What Autism Safety Really Means

ableism, Autism, Disability, Education, Infographics, Writing

The two hottest takes when it comes to “Autism Safety” – in the “autism community,” that is – always seem to be wandering/elopement and police interactions.

Elopement or wandering refer to the problem of autistic children (not always children, but almost always) who run off unattended, often leaving an enclosed space like their home or school. And, as a parent myself, I do understand this worry – to an extent. Naturally the idea of one’s child getting lost and/or getting into dangerous situations takes one’s breath away to even imagine.

But in the grand scheme of an autistic life, how pressing is this issue really? Parent-led organizations sometimes run scary stories about the dangers of elopement. Recent studies have shown that about half of autistic children elope at least once, and half of those elope long enough to cause serious concern. That does sound worrying, but let’s keep this number in mind and I’ll return to it in a moment: 25% of autistic children have significant elopement incidents. Other factors to keep in mind: most of those children are nonverbal, and elopement peaks at age 5.

The other hot topic in safety is about police interactions. And while this is a key safety issue for autistic people, often the ways that autism parent communities and neurotypical-led organizations discuss this issue are problematic, particularly when they neglect the intersection of systemic racism with disability rights. Skirting the autism-race interaction in conversations about police and first responders not only makes our conversations about safety incomplete, it also makes our proposed solutions severely inadequate at best.

What the parent community’s hot safety takes amount to tends to be a clamor for more neurotypical (NT) control over autistic people. Wandering? Police interaction? For NT parents and experts, the solutions are about GPS tracking devices, autism registrations, and more compliance training for autistics.

These solutions by their nature elide the realities of autistic and otherwise disabled people of color. What kinds of issues might arise for a population that is already at risk of being racially profiled? Given the risks, how can we assure people – is it even ethical to assure people? – who already feel unsafe or unable to trust law enforcement to protect them that they should entrust police and other first responders not to use their disability status against them in some harmful way. And that’s to say nothing of the ethical repugnance of pushing even more compliance training upon black and brown folks who historically have been shown how no amount of compliance will protect them from racist abuse.

Neurotypical parent/expert control of autistic people that strips autistic people (of any age) of autonomy and ramps up compliance training, in fact makes autistic people less safe in the long run. When parents, teachers, and autism “experts” have tunnel vision that focuses on autism itself as a threat to autistic people, rather than taking a careful accounting of how ableism affects disabled people – and how other forms of oppression intersect with ableism to compound the harm done – they actively endanger autistic people.

I’ll remind you now of the figure above that told us 25% of autistic children have seriously concerning elopement incidents, peaking at age 5.

Now let me tell you about what Autism Safety really means:

Abuse and Violence

Disabled children are 3.5 times more likely to be abused or neglected than non-disabled children
Disabled people are 3 times more likely to be victims of serious crime than non-disabled people
Exact figures are unknown, but numerous studies have estimated that the number of people killed in police interactions who were disabled is at least 50%, and likely much higher as these calculations under-count people with psychiatric disabilities
Black people are nearly 3 times as likely to be killed by police than white people; therefore, we MUST include racial issues in addressing autism safety with law enforcement

Psychological Effects

70% of autistic people also have a psychiatric disability such as depression or anxiety
30-50% of autistic people have reported having suicidal thoughts or attempts

Bullying

60-80% of autistic students report being bullied at school
40% of parents of autistic students report their children were bullied
22% of those who were bullied report being bullied “all the time”

Restraint & Seclusion

While only 12% of public school students are disabled (covered by IDEA), 75% of students restrained at school are disabled and 58% of students secluded and isolated at school are disabled.
25% of arrests and referrals to police are disabled students – that means a disabled student is twice as likely to be arrested for a disciplinary incident at school.
Federal data shows public schools reported 163,000 incidents of students being restrained in one school year.
40% of students restrained at school are autistic
50% of students secluded/isolated at school are autistic
Of the disabled student population, only 19% are black, but they make up 36% of those who are restrained and secluded – this means that among disabled students, black children are twice as likely to be restrained and secluded
7,600 of the incidents of restraint involved mechanical restraints (i.e. not restrained merely with school staff’s hands/arms)
Students were secluded in “scream rooms” 104,000 times in that school year
20 public school students died while being restrained at school between 1988-2008
In many states (including mine), there are no legal restrictions on the use of restraint and seclusion in schools

Many of these risks to autistic children are much more prevalent and dangerous than the risk of elopement, and many continue to affect autistic people throughout our lives – as our high rates of depression and anxiety show. And yet, these are the dangers that are rarely discussed by parents and autism organizations. These risks do not seem to inspire as many panel discussions, safety curricula, training sessions, and special safety programs. Perhaps because, by and large, they require change on the parts of the everyone else but the autistic child.

