @optimistic-autistic! Here's one he did for me of one of my favorite pokemon, Chikorita! He also offers additional tiers for more complex drawings.

If you donate at least $15, you can get a character design from @crungulus. $25 will get you a portrait, and $30 will get you even more, like this commission they did for me of my late cat, Callie.

These offers may expire, so donate now!

[autisticadvocacy]

ASAN, Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network, the Autistic People of Color Fund, Autism Society of America, Autism Speaks, The Arc, and others stand united: Autistic people deserve respect, support, and science-based policy, not dangerous disinformation. 

[caughtthedarkness93]

So uhhhhhhhh something really wild is happening over in autismland.

Quoting the opening paragraph of a press release I got from the Autism Self Advocacy Network (ASAN):

"April 17, 2025, Washington, D.C. – As national organizations dedicated to advancing the well-being of Autistic individuals, the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, Autism Society of America, Autism Speaks, The Arc of the United States, Autistic Women and Non-Binary Network, Autistic People of Color Fund, and partners across the disability and public health sectors stand united in our call for science-based decision-making and increased investment in the research, programs and services the Autism community needs to live fully."

So...the fact that ASAN, most of those other organizations there, and Autism Speaks agree on something and are actually teaming up about it? That oughta tell you something about where autism discourse and rights are in the US right now.

A little bit on fire, to say the least.

I don't know what there is to do other than shout into the void about it, but it's a hell of a thing to happen in the middle of Autism Acceptance Month. I know right now trans and immigrant rights are a big focus - as they right well should be. But we're under attack too, and we're being used as a scapegoat for larger issues. If you're up to it, fight for us too - especially because I am very certain they will start using autism and other disabilities as an excuse to oppress other people. And since autistic people are more likely to be queer, how long do you think it'll be before they start using this as an excuse to prevent queer people from making our own choices too?

[yourfaveisdisabled]

I believe Ink has autism,

Imma leave it at that, there is nothing more to say.

Ink from the Undertale Multiverse has Autism!

Did you know that Ink is a character of color, despite what the mass amounts of fanart prior to 2023 would have you think? Autistic people of color are wildly under-diagnosed compared to their white peers, and the Autistic People of Color Fund aims to help that. They’ve directly given 300k in microgrants to individual autistic people of color and are intent on pushing the autistic standard away from white men and providing a safe space for autistic women, non-binary/trans individuals, and people of color.

(Ink/art used by Comyet)

[yourfaveisintersex]

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS!

This post is long. Just so you know. Prepare to do a lot of scrolling and reading.

"Who are you?"

My name's Judas! I'm also called the Choir System, since I have polyfragmented DID. We use he/him and it/its pronouns collectively, but we also like to be asked about pronouns occasionally. It's been the host Judas in front for a while though, but you can also use plural they/them if talking about multiple parts, obviously.

I'm an intersex adult who semi-randomly decided to make this blog after getting out of the shower one day, and now make low-effort edits of people's headcanons and of canon or coded intersex characters as a hobby when I have downtime instead of bedrotting on YouTube or Reddit or something. I'm more than happy to talk about my personal intersex experiences on this blog, but if you demand my diagnosis you owe me $20 USD and I'm not kidding I will genuinely respond to you with my PayPal link. Fund my testing because I don't know for certain either lol.

Some of my interests include art— both traditional and digital, roleplay (and writing as a result), cooking & baking, sewing, music, and photography. I tend to get interested in more niche stuff as well, but that's the main gang of hobbies. I'm familiar with and invested in media such as Persona, Yakuza, Homestuck, ENA, Fear & Hunger, The SCP Foundation, Disco Elysium, Darkest Dungeon, FNAF, Danganronpa, and Invader Zim. Just to name a handful of IPs I like in a decent capacity. I have a special interest in adult cartoons as well, but this paragraph would get stupid long if I talked about all the ones I like.

I'm both physically and mentally disabled, and I'm currently a cane user. I won't go too in-depth on my disabilities, but TL;DR chronic pain and balance issues, hard of hearing due to auditory processing disorder, proudly & obnoxiously autistic, a colorful assortment of mental illness, and dogshit memory because dissociative amnesia. Be patient with me and please be as specific as you can and need for your requests, because I really dislike any vagueness. I'm a genderfluid cistrans man (cis nonbinary, trans boyflux[man–neutrois]+ agender. Sometimes butch lesbian on top of that but it's all rlly complex this is just an abridged version), and you can check out my full queer hoard here on pronouns.page (link)

Now let's actually get to the frequently asked questions below the cut. I've droned on long enough making this half a proper introductory post.

"What is intersex?"

Intersex describes the natural state of an individual's physical body. Congenital sexual characteristics (or lack thereof) that are either seen at birth or discovered later in life* that don't fit neatly within the binary expectations of "male" or "female".

*Split into two catagories, personally! 1. The traits spontaneously develop, meaning your body just decided to do that, such as during a natural puberty (intersex people could have multiple!), and/or 2. Traits that could have only been found in testing such as karyotyping, WGS, and other testing to discover chromosomal or other genetic variations, or ultrasounds, MRIs, and other imaging discovering structures/organs— or lack thereof— that aren't to be expected. Both catagories can come with symptoms, such as hyperandrogenism for the first due to something like CAH, or amenorrhea in the second due to something like MRKH.

Obviously this is surface-level, and just how I would explain it in the most concise way possible. However I feel it is important to add as well, what intersex is NOT; it is physically impossible for humans to be born with both a fully formed & functioning penis and vagina. This is known as "bigenitalia" or "dualsex". While there ARE intersex people who you can say have both a penis and vagina, one or both structures are either underdeveloped and/or not typically functioning. In that same vain, it is not possible for a human to simultaneously be able to impregnate and become impregnated, because both states require two completely different hormonal profiles to function properly.

Species' who have or are capable of the above are also NOT INTERSEX by default. While these individuals CAN be intersex, as described above naturally developing sexual characteristics that are "out of the norm" for one's species, there can not be an "all-intersex species". This has multiple names (no, the H-word is not acceptable even in a scientific context, stop using it), but it can be called cosexual, monoecious, or gonosimulistic. "Dichogamous" also exists for species' who produce one gamete, and then produce another later in life (like clownfish!).

For more information, and variations/traits you could headcanon characters with, check out the below hyperlinks!

Intersex FAQ by InterACT (link)

Intersex Table of Contents by The Transgender Dictionary (link)

Intersex Variations Glossary by InterACT (link)

Intersex Guide by dhddmods (link)

intersex.wiki Main Page (link)

"Intersex" from the lgbtqia.miraheze.wiki (link)

Wikipedia's Intersex Variation List (link)

"Am I intersex?"

I can't tell you if you are or not for sure. No one can, really. You might think doctors could, but they can only really give you a diagnosis that may or may not be correct. Hell, you might not even be able to tell because not all variations are symptomatic and you only find out later in life by accident during some imaging or testing.

"Intersex" is more of a sociopolitical identity (in my opinion) than a strictly biological one, and you aren't obligated to openly call YOURSELF intersex even if you undoubtedly would fit under the label. I do encourage people who are questioning if they're intersex or if they should use the label, to at least toy with it or related ones such as extersex (link), quoisex (link), or mesosex (link); but you aren't obligated to share your intersex status if you don't want to.

"No but really, how can I tell if I'm intersex?"

Again, I can't tell you. Both because it's a personal thing, but moreso because I'm not a medical professional. You're more than welcome to toss questions about yourself in my askbox (I'd prefer if you headed to my main account just to keep this blog clean, but it's not a huge deal) for me to speculate on because I HAVE hoarded a good amount of information in my head, but I cannot diagnose you.

I humbly direct you to the below hyperlinks for more information on your questioning intersexuality.

InterACT's official Discord server "InterSpace" (link) [Only for intersex + interquestioning people who are 13–29 years old!]

I Think I May Be Intersex by TIGERRS (link)

ARE YOU INTERSEX? A zine by versegm (link)

"Is there anyone else here on Tumblr I can learn more from?"

Yes! Welcome to Interblr. The following list is new and to-be-updated (as I always get consent before tossing them up here), so consider coming back!

@interactyouth

@dhddmods

@status-quo-hater

@transgenderuwo

@gonyadaldysgenesis

@smilepilled

@littlefruitbigworld

"Does [X] condition count as intersex, and could I submit a headcanon with it?"

Simple answer? Maybe, and go ahead anyway!

Complicated answer? What counts/doesn't count as an intersex variation, given if it isn't widely accepted by the intersex community as one already, can vary from person to person. Generally, if it's in the Intersex Variations Glossary by InterACT as linked above under the "what is intersex" question, I'll happily post it without question. There's a handful of variations not listed there as well that I'll post similarly without argument.

Conditions requested that aren't widely accepted as variations themselves by the community will be tagged under "#intersex adjacent variations". This does not mean "this is not intersex", it means "this may or may not be considered intersex depending on who you talk to". Generally, if it can cause intersex traits, and could mean the character headcanoned would fall under the spectrum of natural sex variance somehow, I'll likely accept it under that tag.

"[X] isn't an intersex condition!"

Be constructive with your comment or shut your mouth. There are real people who have the variation you claim isn't intersex, and find support in the community regardless because their experiences fall under, or are adjacent to, other intersex people. Yes, even ones I MIGHT NOT PERSONALLY consider intersex variations. Even if you disagree, be tolerant. What may not be considered an intersex variation today by the community's standards might be tomorrow, or vice versa. Malicious exclusionism is a death sentence to liberation.

"Can intersex people identify as [gender]?"

Yes. Intersex ≠ gender identity. The only reason they might not be able to identify as a certain gender is because it's culturally-exclusive, i.e. two-spirit.

While some intersex people feel their intersexuality and its traits influence how they see their gender (intergender identities), or even seeing just "intersex" as their gender identity, not all of them do— a lot don't, even! Intersex people can be cis, trans, non-binary, cistrans, neither cis nor trans, or multiple of these catagories. Same way perisex people might identify.

"Are perisex/endosex/dyadic/non-intersex people allowed to send in requests?"

Of course? Same way a cishet person could headcanon a character as queer. Do whatever you want forever. Bare minimum don't be stupid about it, but that applies to everyone and everything.

"How do I send in a request?"

Bare minimum just drop the character's canonical name in my inbox— either in full or a nickname that's commonly used for them and will show results. Ideally with the source name as well, especially if your blorbo is more niche and doesn't show up easily with a Google search (or DuckDuckGo, since that's what I primarily use. But I'll pop on Google if I'm struggling to find your fave). It's kind of a challenge to do this wrong somehow.

"I don't like/agree with this post!"

Okay? Make your own post. Or send in your own request.

"Can I request a headcanon of a character if you've already posted them?"

Yes, absolutely! Multiple interpretations are cool as hell. And it's bound to happen anyway— we aren't a roleplay space where characters get "claimed".

Do note that duplicate requests might not "fit" with the previous posts, be it different imagery edited with the flags, the cropping/sizing is wrong, or other errors that make it visually different. I delete the images from my camera roll after I'm done with the initial request since I have a life of my own and I have too many images as-is lmfao.

"Are original characters allowed to be submitted?"

Unless you've managed to publicize them out in the world and they could reasonably be called a canon character somewhere? No, sorry. If you send me stuff about your intersex OCs though (be it a post you made that I reblog, or you're just infodumping in my inbox), I'll add it to my page.

"Can you edit this flag(s) in my request, please?"

Sure! Just be mindful though if you're asking for about four (4) or more flags/identities, since it could start to look cluttered on the right side. I always keep one half of the image for the intersex flag because... well intersex-centered blog, and Morgan Carpenter's flag only really looks good if at least half of it is visible somehow. If you ever want Natalie Phox's intersex flag (link) or otherwise just want your images to look different, just ask. I just serve the people here with my shitfucked Medibang edits.

Also if your label is like, REALLY niche, and either you don't provide context (like a link to the coining post, or dropping the flag and explaining what it means in your own words, etc. whatever just giving people the means to see and learn about it), or I can't find the context behind it with a search either on Google or Tumblr, I'll probably end up denying your request.

"If I add an image(s) of my requested character in my ask, could you use them in your post?"

God please yes I'll kiss you on the mouth if you made my life easier (Exaggerating)

You can also ask I use images from specific iterations of the source, such as an older movie or newer game or something, for example. I'll try my best to accommodate. Of course if you added them yourself I'll be jumping for joy about being able to be lazy lmfao. Please don't ask for fanart edits unless I can give credit to the artist somehow.

"May I use your edits as a profile picture? Do we need to give credit?"

Yeah, go right ahead! Use my edits for whatever you want. Giving credit to me is welcome (either to this blog or my main @ridibulous), but you aren't obligated to do it. I like seeing what people do with them, at least!

"Could you add a queue and/or inbox counter in your bio?"

I've thought about it pretty hard, but no. Pain in my ass to manually update, and I think it kinda defeats some spirit if you know where you are "in line" so to speak. You're more than welcome to ask the amount of posts in my queue directly from my inbox, though.

"Is it alright if I spam like/reblog your posts?"

I don't care, go ahead! I watch my notes like a hawk so I'll definitely notice you, but consider that I good thing, I like our fans.

"What do you consider as canon, canon-coding, and intersex coding?"

Canon: The most reasonable conclusion is that they are intersex or have an intersex variation. This can include the source material or a creator of the source material going "X is intersex" OR "X has [condition accepted as intersex]". Either or can also heavily allude to a condition as wording doesn't have to be perfect and specific to understand "yeah the creators were intending this character to be intersex".

Canon intersex coding: Nothing is said outright nor were the creators potentially intending the character to be intersex, however based on experiences the character goes through, someone could reasonably interpret "hey this character could be intersex!". Kind of vague, if you could imagine them being canonically intersex it probably goes here.

Intersex coding: May or may not have outright references to potential intersexuality, or just has experiences that, while not explicitly apart of, do ring true for many intersex people. Such as not fitting in gender wise and having struggles related to your percieved gender and/or gender identity, physical issues, being othered, experiencing medical abuse, etcetera. Very vague catagory also, so don't be shocked if this + above flip-flop a bit.

"Are characters from NSFW/18+ sources allowed?"

Generally, yes? I've already posted many headcanons from sources that are gorey or violent since I'm more receptive to them, but I'll squint and treat the more sexual medias on a case-by-case basis. If they're not reprehensible (no positive representation of pedophilia, rape, beastiality, etc.) and I can find an image(s) of your requested character that is SFW, I think we'll be fine. All sexual or particularly NSFL sources will be tagged as "#18+ source".

