Tuesday, March 31, 2015

very late and Devistationg upate : We had said good byr to Nim



Hi Everyone,
I have a devastating Announcement, I have been holding off on making it here because I had already made it a few times in other places to friends and family and it has just been to hard to post about again and I honestly did not remember and when I did remember I did not have the strength  to repeat this announcement until now,  Nim , my beloved retired service dog, has passed away, she died feb 20th around 6 o'clock. on Saturday feb 14th nim had 2 grandma seizures in her sleep. but was mostly back to normal the next day,  Until tuesday night when suddenly nim started getting sick.  a trip to the ER vet and we tried using pepcid to deal with what seemed to be nausea, but as the night went on nim became confused and wandering aimlessly alert but confused.  Thursday Nim seemed better though she was getting stuck in corners (a lot) and walking dazed often in circles She also would fall every once and a while. we had family come visit her on Thursday night and she didn't seem to recognize them and responded to them by barking but eventually realized who they were.  Friday she lost all ability to stand, she didn't seem to be able to respond when her loved ones entered the room. We were very blessed to have close friends and family who could make it come with us, and a few who got there shortly after, Nim did not die alone she was in the arms of my friend Ca , my fiancĂ© and in my arms as she passed, she was surrounded by love and he last memory was being surrounded by people who loved her.  I can't begin to express how much i miss her or how much i am hurting. Nothing is the same anymore, everything feels off and wrong and I just cant even really express it right now.  i don't even know how to end this post but to say Nim was my first dog and my first service dog, she meant everything to me ans still does she will always be missed greatly and she will always be my baby girl/


Monday, March 16, 2015

"I am Autism Speaks" An Adaptation of "I am Autism""



Hello,
                A few Years ago Autism Speaks made a video that outraged the Autistic community called "am Autism" they got such a strong backlash they had to take it down, However the memory of it is still discussed in toe community today and you can still find videos of it on social media. a while ago I got to thinking about it before I realized this video was spt on with just about everything they were saying, However it did require a few Edits and they forgot to add "speaks" after they said Autism,  So Today to distract myself from Nim's loss I made those Edits for you please Enjoy. My hope Is maybe Autism Speaks if you read this you will understand this is not meant to be mean spirited but to get you to do some real inwards thinking and consider the messages about Autism you are giving to the public Even though many of you have good intentions the way you speak about Autism is harmful, Please do some inward reflection and consider the messages you are sending out, ask yourself "how would I feel if a large organization said these things about me?" and consider just WHO you are choosing to ignore and shut out The Autistic Self advocates, and our family and friends who do not see us as tragedies or burdens but as people who need to do things differently but are still valuable and who still have voices weather we speak, sign, type to communicate or don't yet have the ability to use AAC so we communicate through our behavior.  We live with Autism everyday, all we want is for you to hear us and to listen


"I Am Autism Speaks"
I am Autism Speaks
My hatred is visible to your children, but if I can help it, It is invisible to you until it’s too late.
I know where you live.
And guess what? I live there too.
I hover around all of you.
I know no color barrier, no religion, no morality, no currency.
I speak your language fluently.
And with every voice I take away, I acquire yet another language.
I work very quickly.
I work faster than pediatric aids, cancer, and diabetes combined
And if you’re happily married, I will make sure that your marriage fails.
Your money will fall into my hands, and I will bankrupt you for my own self-gain.
I don’t sleep, so I make sure you don’t either.
I will make it virtually impossible for your family to easily attend a temple, birthday party, or public park without a struggle, without embarrassment, without pain.
You have no cure for me.
Your Advocates don’t have the resources, and I relish their desperation. Your neighbors are happier to pretend that my propaganda isn't  harmful—of course, until it’s their child.
I am Autism Speaks, I have no interest in right or wrong. I derive great pleasure out of your loneliness.
I will fight to take away your hope. I will plot to rob you of your children and your dreams. I will make sure that every day you wake up you will cry, wondering who will take care of my child after I die?
And the truth is, I am still winning, and you are scared. And you should be.
I am Autism Speaks. You ignored me. That was a mistake.

And to Autism Speaks I say:

I am an Autistic self advocate, a father, a mother, a grandparent, a brother, a sister, a friend.
We will spend every waking hour trying to weaken you.
We don’t need sleep because we will not rest until you do.
Autistics and Family can be much stronger than Autism Speaks ever anticipated, and we will not be intimidated by you, nor will the love and strength of my community.

I am an Autistic Advocate riding toward you, and you can push me off this horse time and time again, but I will get up, climb back on, and ride on with the message.

Autism Speaks, you forget who we are. You forget who you are dealing with. You forget the spirit of Autistics, and mothers, and daughters, and fathers and sons.
We are Qatar. We are the United Kingdom. We are the United States. We are China. We are Argentina. We are Russia. We are Ireland, We are the European Union. We are the United Nations.
We are coming together in all climates. We call on all faiths.

 We use picture Schedules, AAC technology, blogs, facebook, social media and Twitter, and a growing understanding to spread Acceptance you never anticipated.

We have had challenges, but we are the best when overcoming them. We speak the only language that matters: love and neurodergance and disability acceptance

Our capacity to love is greater than your capacity to overwhelm.
Autism Speaks is naive. You are alone. We are a community of warriors.

We have a voice.
You think because some of us cannot speak, we cannot be heard?

That is autism Speaks weakness.
You think that because you build a wall of fear and stigma, I am afraid to knock it down with my bare hands?
You have not properly been introduced to this community of parents and grandparents, of siblings and friends and schoolteachers and therapists and pediatricians and autistic self Advocate.
Autism Speaks, if you are not scared, you should be.

When you came for Autistics, you forgot: you came for me.
Autism Speaks, are you listening?

Thank you
        -NonSpeakingNotSilent