Even more crucially, the parent/expert safety programs that are most popular – the GPS trackers, registries, and compliance training – actually put autistic people at greater risk to our real threats: abuse, victimization, discrimination, isolation, and psychological trauma. Trackers, registries, and compliance make us LESS SAFE. Worst of all, they will have the strongest negative effects on the segment of the autistic population that is already the most vulnerable – you know, the ones we never talk about? – those of us who are not white.

Of course we can’t wait around for mainstream culture to protect us, so here are some safety tips you can really use. And please see my Autism Safety PDF for more information and sources for all of the above statistics.

SAFETY TIPS

For Autistic People:
- learn how to recognize and report abuse
- learn what to do if you or someone you know is feeling suicidal
- learn how to avoid interactions with law enforcement
- advocate for community change that lessens the frequency of interactions with LE, and the risks of violence during interactions with LE
- learn what to do if you get lost or need help in public spaces
For Families:
- learn to recognize and respond to signs of abuse, neglect, and bullying
- learn strategies to reduce the risk of LE involvement and violence
- learn to recognize and respond when someone you love feels suicidal
- teach your loved one survival skills, including a safety plan for getting lost
extra tip: medical ID bracelets are safer than ID cards or registries!

Social Skills for Everyone

ableism, Autism, Disability, Education, Friendship, Infographics, Neurodiversity, Parenting

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

[Each of the slides above has its own image description. Slideshow can be paused for ease of reading text. Full transcript at the end of this post, with a downloadable PDF.]

Issues of social inclusion are often persistent throughout a disabled person’s lifespan. Lack of inclusion can be a vicious cycle if non-disabled people are unfamiliar with how to include and interact with disabled people in their community:

1. disabled people are excluded, are segregated to disabled-only spaces, and/or withdraw from community life when they are socially rejected

2. non-disabled people continue to have social spaces and groups that have no disabled people in them, and they never become familiar or intimately connected with disabled people

3. disabled people continue to be rejected or excluded by non-disabled people who are unfamiliar with how to include us

And, REPEAT.

How do we break this cycle? Traditionally, most of the onus has been on disabled people to assimilate and “normalize,” but this not only doesn’t work well, it’s unfair and ableist. Mainstream culture is beginning to realize that non-disabled need to do more to include us without trying to “fix” us, but it’s crucial to understand that acceptance is more than just a feeling. It’s a series of actions, and for most it will require some learning and listening to disabled people.

I have a dream that parents of non-disabled children will begin to talk to their kids about disability, as early and as often as possible. Just as with other issues of discrimination, it’s not enough to trust that your kids will be “nice” – even nice, lovely, kind hearted children may discriminate against or exclude disabled children if they simply do not know how to include them, and don’t understand people who are different from themselves in ways that a child can easily perceive.

This guide is a start. Please please share it with your kids and talk to them about what disability inclusion means. It’s not about pity or charity, it’s about equality.

Social Skills for Everyone PDF

FULL TRANSCRIPT:

Cover.

Infographic cover has the title “Social Skills for Everyone,” subtitle “making friends and getting along.” Above the title are two human figures, one waving their arms with a speech bubble saying “hi!” and the other with arms akimbo and a speech bubble containing ellipses.

Page One.

Infographic text says: “You might have noticed… there are all kinds of people in the world. no two are exactly alike. Not even twins! You probably won’t be friends with everyone you meet (and that’s ok!) but learning to get along with people makes life a little better for all of us.” One group of human figures is multicolored, with a green figure waving and saying “hello!” A pair of orange figures who look the same as each other stand side by side, one saying “I love drawing comic books” and the other saying “I don’t draw. But I love Minecraft!”

Page Two.

Infographic text says: “There isn’t only one “right way” to socialize… Just like there isn’t only one way to play! Everyone has their own style – figure adds, ‘and I think that’s cool!’ – and learning someone else’s style is how you include someone new – figure adds, ‘and hey, remember… next time, the new person… could be you!’” Bottom image shows a green figure standing in foreground holding/touching their own head, with other figures in the background playing and one waving in greeting to the green new person.

Page Three.

