Dear friends of ASAN, This fall marks my 12th year of working for ASAN, and my 7th serving as our Executive Director. As I walk through ASAN’s offices in downtown Washington, DC, I remember the days...

Restraint and seclusion can be life-threatening and are often incredibly traumatic. They are disproportionately used on students with disabilities and students of color. The Keeping All Students Safe...

The Autistic Self Advocacy Network is heartbroken and outraged by today’s court decision striking down a regulation that would have banned the use of the graduated electronic decelerator (GED), a...

The Autistic Self Advocacy Network condemns Sesame Street’s decision to further stigma against autistic children and adults in their new Public Service Announcements.  For several years, ASAN...

People with developmental disabilities say their in-home aides should be added to the list of health workers required to get the shot. But a mandate could…

Lawyers regularly invoke autism to excuse their clients' actions, both playing into and adding to the stigma faced by other people on the autism spectrum.

ASAN is excited to announce the generous donation made by Nicole Cliffe to fund ASAN’s Autism Campus Inclusion (ACI) program over the next ten years.   Every year at ACI, we bring autistic college...

This press release can be viewed as a PDF here. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 3, 2021 Contacts:  Tauna Szymanski, [email protected]                   Zoe Gross, media@autisticadvoc...

This morning, Talking Points Memo published an article featuring quotes from Albert Watkins, an attorney representing Jacob Chansley. Chansley was a prominent participant in the invasion of the...

Autism advocate groups spoke out in statements to The Hollywood Reporter after Michael Knowles called the teen activist a "mentally ill Swedish child."

The first Asian-American woman to represent Chinatown in New York’s legislature is facing an existential crisis and fighting for justice for all.

Today, the Food and Drug Administration released their final ban on the electric skin shock devices used to torture children and adults with disabilities at the Judge Rotenberg Center. The rule will...

ASAN is pleased to commemorate the 10th annual Autism Acceptance Month this year. Over the past ten years, autistic advocates have transformed our society’s conversation around autism — but much...

A former Old Dominion student with autism has been released from prison after being pardoned last year by Gov. Ralph Northam.

Activists argue that rather than trying to ‘cure’ the neurodivergent, society should learn to appreciate and accommodate their needs

Her response to criticism about her upcoming film, “Music,” is bewildering and offensive.

As a joke a few years ago, I posted on April 2 (widely celebrated as World Autism Awareness Day), “I think you’re all aware, but I’m autistic.” I was sick of seeing photos of non-autistic people on…

The Autistic Self Advocacy Network opposes the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. In light of the critical role that the Supreme Court plays in interpreting and enforcing laws...

Eddie Ndopu wasn’t expected to live past 5 years old. Now, the 27-year-old South African hopes to be the first person with a disability to travel to space.

Content note: this post talks about Sia’s film ‘Music’, the issue of restraint/violence towards people with disabilities, self-injurious behaviors, and meltdowns. I was honestly t…

A diverse collection of autistic voices that highlights how parents can avoid common mistakes and misconceptions, and make their child feel truly accepted, valued, and celebrated for who they are....

“My anger stems from the fact that Sia knowingly and deliberately packaged an offensive, reductive, and infantilizing appropriation of our neurology as self-aggrandizing inspiration porn for consum...

Many Black women, girls, and AFAB folks do not receive austism spectrum diagnoses, if ever, because we are not your typical poster children of autism.

For Judith Heumann, and countless people with disabilities, “work until you die” was the only option. It’s past time to change that.

Many people with Down syndrome and other disabilities are not prioritized for organ transplants, and are often turned away, just because they have a disability. But new proposed federal legislation...

Too often, when parents find out their kid is autistic, they receive negative messages from all sides. Many resources available to parents stigmatize autism and talk about it as something to be...

Autistic and non-autistic facial expressions may ‘speak a different language’ when conveying emotion.

UPDATE: On 3/23/2023, Governor Kemp signed Georgia Bill SB140 into law, which bans many forms of gender-affirming care for youth in the state. On 4/13/2023, the Missouri Attorney General released the...

Over the last few months, the autistic community has had painful and necessary conversations about long-standing issues of racism within our community. Many BIPOC autistic advocates have spoken out...

There are no excuses to turn down disabled workers wanting to work from home anymore, a union says.

Tens of thousands of Americans with intellectual and developmental disabilities are 2 to 3 times more likely to die from covid-19. Their parents, guardians and caregivers are struggling to get them...

UVA’s Vikram Jaswal said current approaches to autism are based on dangerous assumptions that body language imports that autistics are not social people and that their expressed desire to socialize...

