Suggested Self-Advocacy Strategies
February 21, 2013Some useful self-advocacy strategies:
1. Make phone calls to local television and radio stations, and talk about the issue you want to take action on. Try to briefly and clearly make your case and explain why the issue is important to you. This can be extremely difficult for people who have severe telephone anxiety issues, including yours truly. Planning and writing a script of what you will say to the person on the other end may be helpful. (write an example and link to it)
2. A letter-writing campaign. (explain more about this later)
3. Get a group together and protest at cure-oriented events such as the Autism Speaks Walks. (perhaps talk about ASAN’s Autism Speaks protest and link to the blog post about it)
4. If you have supportive family members/friends, practice advocating for yourself with them. Ask them to roleplay: for example someone can take on the role of (insert desired role here) from whom you need (insert need here)
This is something I want to do one day. I wonder how to be an advocate in a country like mine, less people know what autism is, there is no ASAN, no autistic groups I know of. I think the lack of support, the problems I would face and my general anxiety and problems are not a good combination today, maybe another time.
I also have little contact with autistic people online and I don’t know anyone interested in autism.
It would be difficult to know exactly what to do.