Infographic text says: “When you meet someone new… it’s nice to greet them and ever nicer to invite them to talk or play with you.” Image shows two human figures in foreground and two more playing in the background. A green figure waves and says to the orange figure, ‘Hi, I’m Alex. Do you want to play tag with us?’ More text: “but what if they don’t answer?” The green figure stands with a question mark thought bubble, while the orange figure touches/holds their own head and stands with a thought bubble containing ellipses.

Page Four.

Infographic text says: “It might NOT mean they don’t want to play. Try this! Wait a few more seconds – some people just need a little more time to answer questions or think of what to say.” Orange figure has a speech bubble that says ‘…………okay!’ “Move so they can see your face – some people need to read your lips while you talk.” Two green heads in profile face each other, one with sound waves around mouth. “Ask in a different way – if they aren’t sure how to answer, using different words might help.” Green figure points to the side and says to orange figure, ‘He’s “it.” Let’s run!’ “Or maybe just try again later. They might not be ready to join in yet, and that’s okay too!

Page Five.

Infographic text says: “Some people do not speak at all (or not very much) but you can still include them! People who don’t speak communicate in other ways, like: Body Language! (orange figure in a variety of poses/gestures), using their voice in other ways (orange laughing face with speech bubble ‘hahaha!’) or even using an app on a tablet! (orange figure holds a black tablet which has a dialog box saying ‘okay. let’s play!’)

Page Six.

Infographic text says: “When you meet someone who seems different, you might notice that they look, talk, or act differently than anyone else you’ve met before.” A green figure stands touching/holding their own head with a question mark thought bubble. “It’s okay to ask polite questions.” A green figure asks, ‘Does that hurt?’ to an orange figure with a small red mark on their face, who responds, ‘No. It’s just a birthmark.’ More text: “It’s good to celebrate our differences AND remember we aren’t all that different on the inside – we all pretty much want the same things: to be accepted, to feel we belong, and to have fun doing things we enjoy.” At the bottom is a row of human figures: a green one with arms akimbo, orange one with heart-shaped birthmark, gray one waving arms, green one with headphones high-fiving a gray one with an orange wheelchair.

Diversity is Beautiful

ableism, Autism, comics, Disability, Education, Infographics, Neurodiversity

One of the most frequent questions I hear from parents of autistic children is, “how do I tell them they are autistic?” They want to explain autism to their child in a positive way; to frame the information as something that empowers.

My favorite way to approach conversations about autism and other forms of disability, especially (but not only!) with children, is rather than singling out the autistic or otherwise disabled child, begin with the larger context of diversity.

Diversity is, after all, an essential ingredient in a thriving natural environment; it is valuable for its own sake.

What I love about this approach is that it de-centers any one “typical” way of being, unlike the old way of explaining autism as a brain with a set of deficits that makes it something other than normal. There is no one correct or even best kind of brain, any more than there is one correct or best kind of dog or bird.

I have this “Diversity is Beautiful” cartoon for sale in my shop, on posters and mugs and a bunch of other cool products. If you choose to purchase something from there, your support is greatly appreciated! But I am also offering free printable PDFs (see below) so that anyone may use this information. As with all of my infographics, you have permission use these for personal, educational, and any other not-for-profit purpose, retaining credit to me (and any other sources listed in my graphics).

The Simple version of Diversity is Beautiful gives you more space to create your own accessible explanations for the concepts in the image. I recommend this one for audiences with less complex receptive language and/or reading skills.

Image description: title is “diversity is beautiful.” First row of drawings shows a variety of animals, with the caption “diversity in the animal world.” Second row shows an assortment of kids: from left to right is a person with a limb (arm) difference, person using a wheelchair, person with no visible disability, person signing “hello,” person using forearm crutches, person wearing glasses, person using a white/probing cane. Caption is “diversity of people.” Third row shows four heads with smiling faces and on foreheads are drawings of multicolored brains, caption is “diversity of human brains.” ©Erin Human 2017

Printable PDF:
Diversity is Beautiful (Simple)

The version called Diversity is Beautiful (Explained) has a more lengthy explanation for each form of diversity shown. This is a nice choice for anyone who does not wish to create their own script, or would like people to be able to access the image’s concepts independently (for example, as a poster in a school classroom).