Anthony Hopkins, Wentworth Miller and others are showing us that autism is more varied than it once seemed to be.

Autistic people’s capacity to determine our own fates is only as good as the choices that are given to us as a direct result of policy decisions and culture.

Many Black women, girls, and AFAB folks do not receive austism spectrum diagnoses, if ever, because we are not your typical poster children of autism.

Editor’s note: This article is the first of a four part series highlighting Black and neurodivergent leaders and historical figures, in honor Black History Month. Each leader was selected by …

Physical accessibility for wheelchair users should include things like ramps and access to the same entrances that others use.

UPDATE: On 3/23/2023, Governor Kemp signed Georgia Bill SB140 into law, which bans many forms of gender-affirming care for youth in the state. On 4/13/2023, the Missouri Attorney General released the...

Both graduates hope to inspire others with nonspeaking autism and say those with disabilities can achieve a lot if they are able to participate.

ASAN applauds Congress for the introduction of the Transformation to Competitive Employment Act. If passed, the Transformation to Competitive Employment Act would end subminimum wage for people with...

The rollback of emergency public health measures enacted during the pandemic will make things worse.

ASAN is pleased that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has filed an appeal to a court ruling that would enable the Judge Rotenberg Center to continue using skin shocks on disabled people.  In...

The Autistic Self Advocacy Network forcefully condemns the Trump Administration’s unconscionable policy of separating immigrant families at the border, and the subsequent incarceration and warehous...

It’s about the guns.

UPDATE: On 3/23/2023, Governor Kemp signed Georgia Bill SB140 into law, which bans many forms of gender-affirming care for youth in the state. On 4/13/2023, the Missouri Attorney General released the...

The nagging symptoms long-haulers experience reveal a frustrating blind spot in medicine.

I want to talk about the physical health of autistic people and how the gaslighting of our sensory sensitivities teaches us to ignore our pain – whether it be physical or sensory. There are m…

We do not need a cure, because autism is not a disease.

On December 6th, a group of autism researchers commissioned by The Lancet released a report on the future of autism services and research. This report primarily deals with the need for better...

As a joke a few years ago, I posted on April 2 (widely celebrated as World Autism Awareness Day), “I think you’re all aware, but I’m autistic.” I was sick of seeing photos of non-autistic people on…

Bryan Russell has Down syndrome and is waging a longshot bid to become a national Peruvian lawmaker, going door to door in Lima to ask for votes. Russell may be the first person with Down syndrome to...

What happens when you make it to adulthood before finding out you're autistic? As A.J. Odasso writes in this anthology: "You spend a lot of time wondering what's wrong without ever knowing why." This...

Ryan Gainer's death has heightened concerns from activists about law enforcement's use of force against people suffering from mental health issues and the lack of supportive services available for...

What's happening at the Judge Rotenberg Center? People with disabilities, ASAN, and our allies are fighting to end the use of electric shock devices for behavior modification at the Judge Rotenberg...

Conversations about disability and reproductive rights in relation to conservatorships and Spears have been a sticking point.

“For me, te reo adds another dimension to being Māori. It enables one to feel a sense of belonging and connection to their culture and I want to be able to experience that privilege.”

The Autistic Self Advocacy Network opposes the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. In light of the critical role that the Supreme Court plays in interpreting and enforcing laws...

Ableism is premised on the belief that people with disabilities fundamentally need “fixing,” when actually their lives are as full and rich as those of nondisabled people.

There's a new law on the books in Massachusetts that will create a state registry for caretakers who have abused people with disabilities.

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser (D) announced Wednesday that three police officers and two paramedics have been charged in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old Black man.McCla…

“For me, te reo adds another dimension to being Māori. It enables one to feel a sense of belonging and connection to their culture and I want to be able to experience that privilege.”

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a law that protects the rights of people with disabilities. The disability community fought hard to get the ADA passed into law, and we continue to fight...

Jack has cystic fibrosis. Virginia’s attempt to ban school mask mandates puts him in danger.

The senator and presidential contender said she’s “open to improving” the legislation after she received widespread criticism.

What's happening at the Judge Rotenberg Center? People with disabilities, ASAN, and our allies are fighting to end the use of electric shock devices for behavior modification at the Judge Rotenberg...

Since the beginning of 2020, ASAN has been engaged in a formal process to examine our internal structures and practices, and develop a plan to embed equity and racial justice in our work and organi...

COVID-19 changed the way we live. We do things differently to stay safe from COVID-19. We stay in our homes a lot. We have to wear masks when we go out. It can be harder to get the services we need....

Last year, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd, a Black man, by kneeling on his neck for nine and a half minutes. This murder was inexcusable, and part of a systemic...