Goals
Background
Most caregivers who have been recommended Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) for their child, are rarely (if ever) told about the risks of ABA, and how a school district could support a child without behaviorist interventions.
If a caregiver looks for this information from medical centers, state agencies, disability focused charities, or their child's school district they will rarely have any success. There is an unmet need for caregivers to be well educated about what disability communities consider the most useful supports, based on lived experience and values.
Project Purpose
To allow families, without direct access to disability communities to learn about supports for their children that are exclusively centered on a neurodiversity affirming framework. This can be accomplished by having these materials available for caregivers to read, at organizations that they already have direct contact with. These information sharing partnerships could include:
Grassroots Parent Organizations (including SPED PACS, etc).
State disability organizations and programs that share information about Autism and other disabilities.
State Departments of Elementary and Secondary Education.
The Special Education Departments of individual schools and school districts.
Autism Non-Profits.
Hospitals and Medical Facilities that provide Autism diagnoses.
About Us
We are a group of neurodivergent experts with varied skills in research, writing, social media, organizing, education, medicine and policy. We are motivated to share the resources on this site with caregivers, to help them support the next generation of autistic people. Together we can work towards making systematic changes so that the lives of these youth can be safe, supportive and affirming.
Acknowledgement
This educational resource is funded by a 2024 Suffolk University MEEP grant.
Image Credit: Modified from Freepik.com