Category Archives: Advocacy

#ASNL AGM Results: I’m On The Board!

So, the Annual General Meeting of the Autism Society of Newfoundland and Labrador was this morning. A few people who read this blog know that I applied to be considered for the self-advocate’s seat on the board. As you can see by the title, I got in.

The other applicant for the self-advocate seat happens to be someone who is in my Social Club, and we were both told that the board and Scott Crocker (the Executive Director of the ASNL) were so pleased that there were two of us showing definite interest, that whoever didn’t get voted in would probably still be co-opted for things. 🙂 I’m personally hoping that the other applicant applies for one of the available “At Large Representative” positions that will come open next year.

Anyway, aside from giving everyone the good news, I want to add a disclaimer to this blog. I’ve already put it in This Blog and Post Index, but I also want it here, just in case people don’t read (or re-read, in some cases) that post.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed on this blog, unless explicitly stated, are the personal opinions of the blogger only, and do not reflect the opinions of the ASNL Board of Directors.

Thanks!

😉 tagÂûght

#ASNL: #AskAboutAutism 2: Everybody Grows Up

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First of all, I apologize to Tess and Will – I meant to get this up Tuesday, but didn’t manage to.

So, Monday evening, the ASNL (in the person of Tess Hemeon) organized the second Ask About Autism Livestream evening. (The first was last year – see my post ASNL: Ask About Autism #1.) This time, rather than some professionals and an autistic, there were two of us, both autistics – Will and myself. The theme this year that the ASNL has been concentrating on for Canadian Autism Awareness/Acceptance Month is “Everybody Grows Up”, and that was what the first part of the livestream was about. The second part looks at sensory issues, stims, and executive function, on a very basic level (we did this in half an hour, so it had to be basic 😉 ).

(We’re hoping to do this more frequently, and Tess and I were even discussing the possibility of short daytime livestream discussions as everyone was closing up.)

To see the video, read on! 🙂

CBC Interview: Web Version

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The online web version of the interview I had with the CBC St. John’s Morning Show is now up. 🙂

They used two of the pictures I sent them: the selfie I took on Monday (which shows some of my artwork on the wall behind me), and a picture of Imber and I from the year I was diagnosed. So happy they used that pic!

Diagnosed with autism at 35, woman calls it ‘a relief’.

‘Later, all!
🙂 tagÂûght

CBC Radio Interview: June 19, 2017 – Recording

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So. The interview I mentioned on Thursday ran yesterday morning in two sections (the first was a teaser/intro), at 7:36 and at 7:43. I recorded it on my computer through the CBC Radio One streaming, and spent half of yesterday picking out the parts that were my interview (the recording was from 5:20 to 9:30 in the morning!), cutting them out, and putting them together to send to my friends and family.

There’s also going to be a web page version, and when I checked with them to ask when it would go up (answer is: Sometime over the next few days, they’ll try to remember to let me know, but I’ll keep checking the site anyway!), I also asked about whether I could post that recording to my blog (wasn’t sure about the legalities of it). The web guy said that there should be no problem, so here it is! The interview is about 10 minutes long or so, and I’ve included about 10 seconds of silence between the teaser and the conversation just to set them apart.

Note: Ms. Holmes accidentally calls me “Tracy” at the end of the teaser (2:11, according to my sister-in-law), but all other uses of my name are correct.

(And why is the default “not getting my name right” always Tracy? If someone’s going to get my name wrong, I’d expect them to call me “Judy”, but it’s always, always “Tracy”!)

So, here it is. Enjoy!

🙂 tagÂûght

Recommendation: Unstrange Mind – Neurodiversity: Creativity and Innovation Thrive When We Welcome Diverse Minds

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I haven’t been reading many other blogs for the last little while, due to various reasons including my concentration on CAPP issues, overall fatigue (ended up with low iron anemia again this past April, and that’s taking a while to clear up), and trying to focus a bit more on my writing (which has mainly meant doing a lot more reading of fic).

However, I recently (like Thursday) noticed a tweet referring to an interesting-sounding post by Unstrange Mind, and thought that I might as well check it out. So I followed the link I had on this site, and discovered that he now has his own site (rather than one hosted by wordpress.com). So I’ve been reading his posts on that blog, in chronological order (which included updating the links to the DSM-5 Autism Spectrum Criteria Analysis), and in the midst of doing that, found the title post.