Image description: title is “diversity is beautiful.” First row of drawings shows a variety of animals, with the caption “diversity in the animal world / there are millions of different kinds of animals – more than we can count!” Second row shows an assortment of kids: from left to right is a person with a limb (arm) difference, person using a wheelchair, person with no visible disability, person signing “hello,” person using forearm crutches, person wearing glasses, person using a white/probing cane. Caption is “diversity of people / people come in a great variety of shapes, sizes, genders, abilities, and appearances – we are all unique!” Third row shows four heads with smiling faces and on foreheads are drawings of multicolored brains, caption is “diversity of human brains / no two brains are alike, but we have names for different types – like ADHD, autistic, dyslexic, typical, & more!” ©Erin Human 2017

Printable PDF:
Diversity is Beautiful (Explained)

Disability 101: Medical Model vs Social Model

ableism, Autism, Disability, Infographics

Disability 101
Medical Model vs Social Model

[image of a question mark]
what is a “model” of disability?
In this case, “model” means a certain way of thinking about disability.
what is the Social Model of Disability?
To understand this concept, it’s useful to compare it to the “medical model” of disability.

[table with Medical Model bullet points at left, vs Social Model bullet points at right]

Medical Model:
The person is disabled by the abnormalities and deficits of their own body and/or brain.
Social Model:
The person is disabled by their environment and its physical, attitudinal, communication, and social barriers.

Medical Model:
Disabled people are broken, abnormal, or damaged versions of human being and should be fixed, cured, and/or prevented.
Social Model:
Disabled people are normal, valid varieties of human being and should have equal rights and access to society, just as they are.

Medical Model:
Since the disabled person’s impairments prevent them from functioning normally, they need caregivers and professionals to make decisions for them. The disabled person is an object of charity and receiver of help.
Social Model:
Since the disabled person is inherently equal, they have a right to autonomy, choice, and free and informed consent in their own lives.

Medical Model:
The disabled person should adjust to fit into society, since they are the one who is not normal. Being part of society means rising above disability.
Social Model:
The disabled person should be supported by society, because they are equal and have a right to inclusion. Their community should adjust its own barriers and biases.

the Social Model of Disability matters…
because disabled people are your equals. We can’t achieve true inclusion in society if we are seen as lesser, even in a seemingly benevolent way!
ALL disabled people have a right to autonomy, no matter how much support they need to communicate their choices.
[image of exclamation point]

sources: People with Disability Australia pwd.org.au; Satu Järvinen, From Shame to Pride: Empowerment of People with Cerebral Palsy, satujarvinen.com; Get A Plan, getaplan.org.uk

Printable PDF can be downloaded for free below:
Disability 101: Medical Model vs Social Model

Autism 101

Autism, Disability, Infographics, Neurodiversity

autism 101

Autism 101

a simple neurodiversity-based explanation
[image of head with brain]

what is autism?

Autism is type of brain wiring (neurological type) that processes information differently than typical brains do.
[image of head with abstract wiring pattern]

This means that autistic thought patterns, sensory perceptions, social interactions, language processing, and emotional regulation all develop differently than those of people who are not autistic.

Modern societies operate in ways that often disadvantage autistic people, which makes autism a developmental disability.

who is autistic?

[image of globe]
About 1-2% of the world’s population is autistic.
Many populations are under-diagnosed, but autistic people are everywhere!

[image of birthday cake]
People of all ages are autistic.
Though people usually talk about autistic children, autistic adults need support too.

[image of three people with varying skin tones and hairstyles]
Autistic people are found across all genders, races, and nationalities.
Boys are diagnosed more often than other genders, but that doesn’t mean they are more likely to be autistic.

Everyone is NOT a little autistic, but everyone is human, so we have lots in common!

This infographic is also available as a printable PDF:

autism 101

Neurodiversity 101

Autism, Disability, Infographics, Neurodiversity

Neurodiversity 101

It’s a big word for a simple idea!

neuro/brain [image of head with brain]
+
diversity/range of different kinds [image of landscape with trees, water, animal]
= a range of different kinds of human brain

neurodiversity is not
– a belief system
– a personal opinion
– a political position
– a theory

by itself, it is just a neutral fact of human life:
neurodiversity exists!

[image of text/speech boxes]
more and more, people are saying they
are pro-neurodiversity
support neurodiversity
celebrate neurodiversity
those are personal opinions; people may agree or disagree that neurodiversity is a good thing, but that it is REAL is undeniable.

bonus neurodiversity vocab words:
neurotypical: having the most common, typical kind of brain
neurodivergent: having any kind of brain that is not neurotypical
neurodiverse: having a variety of people with neurotypical and neurodivergent brains; refers to a group or group environment, such as a family or workplace

This infographic also comes in a printable PDF:

neurodiversity 101