This blog is at least PG-13, basically. I make jokes in the tags about being physically attracted to some requested characters sometimes. I swear, a lot. And well, intersexuality will make you think of sexual characteristics because... duh. Penises and vulvas will be talked about here in an informational context. Tread with caution and look away if you don't like it.

"Are transintersex(*) headcanons allowed?"

No. This blog is anti-radqueer if we're gonna have any niche tumblr discourse opinions here. Fuck off.

(*I'm not describing nor excluding the reclaimed label (link), just the bullshit one by perisex radqueers)

"Do you know you're marked red by Shinigami Eyes?"

Well aware. The application, and the single person behind it who keeps people marked as red or green with zero oversight, is intersexist towards intersex people and their experiences should they not align with perisex ideals or comfort. Among a laundry list of other issues such as anti-transmasculinity, exorsexism, and racism (and marking people, who are affected by these or speak about them in the trans community, as red), just to name some I know off the top of my head.

"Why do you use the four-stripe transfem & transmasc flags?"

The creator of the popular transfem & transmasc flags explicitly excluded many intersex experiences in the posts for said flags. Naturally, because this page is centered around intersex existence and hell I'm someone who doesn't align perfectly with perisex expectations of transition, I don't fuck with that, and the four-stripe flags seemed like the best option. I'll always add alternate variants with the popular flags in the posts however, because some intersex people use those flags anyway and who am I to deny that.

"Why do you not add image IDs in your posts?"

I'm trying to keep this blog low-energy for myself and treat it as a hobby in editing images and throwing them someplace for people to enjoy, especially since when I DO write image IDs I tend to be detailed (because well... that's kinda obvious why right?), thus the energy thing. Plus I'm just a stickler for keeping my posts looking "clean, neat, and short". I know, it sucks, I'm sorry, I really don't have much good of an excuse in my opinion and I'm wholly aware of that. To bridge this gap, I reblog any IDs I see folk add to my posts under the tag "#image id included". I do try to be vision-accessible in other ways as well, such as adding "link" in parentheses after hyperlinks.

"Why do you put an asterisk after pronouns sometimes in your posts?"

If a character's headcanoned identity & appearance don't match, basically. Such as a character who's a presumed cis woman in source and the request says they're transmasculine, or vice versa. It's proactive to try and prevent any smartasses who insist I'm not using the right pronouns, or something. I just make the funny image edits, I go with whatever pronouns the requester uses in their ask and I'll default to they/them (or the canon character's assumed pronouns) otherwise.

"Why aren't religious characters from the source not allowed? What does that mean, what counts as parody?"

I made a Jesus from The Bible post and I got some folk up in arms about it. I'd rather not deal with the shitstorm again, moreso because it took a mental toll on me. And something could be said about disrespecting people who believe X individual is real even when you don't believe the same (which is my case, I do not hold Christian beliefs current or past).

Parodies mean giving the character a degree of seperation. So Jesus (and the various other religious figures.) from South Park is fair game.

"What if I have other questions?"

Toss them in my inbox, my notes, or message me directly, either on this blog or my main, I don't really care right now. If I get questioned on the same thing often enough—or I feel it's important information to be answered— I'll add it to this behemoth of a post.

[thehappyspaceman]

On RFK Jr.'s BS (and its ties to a known hate group).

I don't usually write posts about stuff like this, but I gotta get this out of my system.

So I'm sure all of y'all by now have seen what Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said about people with autism, as part of his anti-vax rhetoric of using "environmental factors" (vaccines) as a cause of autism. And in this, he talks about how kids' lives are ruined by autism with the following (CW: Ableism):

Now, there are many, many things wrong with this. The biggest part is that he's calling for autistic people to be institutionalized, which is... a choice. There's also the fact that he listed "paying taxes" and "holding a job" in front of the other elements of personal fulfillment, basically stating that contributing to the state is a higher priority than being able to fulfill one's own personal needs. Then there's the idea that people with autism will never do any of these things, which is... blatantly wrong, and it is incredibly, and understandably, tempting to focus on the fact that yes, there are plenty of autistic people who can hold a job, play baseball, write a poem, go out on a date, yadda yadda. We all know that. Literally two seconds of googling will debunk this. And ultimately there's little point in trying to argue with these people about these facts when they can just blatantly lie and get away with it.

But let's go back to that first one I listed, because the overall biggest issue is simply the fact that he wants autistic people in general to be institutionalized and states that they are lesser people.

This is not out of nowhere. In fact, I immediately recognized this as the language of Autism Speaks.

For those who somehow don't know, Autism Speaks is an "autism awareness" organization that notably has no people with autism on its board, has vast money mismanagement funneling company funds directly into the people at the top, and has been criticized by a huge number of people with autism. Not undeserved, either, as they've spent years and years convincing parents that having a kid with autism, of any level of functionality, is the literal worst thing in the world and will tear apart your family, break up your marriage, make your family a laughingstock, and put you thousands of dollars in debt. And by the way, this is not an exaggeration. They had a commercial that literally said as much (again, CW for ableism):

Here's the (partial) transcript for those who understandably don't want to give it views:

I am autism. I’m visible in your children, but if I can help it, I am invisible to you until it’s too late. I know where you live. And guess what? I live there too. I hover around all of you. I know no color barrier, no religion, no morality, no currency. I speak your language fluently. And with every voice I take away, I acquire yet another language. I work very quickly. I work faster than pediatric aids, cancer, and diabetes combined, and if you’re happily married, I will make sure that your marriage fails. Your money will fall into my hands, and I will bankrupt you for my own self-gain. I don’t sleep, so I make sure you don’t either. I will make it virtually impossible for your family to easily attend a temple, birthday party, or public park without a struggle, without embarrassment, without pain. You have no cure for me. Your scientists don’t have the resources, and I relish their desperation. Your neighbors are happier to pretend that I don’t exist—of course, until it’s their child. I am autism. I have no interest in right or wrong. I derive great pleasure out of your loneliness. I will fight to take away your hope. I will plot to rob you of your children and your dreams. I will make sure that every day you wake up you will cry, wondering who will take care of my child after I die? And the truth is, I am still winning, and you are scared. And you should be.

Again, there is a lot to unpack with this. First of all, it places the emphasis of the problems on the parents ("I will make sure that your marriage fails. Your money will fall into my hands") rather than the autistic kids, because the kids are viewed as less human and their problems are lesser. This continues into the line about embarrassing the parents when going out to church, birthday parties, and parks. The kids are only taken into consideration after it says "You have no cure for me… I will fight to take away your hope," and even then, it says, "I will plot to rob you of your children and your dreams." Still placing emphasis on the parent rather than on the child--what about their dreams? Not taken into consideration because they are not human. And there's also the fact that it places heavy emphasis on the lack of a cure for autism, rather than on fixing society and giving accessibility accommodations for those with autism to make their lives easier.

The other video I'd like to bring up is this interview with one of the moms from Autism Speaks, who openly admits that she had considered killing herself and her autistic daughter (if you've gotten this far, you already know CW: ableism):

She's talking about it like one might talk about killing a pet that's sick. And in her own words, the only thing preventing her from doing so was her other non-autistic child. Because only that child is seen as human. Despicable.

