Project: We are Autism and Aspergers; we can speak

Project We are Autism and Aspergers is us speaking with our own voice, telling the world who we are and telling our government how our lives can be better improved, with our own words. When we as a community of people stay silent we are doing an injustice to ourselves. Not all of us are capable of speaking for ourselves, some draw and some have trusted advocates and family members who speak for them and it is time that we stand up and let the world know that we are human beings.This community has had a stigma and portrait painted of them that is completely inaccurate and organizations like Autism Speaks have done nothing but increase the reputation of brokenness and inferiority. Project We are Autism and Aspergers is about changing the face of who we are from tragic disasters to human beings.

What would you tell the world if you spoke out for yourself? What would you say to the government to improve the lives of spectrum people? What is life like for you living as a spectrum person? This is our story to tell and it should be told by the very people who live their lives as Autistic and Asperger people. Our stories and our needs should not come through the voices of an outside organization who views us as a mystery, a puzzle, and a mess. Our stories should come from the reality of who we are by ourselves and the people who love and know us. It is our responsibility to stand up for our own needs and our own lives.

Allowing an organization like Autism Speaks to continue their voice in place of us will only  allow for the on going issues to continue that our community faces daily:

1. Media’s continual use of the word “suffering” as a description of our community
2. Media’s assumption that every school shooting should be blamed on Aspergers
3. We are broken
4. We are medical disaster
5. We are unable of making decisions that are healthy for our community therefore we need to be spoken for.
6. Job discrimination.
7. Assisted and non-assisted living programs for spectrum people.
8. Health care coverage for Autistic related services.
9. Funds for families requiring services for the young ones.
10. Spending more time working with teachers and ABA therapist for those of us higher on the spectrum who can offer valuable information for the ones who are not where we are.

Autism Speaks cannot bring to the table the life experience of a spectrum person and they have no interest in doing so. They are an organization that runs like a corporation utilizing funds in such a questionable fashion and it is our opinion they should be investigated by Congress. We feel that the picture painted by them of our community has made us look less than human and therefore undeserving of equal rights with dignity and respect. Silencing their voice and allowing our own words to ring through the media and the halls of congress is the only way to reverse the years of tainted and dishonest chatter about who we are and what we need. The last thing we need is another awareness campaign, we deserve and are entitled to acceptance for the unique individuals that we are.

Project We are Autism and Aspergers will run for the next 30 days. We invite you to write to us about who you are and what we as a community needs. You can submit photos, drawings, statements and videos. Videos can be done directly from our site using a mobile device www.drlorenabrownlee.com scroll over videos click the human project and record whatever you would like or you can make submissions through lorenabrownlee@gmail.com. It is time to change the face of our community from broken mysteries to human beings.

We will also be running the Project through social media. Feel free to take a photo from below and use it as a banner or icon image to invite other spectrum people to join the movement of changing the face of who we are. Use hashtags #ProjectAutism #ProjectAspergers #WeAreAutism #WeAreAspergers or #Project we are #Autism and #Aspergers and follow us on Twitter @brownlee_dr Facebook Dr. Lorena Brownlee or Google Plus +LorenaBrownleeDr 

 

#PoliceLivesMatter and #BlackLivesMatter

On March 21,2009 I was in Oakland getting my hair done. I would drive an hour from my home to a salon in Oakland twice a month. On this particular day I witnessed a tragedy that would change the way I viewed the dangers Police Officers face for the rest of my life. 4 police officers were killed in the city of Oakland on this day by a convicted felon who who was wanted on a no bail no warrant parole violation. He shot and killed all 4 Police Officers. 2 during a traffic stop and 2 on scene. This goes down in the history books as one of the worst attacks on the Police force in California.

The following days after the shooting did bring racial tensions between law enforcement and the African American community. The officers that were slain were of Asian and Caucasian descent whereas the shooter was African American. Many people from the neighborhood tried to help at the scene of the shooting but off to the side there were groups taunting and laughing at the situation, at the death of these officers. The officers were all under 45 years of age.

Police brutality and accountability for actions of that nature is a very real struggle in Minority  majority communities and equality for those communities in the arena of police affairs must be reached, but not at the expense of any lives, African American lives or Police lives. The only way to obtain a mutual understanding of the struggle both sides face is by open and honest communication. Protesters have the right to peaceful marches and rallies and the Police have the right to be safe. Violence on either side will solve nothing at all and only serve to further the struggle for both parties to find mutual and common understanding of the issues each group are faced with. The ultimate goal should be solutions.

Solutions do not look like both parties attacking one another on Social Media hashtags like #shootthecops #killthepolice or #Nypdlivesdontmatter, what message are you trying to convey? Is it a message of peace or an invitation to war with the police and invoke a police state? It does not serve the purpose of reconstructing laws that do not discriminate against minority communities, it places the Police in a defensive position to protect themselves. Likewise hashtags such as #blacklivesdontmatter are doing equally the amount of intolerable damage invoking rage and anger in the African American communities.The only real solution are leaders rising up who want and see good for both sides of the argument and find solutions birthed in a peaceful place. The protection of all human life should be the focus of real resolutions

There once was a time when Police Officers would go into schools speak about their jobs, teach children not to do drugs and made themselves available in advice and friendship to all kids.They made themselves safe. Going back to those days would be a step in the right direction. Textbooks in school teaching a transparent education of African American history as well as an accurate teaching of all minority communities history including the Muslim population would create a well balanced multi-cultural population of people that have tolerance through education. We must make changes that are long term solutions to the racial tension that we face in the United States, we must eradicate the roots of racism and believe what we say, that we are a free nation who respects all religion, races, creeds and sex. Are we really a tolerant people or are we liars?

Education reform along with racial profiling, mandatory data collections of races in certain states  as well as accountability for use of force needs an immediate overhaul. We must work together as a nation in peaceful and productive dialog to transform a broken system and promote unity with law enforcement and civilians of all races.  Resolutions must reflect the desire to preserve human life, that is and must remain the focus.