April is Autism Acceptance Month, our chance to not only celebrate our community [[link removed]] , but advocate for policies and priorities that make acceptance real.

Last year, we celebrated the 10th anniversary of Autism Acceptance Month. In our statement, [[link removed]] we called for autism organizations led by neurotypical people to not only use the language of acceptance, but truly do the work. Working toward acceptance means recognizing autistic people ourselves, not just our family members, as a core constituency. And it means aligning advocacy and research priorities with the priorities of the autistic community. That’s why we have released a statement [[link removed]] on genetic research and autism today.

Since Autism Acceptance Month began, the autistic community has made a tremendous cultural impact in terms of how our society views autism. But autism research has lagged behind. The research agenda is still dominated by biomedical “causation and prevention” research, including genetic research on autism. As genetic research continues to develop, autistic people must have our say in how it should be used, and not used. Our statement [[link removed]] on genetic research on autism lays out ASAN’s concerns and recommendations in plain language, including a discussion of the importance of quality-of-life research that is currently underfunded.

It’s critical that autism research meets the needs of the autistic community — but too often, research is done about us, without us. This past week, ASAN submitted comments [[link removed]] to the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC), the organization that advises on federal funding for autism research. They make recommendations on how autism research funding is prioritized. Check out our comments here! [[link removed]]

Remember, acceptance is an action, and we’re here to help you take that action [[link removed]] every day. Stay tuned for ways to take action this April, like new Action Alerts about continuing the fight for HCBS funding. Plus, we’ll be debuting more of our accessible COVID-19 resources, and more!

We’re honored to advocate alongside you, and we wish you all the best this month of acceptance.

Sincerely,
The Team at ASAN


Autistic Self Advocacy Network
PO Box 66122
Washington, DC 20035
United States
If you believe you received this message in error or wish to no longer receive email from us, please unsubscribe: [link removed] .