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I hope I see you there.

Project we are Autism and Aspergers: A Social Era for Autism

The "Social Era”, as Nilofer Merchant coined it is proving that we have come a long ways in how we interact with people. The early days of social media was about connection and engagement, than came measuring our value by the number of friends, and now our influence will be measure by how engaged we are. While many scramble to learn these skills and gain audiences there is a growing subgroup of people who are becoming quite proficient at the art of connection. People with Autism and Aspergers, a group not normally known for being connectors are gaining doorways into talking with folks online.

For people who have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), myself included, the world of interaction can be a challenge. Many have gone their whole lives cut off from the real world either by speech barriers or the absence of Neurological typical social skills. With 1 out of 88 people now diagnosed with ASD it is clear this is starting to look more like a phenomenon than a disorder. Mentioned by Autism Activist and Autistic person Temple Grandin  the rise of internet age may have come from people with #ASD people. Many could argue this but what is clear is people ASD are gaining ground in the Social Era.

Carly Fleischmann , a non-verbal autistic woman from Toronto, for example, is building a world of relationships that has reached 51,000 followers. Many of these followers also share Autistic Spectrum Disorder and are discovering ways to break down walls from both socializing and the belief that ASD is about being intellectually disabled. With the click of a button they are expressing ideas, music and even art they've created to let others knows what they have been trying to say all along.

How is it that so many people with Autism Spectrum Disorder are excelling is social media? They can be the maven of mavens. When they get fixed on something that interest them they (me included) have to know everything about how it works, as well as how they can make it fit into an pattern that is efficient. Sound familiar tech people? Dr. Grandin believes the ASD gene is the origin of creativity and problem solving and may be the reason why we have advance so for the last 200,000 years.

Another example is watching some of the people I work with that have been open enough to share that they have Autism Spectrum Disorder. After talking with a friend about how their social media management was working when she started a few weeks earlier, she was feeling disappointed. When I asked her what the problem was, she said “I can’t get past 32”.  I said, “32 followers?” She said “no 32.2k followers, and my About.me still won’t get past 10k a week. Maybe there is something I am saying that is keeping everyone else away?” The look on my face was priceless. Later that same friend had a total stranger come up and thank them for a blog they wrote.

While all people with Autism Spectrum Disorder vary in functionality and skills it is clear they are finding it much easier to connect. They are making friends with people Globally and some seem to be quite good at building rapport without the use of a real voice. It will be interesting to see what the future holds but I am happy to see so many with ASD gain ground and find their place in the Social ERA.

 
 

 Christopher G. Brownlee 

 Follow on Twitter: @ChristoB78 

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 

 

#AutismSpeaks does not Speak for Me

Autism Speaks in 2013 spent less than 14% of all donations on Autistic people and their families, the rest they pocketed as compensation. See for yourself: Form 990 2013. This compensation is 5x the amount that a public relations person in a non charitable organization would receive as a salary and money that could be used for the principle reason it was donated in the first place, Autism needs. Autism Speaks only gives cents off every dollar to Autism related issues.

Autism Speaks claims to be a voice for the voiceless but their ultimate goal is the continual question asking of why people are born this way instead of investing into the people they serve by therapies that would better the human lives of the Autistic community. Why would anyone want to give money to an organization using the people they “serve” as a meal ticket. We are not taking it anymore, not all Autistic people are nonverbal and we have the ability to speak for ourselves.We are not broken, busted, a puzzle, or disaster we are human beings and your lack of respect for our community both verbally and in actions leads us to ask you to stop. Stop lying to the world that you are advocates for Autism, stop stealing money people who could use that money to feed their own families and doing this in the name of Autism. Stop speaking for us because you don’t.

We do not need awareness as you like to campaign we need acceptance. The picture that you have painted to us in the media describes a group of people that are neither able to care for themselves or are disastrous cases amongst humanity and we are not either one of those things. The spectrum being as wide ranging as it is, requires a person to person look at what the needs of each individual would require to have and maintain a normal life. We are not behaviorally challenged or your project to fix, we are human beings who are entitled to all the human rights declared in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We are entitled to our dignity and respect, we are your fellow human being and demand to be treated as equals.