And okay, yeah, most of you know that Autism Speaks is garbage. (I mean, I hope you know and I don't have to tell you, but if you didn't know before now, then I urge you to stop supporting them, and to tell anyone you know who does support them to also stop.) So why am I telling you this? Because this is literally the exact same rhetoric that RFK Jr. and every anti-vaxxer has. This belief that autism is a curse, a disease. To them, it's better to have your kid die of preventable diseases than risk even the possibility of them having autism. It's all right out of the Autism Speaks playbook.

It's no coincidence that earlier this year, we got that Zachary Levi movie, The Unbreakable Boy, that suggested that the thing to help people with autism is to chuck them into a mental asylum without ever visiting them and that will make them get better. That was based on a real blog from the father of an autistic child and was funded by Autism Speaks.

I don't like throwing around the term "eugenics," because it's one of those terms that gets overused to death on the Internet, and its overuse lessens the impact of the term. But... this is, quite literally, the language of eugenics. And it's becoming important to spot stuff like this, so I wanted to throw this out there.

Yes, plenty of autistic people will hold a job, play baseball, write a poem, go out on a date, pay taxes. But those who can't do those things are also important, and their lives shouldn't have to be justified based on how much they contribute to society and how exploitable their deviation from the norm is by elites.

Anyway, I'm done with this rant now. Screw Autism Speaks, screw RFK Jr., and screw anyone who ascribes to their rhetoric. Protect autistic people.

[marveltrumpshate]

Civil Rights Advocacy & Litigation

Since there is no Avengers Initiative working to physically fight our way to a more equitable world, we have to rely frequently on advocacy, public education, and litigation to bend the arc of the work more quickly towards justice. If this is your personal charitable focus, you have a lot of options to choose from, from organizations working on systemic change for marginalized populations to those focusing on freeing individuals from the prison industrial complex and defeating censorship. 

For more information on donation methods and accepted currencies, please refer to our list of organizations page.

Autistic Self Advocacy Network

The Autistic Self Advocacy Network seeks to advance the principles of the disability rights movement with regard to autism. ASAN believes that the goal of autism advocacy should be a world in which autistic people enjoy equal access, rights, and opportunities and have their voices heard. For that reason, the organization is run by individuals on the autism spectrum. ASAN's primary focuses are advocating for policies that protect disability and civil rights, creating tools and leadership training for autistic self-advocates, and offering educational resources. 

The Bail Project

In their own words, “The Bail Project, Inc. is an unprecedented effort to combat mass incarceration at the front end of the system. We pay bail for people in need, reuniting families and restoring the presumption of innocence. Because bail is returned at the end of a case, donations to The Bail Project™ National Revolving Bail Fund can be recycled and reused to pay bail two to three times per year, maximizing the impact of every dollar. 100% of online donations are used to bring people home.”

The financial burden that bail places upon many arrestees means that they stay in the system disproportionately longer than necessary, disrupting their economic options and personal stability. This is particularly true if they’re poor and/or people of color. To fight bail and provide pretrial support is to fight mass incarceration and the racial and economic disparities of the bail system in the United States.

Center for Reproductive Rights

The Center for Reproductive Rights is the only global legal advocacy organization dedicated to ensuring reproductive rights are protected in law as fundamental human rights for the dignity, equality, health, and well-being of every person. With local partners across five continents, they have secured legal victories before national courts, UN Committees, and regional human rights bodies on issues such as access to life-saving obstetrics care, contraception, maternal health, and safe abortion services and the prevention of forced sterilization and child marriage.

Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund

DREDF is the leading civil rights organization in the United States that fights for and is directed by people with disabilities and parents of children with disabilities. Not only does DREDF work directly with their clients to help them know their own rights, but they train and educate lawyers, lawmakers, and other societal gatekeepers to make sure they know those rights as well.

Electronic Freedom Foundation

The leading nonprofit defending civil liberties in digital spaces, EFF champions user privacy, free expression, and innovation through impact litigation, policy analysis, grassroots activism, and technology development. They fight against online censorship and illegal surveillance, advocate for net neutrality and data protection, and more so that technology supports freedom, justice, and innovation for everyone. 

Innocence Project

The mission of the Innocence Project is deceptively simple: exonerate those who have been wrongly convicted through the use of DNA evidence. The reality of it involves much broader strokes covering support for exonerees rebuilding their lives post-release and criminal justice reform through targeted litigation and the implementation of laws to prevent wrongful conviction. They strive to restore freedom for the innocent, transform the systems responsible for unjust incarceration, and advance the freedom movement.

Native American Rights Fund

NARF is the oldest and largest nonprofit that defends Native American rights and provides legal assistance to Native American tribes, organizations, and individuals across the U.S. They concentrate on issues such as tribal sovereignty, land rights and treaty compliance, tribal natural resource protection, education on Native American human rights, and more.

Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES)

Most known for their work on the Texas/Mexico border but operating on the national frontlines of the fight for immigration rights, RAICES provides free and low-cost legal services, bond assistance, and social programs to underserved immigrant children, families, and refugees. Among their many accomplishments, RAICES established the largest bond fund in the U.S., which they use to secure the release of individuals from ICE detention, and has more immigration lawyers than any other organization in Texas. These lawyers represent individuals, including children, in court, offer residency and citizenship services, assist asylum seekers, and deal with removal defense. RAICES also offers social services ranging from case management and resettlement assistance to a national hotline connecting migrants with local community resources and transit support for recently released migrants.

Southern Poverty Law Center

They’re mostly known in the U.S. as a hate group watchdog of sorts, but their work goes beyond tracking and exposing hate groups and promoting tolerance education programs. SPLC fights for voting rights advocacy, children’s rights, immigration reform and family reunification, LGBTQ+ rights, economic justice, and criminal justice reform. They work “with communities to dismantle white supremacy, strengthen intersectional movements, and advance the human rights of all people.” Essentially, if there is injustice against a vulnerable and/or marginalized group in the U.S., SPLC aims to address and fix it.

Transgender Law Center

Transgender Law Center, the largest trans-specific and trans-led organization in the U.S., changes law, policy, and attitudes so that all people can live safely and authentically and free from discrimination regardless of their gender identity or expression. Through its precedent-setting litigation victories and community-driven programs, TLC protects the rights of transgender and gender nonconforming people in areas spanning employment, prison conditions, education, immigration, healthcare, and more.

[girlactionfigure]

3 questions for the global far left:

1/14 

Here’s the 1st question: How many Jews need to die before you stop blaming us for everything that happens? Because on that dark Saturday 2 weeks ago, 1,400 were murdered. How many more do you need? Ten thousand? 6 million? 

2/14 Yes, I went there. I referenced the Holocaust. Tactless, I know. The Jews always do that, don’t they – bring up the Holocaust so they can claim to be the victims. It doesn’t work. Six million is just a number to you. Like 1,400. 

3/14 Maybe the number shields you. That way you don’t need to think about the people behind the number. About the grandmother who was murdered with her autistic granddaughter who loved Harry Potter. 

4/14 You won’t need to think about Abigail. She’s three. Hamas abducted her into Gaza. Who abducts a 3-year-old girl? What will they do with her? How can it be that there are people demonstrating against Abigail and in support of the people who abducted her? 