Neurodiversity: Creativity and Innovation Thrive When We Welcome Diverse Minds is the text of a talk Unstrange Mind gave at University of North Carolina’s Fourth Annual Disability is Diversity Week celebration, on Wednesday, November 9th, 2016 in Asheville, North Carolina. (CONTENT WARNING: Post contains mention of suicide and attempted suicide.)

Despite the aforementioned content warning, this is a hopeful post. Unstrange Mind explains the basics of neurodiversity – including the biological factual basis – and how that can apply to support creativity and innovation. He looks at the advantages that supporting and encouraging a neurodiverse environment can provide, and names examples. he also points out that accomodations… don’t really cost all that much.

So. Highly recommended post. And at least a few more to follow.

‘Later, all!

🙂 tagÂûght

CBC Interview: Diagnosis

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So, last week I got an email from Tess Hemeon (the Public Relations/Communications person for the ASNL) asking if I was willing to be interviewed about being diagnosed as autistic as an adult. I said sure – I’m looking for new routes to go to help expand my advocacy. So Monday afternoon, I had an informal (aka not recorded) phone interview with an intern working at CBC Newfoundland and Labrador (here in St. John’s). One of the things I mentioned was that I wouldn’t mind doing a formal interview about the matter.

So, she contacted me Tuesday and asked if I was available to come in this morning for a recorded interview. My reaction was: “Yes!” ( 😉 )

Got up early this morning, and drove out to the CBC building for the taped interview.

The interview was with Krissy Holmes of the St. John’s Morning Show (which airs from 5:30 to 9:00 am, Newfoundland Time, on CBC Radio One), and it went really well. Read on for details!

Support Request: CAP – Followup

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So, last week I put up the post about supporting CAP on Twitter. My mother proceeded to bring up a good point – what if you’re not on Twitter (and don’t want to be)? So here are some things that you can do off Twitter to help show your support.

They could write to their local MPs, asking for them to clarify their position on CAP.
If they have Facebook, they could share information about CAP there (the website, videos etc.)
Write an editorial about the need for a Canadian Autism Partnership to submit to their local newspaper. In fact, if any of you are interested in doing this, we (the CAP team) would be more than happy to help
Email their friends and family to share information about CAP.

Thank you again, for anything and everything you do to help us get CAP underway.

🙂 tagÂûght

Guest Post: Canadian Pharmacare Petition

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To my Canadian readers – a guest post from my mother:

This is something that I feel quite strongly about and we are asking for your support. I was on the policy panel last year that came out with a paper to hand in to government and it has just sat on their desk since then. Please feel free to forward this to any and all the people that you know. Read on, please.

Support Request: Canadian Autism Partnership

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For fellow Canadians among my readers, including those who have been following my CAPP journey:

I am reaching out to ask for your help in support of the Canadian Autism Partnership (CAP) which recently was denied funding in the 2017 federal budget. Please take a few minutes to read this email, and 2 minutes to show your support.

CAP brought together top experts in the autism field who were advised by self-advocates, stakeholders and government representatives from 13 provinces and territories, to develop a business plan with a goal to address the complex issues related to autism in Canada.

CAP strives for timely, evidence based efficiencies in the following areas, which reflect the most pressing issues facing Canadians with ASD:

Early identification and early intervention
Employment
Interventions and services to optimize quality of life at all ages
Specialized medical care, including access to dental and mental health services
Education, including transitions to work, post-secondary education and independent life.

How you can show your support:

Learn more about the CAP project please visit: http://www.capproject.ca/index.php/en/about-capproject/project-objectives
Make your voice heard by signing up to Global Citizen https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/mp-standing-ovation-moving-speech-autism/
Use this tweet to show your support of CAP through a clear and non-partisan message which will go directly to the Prime Minister and Health Minister: “.@JustinTrudeau @janephilpott Support CDNs living w/ #Autism Spectrum Disorder, pledge $19M toward the Canadian Autism Partnership. #cdnpoli“

There is now a followup post for what you can do if you don’t use/have Twitter: Support Request: CAP – Followup.

Thank you,
🙂 tagÂûght

CBC Radio Interview: Patricia and Steve Silberman!

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As mentioned in my post of the Exploring the Spectrum Conference, on Thursday (March 2nd) afternoon, Patricia and Steve Silberman did an interview with CBC Radio’s Mainstreet NS show. It’s now up as a podcast on CBC at http://www.cbc.ca/player/play/892970051734. And trust me, it’s definitely worth taking 15 minutes to listen to it; Patricia and Steve both manage to cover a lot in that time with the interviewer.

Click to listen to the embedded version of the podcast.