The Stevie Wilson DIY Young Artists Residency will award $2,500 grants to 14 artists to work on creative projects. Applications are due by May 11. Help us to spread the word to young artists (ages 16-24) impacted by the criminal punishment system.

[The proposed term #ProfoundAutism is a problem because by the definition the IACC wants to adopt it] subdivides autistic people into those who are considered “too disabled” for community living and those who aren’t considered “disabled enough” for services and supports. 5/

Been sitting with how many Black Civil rights leaders bled and died to ge the voting rights act only for it to be struck down by this white supremacist supreme court. This is from bloody Sunday which catalyzed passage of the VRA. It's hard not to shed tears at what we've lost.

drinking my morning coffee

Obvious, but worth saying out loud from time to time: Most of the famous people in this country are famous because of their ability to generate or funnel money. Do not judge yourself by or cede moral judgement to those standards.

Is it a sandwich? Is it an empanada? No one knows.

The wizard checks his beard to see if it needs a trim.

not that i want to dictate how ppl ask for support, but i gotta say, srsly there is NO need to apologize when asking for $/other MA. the fault is capitalism’s. and all the oppressions it relies upon. pls don’t feel like you have to apologize for a situation that’s not your fault! 💙💙💙 psa over 😅

which way, walking disaster

"jana, why are you like this" idk. why are birds

Garden rat slinks along the fence at dusk. "You're an invasive species," I mutter at it. It pauses with a weary expression, as if to say, "Ma'am, so are you."

i say “institutionalization” a hell of a lot, and i do KNOW how to spell it, but gosh is it hard to get my fingers to approximate that one closely enough for autocorrect to guess what i’m going for

Apropos of nothing—

because air is what becomes of light when no one is looking - Donald Revell

We're in the waiting days to see whether the FDA will ban shocking autistic and other disabled kids as punishment, which only one school, in Massachusetts, continues to do. The decision is slated to come before May. New from me at @motherjones.com. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Anyone I know here use productivity co-working games? I have Spirit City Lofi, on-together, and gogh. I'm curious if you find these helpful, and do you ever do joint sessions with folks?

Who are you? 1. writer of ill repute 2. river witch in training 3. cozy cottage goblin 4. person who likes potatoes

A7: I got a PhD in neuroscience because I was Mad At Autism Research. My actual PhD topic was Not Autism. I did brain computer interfaces for people with ALS. But a PhD in neuroscience is generally presumed to mean I am qualified to *do* autism research. #AutINSAR.

I feel like this is still going to be an issue... While autism research definitely has improved since the 1980s, there's still maybe too much emphasis on studying autism from a clinical perspective, which just feels too pathologizing. What about autistic anthropology? #AutINSAR #AutINSAR2026 #A8

I think the top issue is still autism and race. Like, whether someone is seen as needing extra supports, or seen as having behavior problems that need to be addressed via discipline or law enforcement... And this definitely needs better representation in research. #AutINSAR #AutINSAR2026 A6

Is there scholarship available for autistics who want to become involved in autism research? There absolutely needs to be. We need to be represented in the communities doing the research. And will we get needed accommodations so we have a chance to thrive? #AutINSAR #AutINSAR2026 A3

My final comment on this is... how accessible is it for autistic community members who want to become involved in research? Like, for instance, if I were to pursue a second masters degree with focus on autism research? What does that look like? Who will mentor me? #AutINSAR #AutINSAR2026 A3

Is autism research published in plain enough language for autistics who aren't in academia to understand what's going on? Are the results of this research published in places we frequent? Do researchers regularly talk to us about these things? #AutINSAR #AutINSAR2026 A3

I say this as someone with a masters degree.. Autistic research cannot be exclusively published in ways that are only accessible to other autistic researchers. Like paywalls, access to academic journals. But it is it written in plain language? #AutINSAR #AutINSAR2026 A3

I'm going to start by retweeting the original posts from @thinkingautism.com with the questions, then I'll QT / tag the responses the same way I would if this were #AutChat. If you are interested in participating, please tag your posts with #AutINSAR and also the question it's answering.

