In these times when lies are worming their way back into health care policy, when our communities are under attack from many different angles, and labels like “profound autism” are being used to try to take autistic people’s rights away, imagining the future can feel impossible.

But the autistic self-advocacy movement has been here before. The fight for our rights is not one great battle that we can win in a week, a month, or a year. The fight for autistic people’s rights to live, play, and thrive in our communities is a relay race across generations. 

The self-advocates who came before fought to get a seat at the table where decisions about our lives are made. They passed that seat to us, giving our generation of self-advocates a head start to further break down barriers to our rights. Your support puts tools in the hands of self-advocates to continue the fight today.

Right now:

• The Department of Health and Human Services is pretending old lies are real science.
• Our government is coming up with dangerous plans to get rid of the Department of Education.
• Gigantic cuts to important programs like Medicaid are already beginning.

These policies threaten the progress the self-advocacy movement has fought for. These attacks are not separate from the other forms of violence we are seeing against vulnerable communities. 

The violence against immigrant communities and transgender communities comes from the same place that attacks against autistic people come from. The fight against eugenics is the fight for racial justice, disability rights, reproductive freedom, and queer liberation. We cannot have a self-advocacy movement without working alongside other movements for freedom, because autistic people are part of every community. 

Today, we fight to make sure as many of us as possible see a future where our rights are respected. Every time you support ASAN’s work, you protect:

• Advocacy for the rights of people with disabilities.
• Access to accessible resources for self-advocates.
• Educational tools and trainings for self-advocates.
• And so much more.

The self-advocacy movement has overcome challenges in the past and we will get through the fights of today. Your support helps keep the self-advocacy movement going strong for future generations.

2026 marks 20 years of ASAN advocacy, so help us build for the future with a donation that works for you! However you can give, now is the time!

• Make a gift today: Donate directly to support autistic led advocacy here
• Become a member: Support our work and get exclusive perks here
• Start a fundraiser: There are lots of ways to fundraise — Facebook, Twitch, GoFundMe, Tiltify, and more
• Host a fundraising event: Use our plain language fundraising event toolkit to host an event benefiting ASAN
• Read and share autistic voices: Pick up a copy of Loud Hands or another one of our books here
• Show your support: Get a throwback shirt or other merch from our Threadless shop here
• Spread the word: Tell your friends about us on social media, by email, or in person

Thank you for believing in the power of community, self-advocacy, and a future where autism acceptance is everywhere.

Autistic Self Advocacy Network

PO Box 66122
Washington, DC 20035

 

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