Hello! You haven’t heard from us before but we’ve made appearances in the background as our humans have done important work. We’ve strolled across their keyboards as they write Easy Read toolkits, and our howling has forced them to stay on mute during coalition meetings. We’re the cat delegation from the ASAN animal crew and as 2023 draws to a close, we thought this would be the purrfect opportunity to talk with you.

In 2023, the human staff members here at ASAN have worked hard to create new resources, run meaningful programs, and advocate for policies that impact our community. This work would be impawsible without the support of community members like you. Our humans are grateful for your support and as their animal companions, so are we.

While we know their work is important for human rights, we want you to consider this: all these efforts have severely impacted the amount of time they have for petting us, the ASANimals.

That’s why we’re taking over for the end of year giving campaign! The keyboards are ours to command and we’ll be using them to celebrate the achievements your generosity [[link removed]] has made possible this year and look forward to 2024.

Starfire, a black cat, photographed from above as she stands over her human’s wrist to put an end to her typing on a keyboard. [[link removed]]

ASAN Team Member Starfire advocating for her right to receive pets, right now please, thank you.

Next week is Giving Tuesday [[link removed]], a global day of giving where nonprofits of all sizes ask folks to donate and support their causes as a part of the holiday season.

ASAN is a small organization with a big mission: empowering autistic people throughout the country and giving our community the tools to stand up to those who want to silence us. This year, we’ve held the line against attacks on our rights, developed accessible tool kits on crucial subjects, made headway in the inclusion of autistic people in research about us, and so much more [[link removed]].

We are excited to say that even with the challenges of Medicaid unwinding and the end of the public health emergency, 2023 has been a year of achievements including:

* Releasing new resources on COVID-19 in English and Spanish

* Collaborating with SARTAC to teach self advocates about how to write in Easy Read [[link removed]]

* Held a two day training on The Settings Rule

* Held a webinar and pushed for public comments to be made on Section 504

* Held the Autistic Research For Us (ARFU) Symposium

You can read more about the work we’ve done this past year in our annual report: We Weave Our Own Story. [[link removed]]

This work is made pawsible by the support of our donors , who enable us to fight for our community. This year, consider making a #GivingTuesday donation to ASAN to help empower self-advocacy and the autistic community. Can we count on your support? [[link removed]]

Your support [[link removed]] lets us make sure everyone has accessible information about the issues that affect them. Here’s how you can help us keep that going:

* Donate to us directly here [[link removed]]

* Or become a member and get exclusive perks here [[link removed]]

* Start a Facebook fundraiser [[link removed]] at no cost to you, and share with friends

* Buy a copy of Loud Hands or another one of our books here [[link removed]]

* Get a sticker or other item from our Threadless shop [[link removed]]

* Spread the word about us! You can tell your friends about us on social media, via email, or in person

We’re so grateful for your support and for your spirit of giving. We’ll see you next week on GivingTuesday!


Autistic Self Advocacy Network
PO Box 66122
Washington, DC 20035
United States
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