Catch Kennedy, Alex and Bella on #LifeGoals Podcast out now

Kennedy, Alex and Bella Zoe Areffi had a chance to stop by one of their favorite podcasts and talk about Anime. They cover the best, the worst, the first one you watched and the, “Oh god, never again.” Definitely worth a listen. #autism #anime Have a listen here Check out #LifeGoals at their website #Lifegoals.com … Read more

Autism Teen Tasered, Who’s to Blame?

Kansas City Star reports a textbook case of lack of training by police departments – but loss of communication between our community and law enforcement. I know – most of us think we have too much on our plates – but who else is going to educate people?

Honestly, if someone came up into your yard towards your front door, and when they realized you were home, took off running, would you assume autism or suspicious person?  Be honest. If you were home alone, would you call the police of an apparently grown man was in your yard and you thought he behaved in a suspicious manner?  

I don’t expect the police to be able to psychoanalyze and identify someone with autism in under a minute.  This is another example where we always think that we – or someone else that knows them- will be there. 

What if it was an active shooter situation, near a school or mall?  He would’ve been shot for non-compliance on sight.  We don’t know what route he was jogging. 

However, let’s take this case solely on the details reported. They claim Kramer was low functioning enough to not realize what was happening or able to respond to basic commands or communicate.  If the young man was that low functioning, what was he doing jogging alone that far from home, without assistance?  We all saw what happened to the teen that was tortured on FB. My children know their way home, and all of our children SHOULD be acquainted with law enforcement in a non-confrontational manner – but I wouldn’t allow them to take off on their own.  Realistically – taking out the “bad policeman” scenario. What if he ran into a confrontation from another jogger, a mugger, a person with a scary dog off leash?  What if he accidentally ended up in someone’s back yard?  Not all yards have fences. That could have gone wrong to the extreme. 

In terminology we’ve all been taught – there needs to be a proactive plan in place. And honestly, we are working on that and will keep you updated. 

#autism

#police

#lawenforcement

#policelivesmatter

#autismlivesmatter

Read Full Article Here

 

Autism hate crime – will your child be next?

Autism hate crime?  Seriously?  Okay, what is the wold coming to?
Folks, we are all over the world with autism and other special needs. Don’t care about politics, race, religion, sexual orientation or any other thing that divides us.

Ask yourself this, do your children understand the danger of repeating something?

I can tell you mine don’t. I don’t even know where to begin to explain the concept of “hate consequences.”

Our eldest child, Kennedy, is on the autism spectrum.  She is studying racism and the civil rights movement. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is a hero of hers. But she doesn’t grasp the concept of personal racism. If you ask her her race, she looks at you and says “American.” To her, we are all black, white, red, brown, caramel, and everything in between. We are straight, gay, transgender. We are just different variations of the same race.

For our kids, it seems that easy. “Why don’t those people like the others?”
“Because they’re different.”
“But that’s stupid.”
“Yes.”

Sorry to be long winded – but are our kids the new generation of thinking we should strive for, or just be terrified that they will be attacked by ignorant racists in any color?

This isn’t politics. On this forum, we span continents and transcend any one government.

How do we prepare our kids and keep them safe? I, for one, certainly don’t want to teach her to hate.

Read the full Article here

Could special screenings lead to segregation?

Could special screenings lead to segregation?  It’s not heard to imagine someone saying the words, “separate but equal.”  Imagine if you will other paying customers complaining at the disruption of a child who has a stimming behavior of tapping his foot or humming or both?  Do paying customers have the right to complain?  After all … Read more