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ASAN August Newsletter
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Dear friend,

This month has been full of learning and fighting back together. Read on to see what we’ve been doing and how you can join in this month.

This back to school season, educate yourself while empowering self-advocates with the tools they need to know their rights! Our learning sessions [autisticadvocacy.org/2025/08/back-to-school-learning-sessions/] are community-led virtual presentations. They are taught by autistic self-advocates and community members. The topics are about advocacy, but go beyond ASAN’s usual focus. You can still get the recordings for the first two sessions, and get tickets for the final learning session [secure.everyaction.com/PbJf-JpRVUubDAYQTH4zSg2] on Thursday, September 4th at 4:00 PM ET!

In the last few weeks, the federal government has made some choices about vaccines that are not based on science or facts [autisticadvocacy.org/2025/08/asan-troubled-by-recent-vaccine-policy-choices/]. Vaccines are shots doctors give people to keep people from getting sick. In the past few weeks, part of the federal government made some choices about vaccines. The federal government is the government for the whole United States. The rest of this statement will explain the choices part of the federal government is making about vaccines. Vaccines help keep people from getting sick. Some people think that vaccines cause autism. This is not true! The idea that vaccines cause autism came from a study with fake evidence. Evidence is a type of fact that shows something is true. For thirty years, scientists have done many studies that show vaccines do not cause autism. But because some people think vaccines cause autism, they want to make changes to vaccines. These changes would make it harder for people to get vaccines. Some people who think this way got chosen to help the federal government make choices about vaccines. ASAN wants to make sure that the federal government makes good choices about vaccines. ASAN wants to make sure the federal government makes choices about vaccines that are based on facts. You can learn about the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), what ACIP and HHS are doing with vaccines, and how their choices about vaccines will affect people here [autisticadvocacy.org/2025/08/asan-troubled-by-recent-vaccine-policy-choices/].

The Department of Labor (DOL) is the part of the government in charge of laws and rules about work. The DOL makes sure people follow what the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) says. The FLSA is a law passed in 1938. Right now, the DOL is thinking of making a new rule. This rule would change some parts of the FLSA in ways that would affect domestic workers. The rule would make it harder for some domestic workers to get minimum wage and overtime payment. On July 2nd, 2025, the DOL put out a proposed rule. A proposed rule is an idea or draft of a rule. That means people don’t have to follow the rule yet. They only have to follow the rule if it gets finalized. Finalizing the rule means that people will have to follow the rule. These rules sometimes get called regulations. Our toolkit [autisticadvocacy.org/2025/08/fight-for-fair-pay-for-home-care-workers/] uses the word ‘rules’ to talk about regulations. ASAN does not like the proposed rule for FLSA. We must tell the DOL that we do not want them to finalize the rule. You can learn how to submit public comments here [autisticadvocacy.org/2025/08/fight-for-fair-pay-for-home-care-workers/]. Public comments are a way for people to share ideas with the government. Public comments let the government know what everyday people think about a proposed rule.

This month, the Trump administration used the police in Washington, DC in a way that puts autistic people and other disabled people at risk. ASAN is against this. There are a lot of things wrong with this, including things the President has said about disabled people. DC sued the administration to try to stop what is happening. We support them. We hope it works. We want Congress to do everything they can to stop this. You can read our statement about this here [autisticadvocacy.org/2025/08/asan-condemns-federal-takeover-of-dc-policing/].

This month we were excited to share a blog post from Naureen Hunani. Naureen Hunani is a neurodivergent registered dietitian and founder of RDs for Neurodiversity [www.rdsforneurodiversity.com/]. She specializes in trauma-informed, neurodiversity-affirming care for individuals and families with feeding and eating challenges. Based in Montreal, Naureen also trains professionals worldwide to build inclusive, anti-oppressive practices. You can read “Reimagining Eating: Autistic Feeding Differences, Misconceptions, and the Path to Joy” here [autisticadvocacy.org/2025/08/reimagining-eating-autistic-feeding-differences-misconceptions-and-the-path-to-joy/].

As we move through this month, we recognize and honor the holidays, celebrations, and important events that hold meaning for our community and beyond.
* Assumption of Mary
* Ganesh Chaturthi
* Krishna Janmashtami
* Lughnasadh
* Raksha Bandhan
* Tisha B’Av

We know there are more holidays that we didn't know to list here. Whether this month brings moments of joy, reflection, remembrance, or connection for you, we wish you peace and fulfillment. We hope this month brings opportunities for growth, kindness, and support.

With warm wishes,
The Team at ASAN

* ASAN signed onto a letter from FamiliesUSA urging Secretary Kennedy to defend and preserve the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), which provides recommendations to insurance companies about coverage for free access to PrEP, cancer screenings and other preventative services.
* We signed onto comments opposing the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services work requirements and enrollment cap request.
* ASAN signed onto a letter from Planned Parenthood Federation of America and National Women’s Law Center opposing a proposed regulation that would severely restrict essential abortion care and eliminate abortion counseling for veterans receiving the VA's medical benefits package.
* We signed onto comments from the Disability and Aging Collaborative (DAC) and the Consortium for Constituents with Disabilities (CCD) on a regulation to FLSA.
* As a part of the CCD Housing Task Force, ASAN signed onto a letter about housing funding.
* ASAN signed onto a letter opposing “Rescission of Executive Order 11246 Implementing Regulations” (RIN 1250–AA17), which is one of the two Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) about Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
* We also signed onto comments from the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), which is the second of the two NPRM about Section 503.
* We signed onto comments from the National Employment Law Project (NELP) opposing the domestic workers NPRM.
* ASAN signed onto a letter urging Congress not to include the Weldon Amendment in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 appropriations package.
* We signed onto a letter from the National Coalition for the Homeless and The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights on a recent Executive Order demonizing and criminalizing homeless people.


autisticadvocacy.org/donate [autisticadvocacy.org/donate]

autisticadvocacy.org/2025/08/back-to-school-learning-sessions/ [autisticadvocacy.org/2025/08/back-to-school-learning-sessions/] Back to School Learning Sessions [autisticadvocacy.org/2025/08/back-to-school-learning-sessions/]

[link removed] [[link removed]] ASAN troubled by recent vaccine policy choices [[link removed]]

autisticadvocacy.org/2025/08/fight-for-fair-pay-for-home-care-workers/ [autisticadvocacy.org/2025/08/fight-for-fair-pay-for-home-care-workers/] Fight for fair pay for home care workers! [autisticadvocacy.org/2025/08/fight-for-fair-pay-for-home-care-workers/]

autisticadvocacy.org/2025/08/reimagining-eating-autistic-feeding-differences-misconceptions-and-the-path-to-joy/ [autisticadvocacy.org/2025/08/reimagining-eating-autistic-feeding-differences-misconceptions-and-the-path-to-joy/] Reimagining Eating: Autistic Feeding Differences, Misconceptions, and the Path to Joy [autisticadvocacy.org/2025/08/reimagining-eating-autistic-feeding-differences-misconceptions-and-the-path-to-joy/]

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