By Jill Escher As the Biden administration takes the reins in Washington this week, the catastrophe of Covid-19 is understandably at the forefront of policymaking. …

by Thomas A. McKean As a high-functioning person with autism I often hear a lot of “Nothing about us without us.” But does this mean only us? The articulate higher functioning autism us? There are some who believe it does. I happen to disagree. If you have been diagnosed (and…

An autism mom fights back against the anti-prevention mindset popular among “neurodiversity” adherents. By Alicia Mesa In my moral universe — and probably yours — we humans have a strong duty to prevent neurological disability, and this includes autism. But online I see this moral universe has turned upside down. “Neurodiversity” proponents wage online battles fiercely condemning the idea of preventing autism. Autism…

One of the orginators of the puzzle symbol explains the intentions behind it. By Thomas A. McKean There has been some misinformation spreading out there on the web lately about the puzzle piece awareness ribbon and what it means and represents. One of the things they are saying is that…

Thomas A. McKean was diagnosed in 1979 at age 14. As one of the original autism self-advocates he has served on the board of Autism Society of America, has written two books on autism, has spoken at numerous conferences, has done private consulting, and has even appeared on Oprah. He…

As his parents age, the sibling of a severely autistic adult juggles feelings of devotion, incompetence, and fear By Tom Clements There’s a question I never ask my parents out of a fear of opening the sluice gates, namely, “What exactly happens when you’re no longer around?” Since I was…

The following letter was sent to The New York Times on behalf of 75 organizations and leaders in the disability community in response to the paper’s editorial choices omitting serious issues facing those with significant intellectual and developmental disabilities. Dear Editors: July 26th marked the 30th anniversary of the signing…

“I have a deep sympathy for the tribulations of autism parents and will continue to reject the wicked aspersions cast upon them.” By Tom Clements Neurodiversity (ND) advocates are a small but powerful ideological group who depend on the tacit support of a much larger group of well-intentioned social liberals…

While our country faces a catastrophic shortage of supports, “activists have doomed many disabled individuals to receive no services at all” By Susan Jennings The words “Willowbrook” and “Pennhurst” conjure images of horror in the public mind — visions of naked, vulnerable, disabled people wallowing in their own filth, abused…