5/14 The second question is this: Do your feelings exempt you from knowing the facts? I understand that you feel the Palestinians are suffering, you really feel it, it’s a strong feeling, but do you really have no interest whatsoever in actual facts? 

6/14 Do you know, for example, that Hamas doesn’t support a two-state solution? They don’t even want to free Palestine. That’s not the kind of movement they are. Hamas isn’t a Palestinian national movement, you’re confusing them with the Palestinian Authority. 

7/14 The two organizations are bitter rivals. Hamas is a radical Islamist organization, like ISIS. Their goal is an Islamic caliphate across the Middle East without Jews, without LGBT people, without Christians, even without moderate Muslims 

8/14 And what about LGBT people? Do you really not care that the people you’re supporting hang gay people? Don’t “Queers for Palestine” care about Ahmed Abu Marakhia, a young gay Palestinian who managed to escape to Israel but was abducted by Hamas, murdered, his body mutilated? 

9/14 By my calculations, this is the point where you stop reading, because it won’t help. You feel differently, and so there must be something wrong with what you’re reading rather than what you’re feeling. 

10/14 As far as you’re concerned, my words are an annoying manipulation that’s best ignored.

I promise you’ll be able to find other facts that will better suit your feelings. There will only be one problem with them – they’ll be wrong 

11/14 The reason they’re so available on your social media feed is that Hamas and the Iranians fund a huge network of disinformation, which directs itself to the algorithms of the ultra-liberal left 

12/14 If you’re the kind of person who Googles “trans rights” or “climate protest,” you’ll soon find their propaganda appearing in your scroll. It will make you feel good, but I’d still recommend that you check why there aren’t trans people in Gaza, not even one. 

13/14 And the third question is this: Do you know that there is a simple answer to the first two questions? There is a reason that you’re protesting against us these days and, like everything else, it comes from feelings. 

14/14 Because as opposed to everything you think about yourselves, 

everything you say about being color blind, humane, champions of human rights and all the rest, you have one other personality trait – you are antisemites.

I know you think you’re not, but you are. 

• • •

[modern-politics111]

Late last night, pretty much ALL the main autism-focused entities in the USA put out a joint statement pushing back against RFK Jr's nonsense.

The stunner here is who is represented among the cosigners:

'Autistic individuals, the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, Autism Society of America, Autism Speaks, The Arc of the United States, Autistic Women and Non-Binary Network, Autistic People of Color Fund, and partners across the disability and public health ...'

Those who know are already picking their jaws up off the floor.

Those who don't? What RFK Jr said the other day was so noxious that it united the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) and Autism Speaks.

Autism Speaks is a notorious org, hated with the fire of a migley white-hot suns by actual autistic people. ASAN spends at least 20 percent of its time raining hell on Autism Speaks (and rightly so).

You know how at the end of Ghostbusters the original, the Bill Murray character was ranting about 'dogs and cats, living together'? This is the autism-world version of that. I'm just glad they're joining forces for the right reasons.

[arthurdrakoni]

Residents of Proserpina Park is a mythology audio drama. It is currently funding season 4 and 5 on Indiegogo. I’m call on all of you to help however you can.

Hello everyone. I’ve got another call to action for all of you. As you might, or might not know, @proserpinapark is currently funding not one, but two new seasons coming out later this year. I’m calling on all of you to do your part to help out.

So, some of you might be wondering what is Residents of Proserpina Park. Why, it is a monster of the week, anime-inspired audio drama. Think like Percy Jackson meets Pokémon meets Scooby-Doo, with a dash of Jackie Chan Adventures thrown in. Throw all that good stuff into the blender, and you’ve got an excellent audio drama.

Residents of Proserpina Park follows a young woman named Alina who discovers a park that is, basically, a nature reserve for mythological creatures. Each episode follows Alina and the gang meeting a new creature from across World Mythology and Folklore. At the same time, they are try to uncover the mysteries of the park itself.

One thing I love about RoPP is shear variety of creatures. We got creatures Filipino Mythology, Māori Mythology, Lenape Folklore, Aztec Mythology, Lithuanian Folklore, and a whole lot more.

Now for a bit about the people who make RoPP possible. Series creator Angela Yih has worked on podcasts for Realm, Pod People, and more. Their credits include shows such as Overleaper, Echo Park, Blood Forest, and Harley Quinn and the Joker: Sound Mind!

The point being, Angela knows their stuff. But not just the technical stuff. They’ve also got quite a few voice acting credits under their belt. Angela has lent their voice to works such as Dreamscape Highway, Mx. Bad Luck, Omega Star 7, and even The Books of Thoth.

And what about the rest of the gang? We are over fifty percent people of color, fifty percent female, and I’m autistic. We have performers from all walks of life, and we’re all very passionate about bringing these mythological stories to life for your listening pleasure.

But okay, what’s in it for you? I’m very glad you asked. You see, you’ve got six different options to choose from. Or you can donate a custom amount with no perks. But if you do what perks, here’s what your options are…

$5 - Tourist

All the shoutouts! Shoutouts on social media, on our website, and in the last episode of season 4 for being an awesome supporter

$15 - Visitor

Early access to ad-free episodes a week in advance as well as all the perks from the Tourist Tier

$30 - Local

A digital copy of the official Residents of Proserpina Park Light Novel, which is a collection of short stories focused on the characters from the show, and all the perks from the previous tiers.

$50 - Member

A physical copy of the official Residents of Proserpina Park Light Novel plus other merchandise and all the perks from the previous tiers.

$100 - Resident

Learn what it’s like to be on the show or work on an audio drama. Work with Angela Yih and be featured in a bonus episode in season 5 as well as all the perks from the previous tiers!

$300 - VIP

Become an executive producer on Residents of Proserpina Park and be credited in season 4 and 5! Determine a creature for season 6 as well as all the perks from the previous tiers.

So far we have raised $696, and I contributed $306 out of that. But you don’t have to contribute as much as I did. Small drops fill the bucket, and every little bit helps. If you aren’t financially able to help, then I would only ask you help spread the word, and encourage others to pitch in. We can all do our part to make season four and season five the best seasons of RoPP yet.

So, you have heard the call the action. Now the ball is in your court. Do your part out to help the Residents of Proserpina Park Indiegogo campaign however you are able.

Link to the Residents of Proserpina Park Indiegogo: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/residents-of-proserpina-park-season-4-and-5-launch/x/29874655#/

[rjalker]

The first 30 pride cefusas. Possibly I should have kept a small flag in each to show what the flag looks like but it's too late for that now lol.

Please send me more pride flags so I can color pick them from my phone. you can put them in a post and @ me if you want

some of the colors I tried to adjust a bit to make them less eye-burning.

These are all public domain, you can use them for anything you want. Including just slapping it on top of the original flag to use as a mascot :)

Please consider donating to a Palestinian relief fund if you want to say thanks. And for every $10 you donate, you can send me a color scheme or theme of your choice, and I'll make a public domain character based on that! It can be another cefusa, a dragon, a quadrupedal cat, an anthro cat, a werewolf, a unicorn, a bat person, and more!

I have 6 more to post so far but 30's the limit of images in a single post. So they'll all be tagged as "Pride cefusa"

If at least $100 are donated with proof sent to me, which doesn't all need to be one person, I will make a side blog dedicated to posting these and give them each their own individual posts for people to reblog!

