Autistic Self Advocacy Network

Washington, District of Columbia

The Autistic Self Advocacy Network is run by and for Autistic people. ASAN was created to serve as a national grassroots disability rights organization for the Autistic community, and does so by advocating for systems change and ensuring that the voices of Autistic people are heard in policy debates and the halls of power while working to educate communities and improve public perceptions of autism. ASAN’s members and supporters include Autistic adults and youth, cross-disability advocates, and non-autistic family members, professionals, educators and friends.

Our Unique Contribution

A parent kills their disabled child. The media portrays these murders as justifiable and inevitable due to the “burden” of having a disabled person in the family. If the parent stands trial, they are given sympathy and comparatively lighter sentences, if they are sentenced at all. The victims are disregarded, blamed for their own murder at the hands of the person they should have been able to trust the most, and ultimately forgotten. ASAN works to bring awareness to these tragedies, demand justice and equal protection under the law for all people with disabilities, and prevent further murders.

Featured Publications and Resources

Anti-Filicide Toolkit

This toolkit is intended to provide advocates and allies with concrete tools and resources to use in their own communities, including in response to local incidents. The toolkit includes information about how to understand and respond to filicide, frequently asked questions about filicide, and a guidebook for Day of Mourning vigil site coordinators.
Holding Inclusive Events: A Guide to Accessible Event Planning

Does your self-advocacy organization have events? Do you or your self-advocacy organization want to learn how to make your events accessible to people with disabilities? This guide has the instructions to set up accessible events and conferences. “Accessible” means people can fully participate in conferences. Accessible event planning includes four steps. These four steps are universal design, physical accessibility, sensory accessibility, and cognitive accessibility.
Planning Accessible and Inclusive Organizing Trainings: Strategies for Decreasing Barriers to Participation for People with I/DD

Historically, people with I/DD have been warehoused in institutions, and there is often a false assumption that we cannot speak for ourselves or be involved in advocacy and community organizing. The idea that we aren’t able to make decisions about our own lives, such as where to live, contributed to this systemic institutionalization. This is why self-advocacy, the ability of people with disabilities to speak for ourselves in order to have control over our own lives, is such an important skill in the disability community. One way that self-advocacy is taught is through leadership and community organizing trainings, where individuals can learn about the societal problems facing their communities and gain strategies on how to address these systemic issues. This paper is intended to address some of the common barriers to our participation in these trainings, and change the way organizers think about people with I/DD.

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