Dear John,

This year has seen more than its fair share of struggles to protect and preserve our rights, but I have also seen advocates across the country fighting to live fully in our communities, make decisions about our bodies, and keep each other safe. Support from our members and donors has allowed us to continue creating many of the resources our community needs to stay informed and advocate together. Will you consider supporting ASAN as we move toward a new year and new fights for justice?

As we discuss community living, it is vital that we make sure we're discussing disparities that exist for disabled people of color! It's important for people with disabilities to live in our communities, but it’s harder for disabled people of color to access community living. That's why we created “Crisis in our Communities: Racial Disparities in Community Living.” This resource explains the barriers disabled people of color face when trying to access community living, and where those barriers come from. 

Much of the conversation in the autistic community, especially around language, happens in English, and many resources for autistic people are published exclusively in English. It is very important to ASAN that our resources are available to as many people in our community as possible. This year, we held a three-day-long online Spanish translation summit, giving native Spanish speakers a paid opportunity to review the upcoming translation of Welcome to the Autistic Community in order to make it as accessible, accurate, and culturally responsible as possible. The summit also served as a way to set the groundwork for future translations by putting together a shared list of Spanish translations for commonly-used words and phrases, discussing gender-neutral language in Spanish, and other activities.

A lot of important information isn't accessible to many people with disabilities, like information about what happened at the Supreme Court this year, what is happening now, and how it affects our rights. These issues impact people with disabilities; we have the right to make choices about our bodies. This year, we released “Our Bodies, Our Rights: What’s Going On at the Supreme Court?” and "Our Rights Under Threat: What Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization means for people with disabilities." The first resource explains the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, and how it will affect abortion access and our right to privacy. The second resource continues the conversation and talks about the impact the decision will have on all of our rights. Our civil rights are woven together — and when one thread is pulled, other rights can unravel. We have only been able to continue to fight for all of our rights because of your support, and we hope you will consider supporting us in the coming year.

Unfortunately, this year has seen many attacks on LGBTQIA+ people’s rights. Transgender people's rights, in particular, have been under constant attack in 2022. We believe that LGBTQIA+ people deserve to not only be safe, but to have accessible resources to understand ourselves and our rights. That's why we released our Proud and Supported series this year, featuring Definitions and Beyond and Rights and Respect. “Definitions and Beyond” explains some of the ways people identify. It's a great toolkit for those who are LGBTQIA+ and want to learn more about the community, or those looking for ways to be allies. "Rights and Respect" helps you figure out what to do if you aren't being respected, including by a support worker. If you are LGBTQIA+, you deserve to be treated with respect by everyone in your life — including the people who support you.

Throughout the year, we have also continued to release updated and accessible COVID-19 toolkits and videos in both English and Spanish. As guidance changes and we continue to learn about COVID-19, it’s important to remember that the COVID-19 pandemic is not over. COVID-19 continues to circulate, and removing protections only furthers the disproportionate impact on disabled people, people of color, and other marginalized groups that have less access to vaccines, testing, and safety measures. But there are things we can do to keep ourselves and our communities safe, like getting booster shots or wearing a mask. We will continue to provide accessible COVID-19 information to keep our community safe and informed.

Want to help us do more for our community? Your support 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

• Or become a member and get exclusive perks here

• Start a Facebook fundraiser at no cost to you, and share with friends

• Buy a copy of Loud Hands or another one of our books here

• Get a sticker or other item from our Threadless shop

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

Too often, the information our communities need to thrive is inaccessible to us. We are grateful for your support, which allows us to continue creating accessible, up-to-date toolkits and resources to make sure people with disabilities know our rights and how to access them. Thank you for all you do to support us.

Sincerely,

Zoe Gross
Director of Advocacy
Autistic Self Advocacy Network

Autistic Self Advocacy Network

PO Box 66122
Washington, DC 20035

 

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