[ID: 30 different versions of lineart of a cefusa, a medieval beast with a dog like head and tail, and the hands and feet of a human, posed against a grey background with a smile. Each version is colored based on a different pride flag, which is listed above it.

They are, in order:

1: Transxeno, colored gold, orange, magenta, and dark magenta. The main body is gold, with purple and orange stripes on the legs, face, and down the spine and tail.

2: Autistic butch, colored dark blue, periwinkle blue, pale blue, red, gold, and orange. The main body is dark blue with a white stripe down the spine and small white specks like stars, with lighter blue 5 pointed stars above the arms and legs, and solid blue below. The feet and hands are dark blue with more white stars, and the face, fingers, and tail are red, orange, and gold like fire from the sun.

3: Intersex, with gold and purple. The main body is gold, with a large purple ring on the back, around the eye, and purple rings on the ankles and wrists and stripes on the tail.

4: Aroace lesbian, with white, dark purple, light purple, teal, and very dark blue. The main body is dark purple, with a lavgender belly, a white stripe on the spine, dark blue stipes on the arms and legs, and the lower arms and legs teal.

5: Ace, with black, white, grey and purple. The main body is black, covered in large grey splotches and smaller purple and white stars. The ankles are solid black, with solid purple feet.

6: Aro, with white, grey, black, light green, and green. The main body is black, with a white and green stripe down the spine, grey feet, grey and white stripes on the belly, and green chevrons on the arms and legs.

7: Bi, with purple, magenta, and dark blue. The main body is dark blue, with a purple torso and magenta belly, with magenta and purple stripes on the legs, and a diamond pattern on the back.

8: Aroace, with white, yellow, orange, blue and dark blue. There is a large white stripe on the back, then gold, and an orange belly, with dark blue upper arms and legs, and light blue on the lower arms and legs.

9: Neutrois, with black, green and white. The main body is green, covered in black and white splotches.

10: Aliagender, with dark purple, orange, and green. The main body is green, with purple and orange stripes and alternating stripes on the arms and legs, with an orange belly.

11: Female to Null, with black, dark grey, grey, and pink. The body is mostly splotches in the different shades of grey and black, with a few pink highlights on the belly, spike, toes and fingers, and behind the eye.

12: Male to Null, which is the same as the Female to Null, but with blue highlights.

13: Transnull, with very dark grey purple, dark magenta, magenta, light purple, and very pale purple. The main body is very pale purple, covered in stripes of purple, with black hands, feet, and belly, and stars of magenta and black.

14: Transfeminine, with dark pink, pink, very light pink, and blue. There is a blue stripe down the spine and thin blue stripes on the wrists and ankkles, and the main body is dark pink, with lighter pink jagged stripes like fur.

15: Transmasculine, with sky blue, light blue, very pale blue, and pink. It is similar to the transfemining flag, but with stripes almost shaped like pennant flags rather than fur.

16: Trans Woman, with red, pink, and very light pink. The main body is pink, with red splotches on the back and strips on the tail, with thin red and pink stripes on the arms and legs, and a pale pink belly.

17: Trans Man, with dark blue, blue, and very light blue. There is a ragged dark blue stripe along the spine, and solid stripes on the elbow and knee, and over the eye. The main body is blue, with a pale blue belly and solid stripes on the wrists and ankles.

18: Werestar, with black, dark purple, light tan, and tan-gold. The main body is black with solid purple belly and stripes on the elbows and knees, with tan and gold-tan stripes along the spine and above the wrists and ankles.

19: Werewolf, with dark brown, brown, purple, and dark purple. The main body is dark brown, with a lighter brown belly, tail, and hands and feet, with dark purple stripes on the back and arms and legs outlined in the lighter purple, so that they seem to glow.

20: Werewolfkin, with dark brown, tan, amber orange, and gold. The belly is tan outlined in white, with ragged edges, with gold and orange stripes along the spine, and stripes of all the colors up and down the arms and legs.

21: Bearkin, with dark brown, black, warm brown, off-white, grey, and blue-grey. The arms and legs are striped black, grey, blue-grey, and white, with black, brown, and warm brown hands and feet. The back is striped in similar colors.

22: Genderqueer, with dark green, white, and lavender purple. The main body is green, with alternating thick stripes of white or purple on the legs, with thinner stripes of the other color above and below. The belly is white with thin purple stripes, and there are diamond patterned white and purple stripes along the spine.

23: Trans, with black, purple, blue, pink, brown, white, yellow, darker purple, and gold. The main body is black, with many different styled stripes in the other colors. There are yellow and purple stripes along the spine, outlined in white. The legs are striped in alternating zig-zag and solid stripes of each color, the belly starts out brown with an outline of white, then goes to ragged blue and pink. The tail is purple, black, and tipped with brown.

24: Sulpherian, with black, red, gold, and blue. The main body is black, with large zig-zag stripes on the shoulder and hip, thinner gold stripes on the elbows and knees, blue stripes on the wrists and ankles, and red vertical stripes on the hands and feet. The spine and tops of the ears are striped with blue, with a thin gold highlight along the back.

25: Xenogender pastel, with pastel red, pink, orange, yellow, blue, darker blue, and purple, covered entirely in different, overlapping splotches of color.

26: Xenogender dark, with the same pattern as the xenogender pastel, but with deep shades of red, lighter red, orange, gold, blue, and purple.

27: Stellarian, with black, grey, pale yellow, very pale green, and pale green. The main body is grey with black five pointed star shapes, some colored in pale green, with yellow and green stripes down the back and legs, with black stripes above the knee and ankle.

28: Quoiromantic, with black, grey, blue, and green. The main body is black, with squiggly stripes of grey, blue, and green.

29: Transvoid dark, with dark berry red, teal, white, blue, and deep violet. The stripes are horizontal starting at the back and waving downwards, with berry red, then teal, white, blue, and violet

30: Transvoid pastel, with the same pattern as the transvoid dark, but with pastel red, green, white, very pale blue, and light grey.

End ID.]

__

and I will reiterate again:

For every $10 donated to a Palestinian relief fund, you can send me a color scheme or theme of your choice, and I'll make a public domain character based on that! It can be another cefusa, a dragon, a quadrupedal cat, an anthro cat, a werewolf, a unicorn, a bat person, and more!

You are explicitly encouraged to download and share these. I'll have them all uploaded to the Internet Archive at some point, but you can even upload them there yourself if you want!

[autisticadvocacy]

Support community reparations for Autistic People of Color through the Autistic People of Color Fund!

[copperbadge]

Radio Free Monday

Good morning everyone, and welcome to Radio Free Monday!

A note before we begin -- normally I don't do this (as you all know) but I happened to see a comment on one of the RFM posts this week by someone offering help in their crowdfunding campaign, and it reeks so strongly of the worst kind of predator that I wanted to get the word out -- kendrajanesblog is apparently running around fundraising posts offering to help, but the only post on their own blog is an offer to build an email campaign on kickstarter for $20. I don't think this is reportable but it is absolutely appalling, so I suggest blocking this person and passing the word if you see them commenting on a fundraising post. I'm hoping this is not a new trend but given the last spam trend on Tumblr was people sending asks about fake fundraisers, I can't be sure this isn't the next wave.