@shannonrosa.bsky.social / @thinkingautism.com has organized #AutINSAR conversations largely to connect researchers with us, the autistic people they're trying to support as best they can. Due to timezones, I think this year's chat happened at like... 2AM my time?!? It was in Prague :)

Feel free to suggest ideas for #AutChat topics (or offer to help write questions)! For scheduled topics, see autchat.com Every topic we've ever run: autchat.com/all-topics/ We're happy to rerun past chats we haven't revisited in a while, especially now that we’re on a new platform!

I’m going to plan on going through the #AutINSAR questions list half an hour after #AutChat ends. 2:30 PM pacific, 5:30 PM eastern.

Next Sunday’s #AutChat is on role models. May 3, 1pm Pacific / 4pm Eastern / 20:00 UTC / 9pm BST on BlueSky. autchat.com/role-models/ If you know anyone who might be interested and is autistic or similarly neurodivergent, we encourage you to invite them.

The scheduled #AutChat is wrapping up. It's fine to keep chatting, join in late, or use the tag at other times! You can also hang out with @autisticb4mmr.bsky.social in about 30 minutes, answering the #AutINSAR questions from @thinkingautism.com, if interested! 2:30 Pacific/5:30 Eastern.

A4: Please learn to see disability and human value at the SAME TIME. Not needing to ignore or hide one or claim it's been overcome or lost or whatever to acknowledge the other. They coexist. #AutChat

A3: If your area is one where "write someone else a check" is legitimately the best feasible option? The Autistic People of Color Fund is woth considering. autismandrace.com/autistic-peo... #AutChat

Q4: If you could get one message across to everyone who hears about autism this April, what would you want it to be? If you could send an extra message specifically to other autistic (or similarly neurodivergent) people, what would you send? #AutChat

I want grocery stores to either pick calmer music or not have music at all. (Which, I know, maybe might not be the most exciting thing to have if you work there) #AutChat

A3: What this means will depend on the area. Grocery stores could have their sensory-friendly hours for LONGER and at hours that working adults can actually GO to. Autism journals with APCs could waive them for autistic-authored articles submitted in April. SOMETHING. #AutChat

Support Your Local Autistic Friends With Free Snacks and Video Games And Manga Month. We celebrate by posting our wishlists and people buy stuff for us off those lists. April is now Give Us Free Stuff month! #AutChat A3

A3: Yes. Material things. Whatever a given area can do to make itself more hospitable to autistic people, whether or not that thing really *should* be year round -- at LEAST for April, which I have ever called autistic hell month in years when I tried to wade in more. #AutChat

Q3: Are there autism-related or acceptance-related activities you’d like to see during April? #AutChat

Everyone I know appears to be too tired to have a campaign. #AutChat A2

Q2: Have you run into other April autism-related events, campaigns, etc, online or offline? Do you do anything differently offline or online during April because of these? #AutChat

Q1: Do you do anything in particular to celebrate or acknowledge Autism Acceptance Day/Week/Month? Why or why not? #AutChat

This #AutChat is about Autism Acceptance Month (which is this month—April). Autism Acceptance Month was started in 2011 by Paula Durbin-Westby as a response to harmful and insufficient autism awareness campaigns. www.autismacceptancemonth.com/about/ #AutChat

Q0: Introduce yourself! Say anything you like about yourself or your interest in #AutChat or in today's topic, Autism Acceptance Month. Quick reference for this week's #AutChat questions (please wait till they're posted to answer): autchat.com/autism-accep...

Questions are prefaced Q0, Q1, Q2, etc. When you reply, preface posts with A0, A1, etc & include "#AutChat" so others see them! Feel free to skip questions for any reason, or respond to them later. Please capitalize the tag as #AutChat to make it more accessible to screenreaders.

For #AutChat announcements and weekly questions, follow this account. DM us to request reminder tweets. How to participate in #AutChat (written for Twitter, but some of the same principles apply for BlueSky): autchat.com/twitter-chat...

#AutChat is a tag for autistic people & "autistic cousins" (people with similar experiences due to hydrocephalus, cerebral palsy, ADHD, etc). We welcome autistic/similar people whether formally diagnosed, self-diagnosed, or questioning/wondering if they are autistic/similar.

Welcome to #AutChat, a weekly BlueSky chat for autistic & similar people at Sundays 1pm Pacific/4pm Eastern/20:00 UTC / 9pm BST! autchat.com/faq/ #AutChat hosts chats on topics related to our experiences as neurodivergent people. See our past topics here: autchat.com/all-topics/

#AutChat folks - this might be of interest!