Your inability to except us yourselves should be an example to the public as to whom you actually serve as an organization, your wallet. From your board member to your blue light campaign (The owner of Home Depot is a Board Member of Autism Speaks and is the seller of the Blue Light) all that money returns to you and you are doing a disservice and injustice to the Autistic community. We estimate that in 2013 $57,000,000 went into the pockets of employees board members, staff and contracted personnel. They grossed $65,992,738.

#AutismSpeaks, I am not a Medical Disaster

Last night I watched the Documentary, Sounding the Alarm, Battling the Autism Epidemic. I as a spectrum person walked away with this one thought, If you are my advocate I am in big trouble. Using statements like Autism is a medical disaster or describing us as troubled, difficult or even ensuing family troubles conveys the statement to people like myself that you do not favor our kind. A lot of us, spectrum people, go on to do many good things such as acting, writing, or activism. The spectrum is so wide ranging that there are even a few of us you do not know about whom have gone onto become Doctors, Lawyers and Engineers. The bottom line is that we are human being and deserve to be referred to as such.

I completely understand the struggle that you as Neurologically Typical people have in understanding us as people in what we think and how we feel. I also understand how difficult it must be for you as Neurologically Typical people to deal with one of our meltdowns or inability to communicate, perhaps adding one of us who are higher functioning to your staff would serve to enlighten your understanding and encourage you to refrain from using such derogatory language to describe what many of us as adults find as an asset to who we are and become. When you speak about us in such a negative fashion you only further the struggle we have with mainstream media and the very intolerable way they describe us as suffering beings.

I am not suffering, nor am I medical disaster or troubled person and many spectrum individuals I know are not either. We will never do things the way you do them nor will we ever be just like you but we are human beings who deserve to be treated with respect and dignity in both speech and actions. We stand in agreement with you that Congress does need to take up our case and Insurance companies do need to serve our families better. However,  if you are going to continue advocating for us and suggesting a governmental office for an Autism Zar, perhaps really taking the time to speak to higher functioning spectrum people and understanding our position in the world from the very different perspective we hold, would serve all far more greater than to assume all things about us from Neurologically Typical standpoint. After all this is about advocating for spectrum people not just the Neurologically Typical family members. .

#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.

Darryl W. Green II aka Storm Green, “We just want Peace”

With two sides going head to head protesting anti-police brutality and pro-police protesters young rappers are taking a step back to say “We just want peace.” They are not  ignorant to the differences and challenges faced being African American and these  issues need to change but they will not change through violence, only by communication. Darryl Green II aka Storm Green a young 20 year old rapper from Las Vega as is taking that stand and calling for peace. 

Growing up in Las Vegas, presents many challenges with racial profiling and the police and this is not new for the people that live in Las Vegas. The Police department does a mandatory data collection of all it’s residents using the terminology that this will help the police better serve the community. When I looked into what that really translates to I found that in a calendar year African Americans were actually stopped the least in traffic violation but arrested and searched the most.                                                                 
I was thus not surprised that Storm had very few traffic issues with the police however he did avoid them if he saw them. Most people,color aside do not want to have problems with the police, but to have to live in fear that you could be the next victim of police brutality because you are African American is simply an injustice. According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and freedoms are to be without distinction of any kind. Police departments in the United States are not excused from following the guidelines of this declaration. 

Multiple murders of African American males at the hand of the police who are suppose to protect you leaves young men like Storm feeling less than human and wondering if it will someday be them. “There are young people out there who haven’t even had their first job, yet being shot and murdered by police because they are African American and look older”, Storm says. “These young people have no weapons, no arrest records, innocent and being killed.” Storm and young emerging rappers like him want equality, to be viewed as human beings not as a color, given dignity and respect.

Storm wants to see the entire African American community come together dropping all personal differences and uniting as one voice to overcome the diversities faced in the United States with police brutality, racial profiling and racism. One people with one voice united for peace.    

Link to Storm Green's latest Release: 
Put your Hands Up for Peace "OH NOO" Mos Def " Oh No" (TRIBUTE) 
Follow Storm Green:
Twitter @StormXGreen Instagram StormxGreen SoundCloud Storm_Green