Ways to Give:

Anon linked to a fundraiser for Jack "Rocky" Payne and his wife Cloie, who are trying to offset the cost of his care for ALS, including medical bills, equipment, and accessible renovations to their home. He is no longer able to work due to the disease, and she has had to take leave in order to care for him full-time, which has obviously left them struggling financially. You can read more and give to the fundraiser here.

kitsumo linked to a fundraiser for his family, a single autistic mother with five neurodivergent kids, which has recently become homeless in California and need funds for necessities like food, covering phone bills, and shelter. You can read more and reblog here or give directly here.

grindthebones linked to a fundraiser for Kelsey and her dog Annie; Kelsey is a young disabled woman who isn't on social security yet, and her family recently stopped paying her rent and will not allow her back in the home; they're trying to prevent homelessness while she finds housing and aid. You can read more and support the fundraiser here.

gorkhandsmcschmuck is raising funds to cover an overdraft; due to some banking nonsense around Memorial Day he ended up with a negative balance, and needs to raise $50 to cover it, hoping to raise $100 to help with food until the first paycheck comes in. You can read more and reblog here or give directly via paypal here.

wolfsbanesparks linked to a fundraiser for friends who just lost their house in a flood, including almost all of their possessions; their insurance is balking at covering anything, so they're having to pay for repairs out of pocket. You can read more and support the fundraiser here.

News To Know:

blackestglass is running the fourth annual Chromatic Characters Podfic Anthology, which collects podfics of stories of less than 1500 words and center characters of color. This year's optional theme is "solidarity" and the due date for submissions is September 12th; this is a final call for volunteers of color who would like to lend their services as contextual content betas (formerly known as cultural sensitivity listeners) which is their biggest need at this point. You can read more and comment here to volunteer or ask a question, DM the mods on twitter at ccpamods, or email ccpamods at gmail.com.

Recurring Needs:

Anon linked to a fundraiser for dee-the-red-witch, a trans woman who needs to raise $10K to keep her home. You can read more, reblog, and find giving information here, give via paypal here, or purchase her leatherwork here.

frenchroasted's cousin, who has been fundraising for a used wheelchair-accessible van after herniating her back lifting her stepson's wheelchair and had to have surgery for it, has partnered with MyDMDHero which is now hosting their fundraiser on GiveButter so that their donations are tax-deductible. You can read more and support the fundraiser, formerly at GoFundMe, here. (Also to Frenchroasted -- got your request, can do.)

alirhi linked to a fundraiser to get herself, her mother, and her sister stable housing; they are currently staying in their cars in a a dangerous parking lot. They have a friend who will let them park a camper in her yard, but the camper there currently is unlivable, and they haven't been able to find an affordable replacement. With two of the family on disability it is difficult for them to keep up with bills and also save for housing. You can read more, reblog, and find giving information here including a few new ways to give.

And this has been Radio Free Monday! Thank you for your time. You can post items for my attention at the Radio Free Monday submissions form. If you're new to fundraising, you may want to check out my guide to fundraising here.

[inlovewithyoucest]

The Autistic People of Color Fund: You got chosen for our grant! Me: Yay! TAPOCF: Would you prefer a check or direct deposit? Me: Direct deposit, please! TAPOCF: [Leaves me on read for almost a month] Me: ...?

[anotherpapercut]

College Resources

hey y'all so I have a degree in math, and have been tutoring college level math, stats, physics, and study skills for a few years now and I have several certifications as a college level tutor and in my years tutoring I've picked up a lot of absolutely essential things you NEED to know to pass math classes (and others!) if you have a hard time in math class, which unfortunately most schools will not teach you

so if you're in college (or high school, but some of these will be college specific) and you would like to hear my Professional Tips for how to survive math in college I have compiled a list of things I think you should know below the read more! I'm going to put a couple general tips at the top though for people who aren't taking a math class

alright, welcome to the read more! let's start with some general things

ok I'm starting with a kind of tip before the tips: if you are disabled, talk to disability support services at your school. a lot of times they provide services to attain a diagnosis if you don't have one, but if you do it's typically pretty easy to get accommodations and if your teachers try not to follow them, they will get in A LOT of trouble (I'm in the us so idk how disability laws are in other countries but here this is a big deal for universities bc public funding etc and if you make a complaint they will be FORCED to comply). I'm not saying bad experiences never happen, I've not been to every school in the us and I'm sure there are places that suck abt this, but I literally would not have been able to get a degree in math without accommodations (I'm autistic and have dyscalculia + memory issues) so it was worth every annoyed sigh by a dumbass teacher (which honestly rarely happened. most of them were cool). some possible accommodations include, extra time on tests, separate testing locations, formula cards, ability to use notes etc etc

I work in a free tutoring center at my local community college. while I won't say these are definitely universal, every college I have encountered (in the US, where I live) has one of these. Google the name of your school with tutoring. there is a very high chance you have free tutors available in a variety of subjects who are ready to help you. you should utilize the fuck out of this bc ur already probably paying for it in ur tuition

my favorite resource ever is one you may have heard of but I'm reminding you of it anyway. the Crash Course YouTube channel! it has free comprehensive videos about various subjects (including anatomy, physics, biology, economics, statistics and lots lots more). the videos are about 10 minutes each and they're incredibly easy to understand. they're an amazing way to study for finals. trust me on this one. they actually now have real introductory college courses that you can take for credit (tho I think you have to pay for that?) through YouTube so check into that!

take notes!!!!!!!! for real. seriously. even if you've never had to before. trust me. and don't just copy exactly what the board says, write what your teacher says out loud as well, that is often the most important stuff. I highly recommend investing in a few colored pens and/or highlighters. anytime the teacher says something important (such as formulas in a math class or a grammar rule in an English class) either write it in another color, or highlight it. color coding your notes even the tiniest bit will help you tremendously when you're studying and doing homework later. this doesn't mean having a color code so elaborate and strict that you're spending more time and energy figuring out the right color than listening and writing. I usually do the bulk of my notes in black then things like formulas or whatever in one bright color and extra bits of info from the teacher in another, this way it's easier to find the important stuff later on

if you've got a couple extra bucks, invest in a mini stapler. you'll be shocked how often those lil bitches come in handy

DO NOT EVER purchase your text books before the classes start (unless you get like an email before class starts telling you you need the book, but this is pretty rare tbh). half of your teachers are going to tell you on day 1 that they don't use the book at all. and honestly almost all of your books can be found by googling the name + pdf. just triple check that you have the correct edition!

speaking of emails, CHECK YOUR FUCKING SCHOOL EMAIL. I am so dead serious about this one. set up notifications on your phone. if you do not check your email you are going to show up for cancelled classes, miss assignment corrections, and generally not do nearly as well in your classes. I know this sounds fake but holy fucking shit please for the love of all that is good and holy check your fucking email. seriously.

the best way to study for your finals is to look at past tests and homework! if your teacher isn't a total dick they'll give you back your tests and homework. when studying for your final, go through and redo any that you got wrong, and look over the ones you got right. teachers usually take final questions from old tests and homework so if you do this it's very possible you'll study your exact finals questions. if they won't give you these back, reread your notes (in a way I'll describe in a moment)

reread your notes the same day you take them or very soon after so the lecture is still fresh in your mind! when you do this, grab a colored pen and take notes on your notes. I know this sounds ridiculous but it's actually a very important study tool. if you come across something you wrote that is confusing, write out an explanation. write down extra things that will help you understand the material. if there's something that you don't understand or don't remember PLEASE ask your teacher. some of them won't answer email so catch them in office hours or after class if you can. at the end of the semester when you're studying for finals, do this all over again but through your whole notebook for the semester (not all at once. pls take breaks lmfao)

if your teacher doesn't offer it up at the end of the semester, ask "can you please tell us some of the topics we should emphasize when studying for our finals?" (you can also say this in a far less pretentious way but I've found that professors are more likely to give you a real answer if you talk like this ¯\_(ツ)_/¯) I'm ngl, some of em will be assholes about this. they may laugh at the idea and snarkily say "look at your homework" or some shit equivalent. roll your eyes at these old bitches and move on. but many if not most will at least give y'all some idea of what to expect. and crucially: write down what they say and use it as a study guide

okey dokey!! that concludes the general section. now I'm gonna talk about some math specific stuff that will help you a lot if you struggle with math!

starting with an easy one: get a good calculator. please for the love of GOD do not get the TI-30X IIS unless you love it and are EXTREMELY familiar with all of the different operations. I'm sorry but this calculator sucks ass and it will hold you back. for about the same price you can get my personal favorite the Casio FX-115ES Plus (1st edition only, I haven't tried the 2nd edition bc I don't like change) or an FX-991 EX. if you're a Texas instruments guy get a TI 30XS or if ur doing calc and shit I'd get a 36X pro. I just prefer Casio personally lmao. in all likelihood your math teacher will be a calculator nerd who can teach you how to use any of these but there are also lots of videos made by calculator nerds on YouTube as well

so next I just want to emphasize how important your notes are. you cannot pass a math class without good notes unless it's a class you've already taken or something, and honestly even then I'd recommend you write some stuff down because the thing about math is there are a lot of different ways to do the same thing. which brings me to my next point

pay attention to the process your teacher uses to solve problems (I'll give an example in a sec) and especially to how they write the process down. if you're like me and you have trouble with the whole "show your work" thing this will help a lot, because you can use what your teacher writes down as a guideline for what you should write down. for instance, you may have learned about a math concept like permutations and combinations in high school one way, and then be taught a completely different way of performing the calculation in college. if this happens, ask your teacher about your way. sometimes their way is better for a specific reason and it's really important that you learn it. sometimes they'll say it doesn't matter just do what makes the most sense to you. sometimes you will also not get full credit if you do things a different way too so be careful and pay attention to what your teacher says abt it. you may have also been taught to show some steps in an operation but not others and your new teacher may want all of them. or none. or different ones. unfortunately math has a lot of variations

similarly, if there's a concept you don't understand, start by asking your teacher about it first bc they may want you doing a specific thing. if they're not helpful and you don't have access to a tutor turn to the internet. here are my recommendations for resources: Khan Academy has videos and examples explaining concepts in pretty much all types of math. usually really helpful because they'll show you several different methods and use different explanations, MathWay for classes that come before trig/calc. you can use it for those but it's a little more annoying lol specifically in regards to graphing and solving integrals and shit. this tool has A LOT of stuff in it but is best as a calculator to check your work on stuff and for showing you graphs that have transformations and shit like that from college algebra. it's got settings for different math types and even chemistry tho!, for more complicated graphing I'd use Desmos. you can use this in all classes but it's just a bit more complicated imo and it's more made for complex operations so I prefer to use MathWay as much as possible bc it's just more user friendly., there's also Symbolab which a lot of my fellow tutors really like but I personally tend to use the others more, Wolfram Alpha is a pretty well known one. tbh I find it kind of hard to use sometimes so i usually use it as a last resort lmfao but it is really good!, this last one is calculus specific (including things like calc based physics ofc) but derivative calculator and integral calculator are everything to me. could not have gotten through calc 2 and 3 w/o these mfs

OK THIS PART IS REALLY IMPORTANT!! we're going to talk about how you can make your math tests WAY easier on you and massively improve your chances of passing. here's what you're going to do for every test

1. when studying for your test, go through and find ALL formulas that you used in the unit(s) your test is over (this includes formulas you learned previously but used in this unit as well!!)

2. commit them to memory. easiest way to do this (besides practicing using them!!) is to rewrite them a few times including what you use them for and what all of the symbols and letters stand for

3. when you go in to take your test, spend like 5-10 minutes beforehand, right up until they make you put everything away, studying and rewriting these

4. the SECOND the test hits your desk, flip it over and write down every single formula immediately (including as much extra info like when to use and variable definitions as possible). now you won't have to try to remember them 30 minutes in when your brain is frying!!

5. go through the test and read each question carefully. if you can't remember how to solve it within 30 seconds skip it. you might only do 4 or 5 questions (maybe less depending on the length of your test) after the first pass, but just go back to the beginning and do it again, giving urself a little more time w each pass. this will ensure that you're not spending 45 minutes on problem 4 and having no time to get to the rest of the test. additionally with math it is extremely common to basically find the answer to how to do one problem while you're doing another problem. doing the ones you know first will also boost your confidence and help prevent anxiety from wiping ur brain. this is a really really important part of math tests

6. before you hand your test in, make sure you've written SOMETHING down on EVERY SINGLE QUESTION. even if you have absolutely 0 idea whatsoever what to do, there is always a chance for partial credit. a lot of times, you also know more than you think you do. so even if you can only do half a step of the whole process, half a point is better than 0!! if you really have no clue what to do, make something up. I know this probably sounds ridiculous but I'm so deadass. once I was taking a physics test and could not for the life of me remember what formula to use so I just made one up based on my vague idea of how it worked lmao. I wrote off to the side "I know this isn't how physics works, but I can't remember that so just pretend I'm god for a second" and I got like 75% of the points bc the teacher appreciated the effort!! there were fucking countless times when I was taking a test and I got to a point where I knew the steps of what I was supposed to do but could not figure out HOW to actually DO the math. so I wrote in words my understanding of what the next steps were. even though I didn't finish answering the question, I always got points for trying. this is what teachers are wanting from you. effort. so PLEASE write literally anything even if you're just making that shit up (just explain your reasoning in words to the side, as long as you're using logic you're really getting the essence of math anyway). you would not BELIEVE how fast your grades will improve by doing this. I tutored a girl who went from Ds to Bs within literally 2 weeks of starting tutoring just because she stopped leaving any questions blank and started getting partial credit

that's all the important stuff I can think of for now though I'm sure there's much more so I may update this in the future!

of course everyone is going to have a different experience and relationship with math. so adjust all of these tips to fit how you learn best. please try to remember that learning math is a very important part of developing your critical reasoning and logistical analysis skills. these are essential to understanding and interacting with the world and math is just a way of exercising those muscles. trust me when I say I know how infuriating math can be. I have dyscalculia and a math degree. I've spent so many hours crying over math you probably wouldn't even believe me. but it's worth it! and frankly, if you're in college, you're paying a lot of money for this class. you deserve to get everything you possibly can out of it

above all, if you're having trouble ASK FOR HELP. ask your teacher, ask your classmates, ask the head of the department, ask student services, ask Google!! and if you need help you can always ask me! :) I love helping people with this stuff and even if I don't know the answer to your question I'm pretty good at knowing where to look for them!