Category Archives: autism stigma

Disability Day of Mourning: The Loss of Innocence

Posted on March 2, 2016 by Leah Kelley, Ed.D.

A few weeks back I asked H if he would like to attend the ASAN Vancouver Disability Day of Mourning Vigil with me on March 1st, at the Woodlands Memorial Gardens in New Westminster, BC. He asked what the vigil … Continue reading →

Posted in ableism, Activist, Advocacy, ASAN, autism stigma, Autistic, Boycott Autism Speaks, Death, Disability, Grief, prejudice, Rail Against Stigma | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

What the Vulture Calls Unity: #BoycottAutismSpeaks

Posted on August 29, 2015 by Leah Kelley, Ed.D.

This last week marked the release of Steve Silberman’s much awaited book, NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity, as well as the publication of his Op-Ed piece in the Los Angeles Times, titled Autism Speaks needs … Continue reading →

Posted in ableism, acceptance, Autism, autism stigma, Autistic, Boycott Autism Speaks, Neurodiversity, Silence | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Therapy Defined: Self-Regulation

Posted on January 29, 2015 by Leah Kelley, Ed.D.

Definition of self-regulation intervention or therapy: H is given the downtime he needs to delve into his interests and to regroup and relax when he needs it… (And you wouldn’t call this therapy if the kid were non Autistic, you’d … Continue reading →

Posted in ableism, acceptance, Autism, autism stigma, Autistic, Intervention, language | Tagged , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Chalk it up to Activism! #BoycottAutismSpeaks

Posted on October 10, 2014 by Leah Kelley, Ed.D.

So, some people may wonder why I do this activism stuff with my son… and some might even think that it would be better to shield him from what Autism Speaks says about Autistic people. If I thought for a … Continue reading →

Posted in ableism, acceptance, Activist, Autism, autism stigma, Autistic, Boycott Autism Speaks | Tagged , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

ASAN Vancouver: Protesting Autism Speaks #boycottAutismSpeaks

Posted on September 28, 2014 by Leah Kelley, Ed.D.

Last week H and I made our way into the big city to attend an ASAN meeting with the newly founded ASAN Vancouver Chapter. (ASAN = Autistic Self Advocacy Network) H was pretty quiet during the meeting, and was creating … Continue reading →

Posted in ableism, acceptance, Activist, Advocacy, advocate, ASAN, Autism, autism stigma, Autistic, Boycott Autism Speaks, Margaret Mead, social justice | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Dear Mr. Fassbender: Class Size, Composition, and Shame…

Posted on September 4, 2014 by Leah Kelley, Ed.D.

Dear Mr. Fassbender, Yesterday I was invited to speak at a rally outside of your MLA office. I was quite excited to have to opportunity to speak with you, the Minister of Education, in person and thought long and hard … Continue reading →

Posted in ableism, acceptance, Autism, autism stigma, BC Teachers Federation, BCTF, Behaviour | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Live-tweeting Vectors of Autism with Laura Nagle: An invitation

Posted on August 7, 2014 by Leah Kelley, Ed.D.

Autistic people and those who love and support them are working hard to take a stand against negative and stigmatizing messages about the experience of being Autistic. It can be exhausting and can feel like an uphill battle counter the … Continue reading →

Posted in acceptance, Autism, autism stigma, Autistic, Documentary, Laura Nagle, Snarfly, Vectors of Autism | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Sounding the Alarm… there is no acceptance here…

Posted on August 3, 2014 by Leah Kelley, Ed.D.

On Tuesday, July 15, I was still editing the comment below for the Autism Speaks docutrauma, Sounding the Alarm: Battling the Autism Epidemic, which is currently on Netflix. My intention was to leave it in the reviews section on Netflix … Continue reading →

Posted in ableism, acceptance, Activist, ASAN, Autism, autism stigma, Autistic, Boycott Autism Speaks | Tagged , , , , , , | 23 Comments

Road Trip Activism… #BoycottAutismSpeaks

Posted on July 26, 2014 by Leah Kelley, Ed.D.

The other day H and I went on a road trip to Bellingham, WA. We talked long, as is our habit on lengthy drives, and had the chance to explore all sorts of topics. We also nabbed the chance to … Continue reading →

Posted in ableism, acceptance, Activist, Autism, autism stigma, Autistic, Boycott Autism Speaks | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Expressions of PosAutivity #AutismPositivity2014

Posted on April 21, 2014 by Leah Kelley, Ed.D.

So excited to announce… (insert drumroll) The Third Annual Autism Positivity Flashblog on April 30th, 2014!! Join us in honouring diverse forms of communication and in celebrating Autism Acceptance and we will once again flood Google with positive messages about Autism.  … Continue reading →

Posted in acceptance, Autism, Autism Positivity, autism stigma, Autistic, Flash Blog, flashblog, perspective of others, Rail Against Stigma, reframe tragedy | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments