Thomas Ledbetter

I will never forget when autism parents discovered autistic adults on the internet and their first thought was, "finally, someone who will understand how hard my life is" and we had to explain to them that we identified more with the children in their stories than with them as the parents.

RFK Jr. claims new research effort will find cause of ‘autism epidemic’ by September | CNN The US Department of Health and Human Services has launched a “massive testing and research effort” involving hundreds of scientists worldwide that will determine “what has caused the autism epidemic”...

Say it with me, folks.

Autism. IS. NOT. AN. EPIDEMIC.

The issue is not whether "vaccines cause autism". The issue is the idea of finding a "cause" at all - something that organizations such as A$, the ASF, and the NCSA have continually pushed for.

This is horrific.

amp.cnn.com/cnn/2025/04/...

Before You Donate to Autism Speaks, Consider the Facts Very little money donated to Autism Speaks goes toward helping autistic people and families.

#AutismAcceptanceMonth starts tomorrow. Please don't give to Autism Speaks; their $$ rarely supports autistic people/families, and their 'awareness' work portrays autistic people as burdens, not humans. From @autisticadvocacy.org, a good org to support instead.

autisticadvocacy.org/considerthef...

YAY! I hope we can never, ever stop accepting our autism and sharing our little bits of struggles and dreams and hopes and joys with the world. We deserve to exist and find our happiness, and you being part of that is so wonderful. Thank you so much for being here and being you!!! 🥰

When your tweet about a ship in a video game gets more attention than the ones about autism and disability rights even though that's literally your life 😂

(I really appreciate all the love on that btw, I'm not upset at all! But for those who are new here, hi! I'm an autistic advocate! :))

U.S. Department of Education Initiates Reduction in Force As part of the Department of Education’s final mission, the Department today initiated a reduction in force (RIF) impacting nearly 50% of the Department’s workforce.

ASAN is deeply alarmed by massive layoffs to the Department of Education (ED). ED staff play a vital role in protecting the civil rights of students and ensuring students with disabilities receive a free and appropriate public education. buff.ly/NzKZbcz

Absolutely Admiral, thank you for the blessing and well-wishes :)

My typical post would usually be on my Sagan, but we seemed to have gotten caught in a temporal vortex and are in the 23rd century. Not that I'm complaining about the temporary reassignment - the Shangri-La is a fine lass indeed 💕

!!!!! 💖💖💖

The rainbow coloring, the way the ships and their best aspects are highlighted here, the TMP-era callbacks - I couldn't think of any better way to introduce these fantastic ships to such a wonderful community. You did an absolutely phenomenal job here!! 🥰

I just want to say the most heartfelt thank you to you and the STO team for your work on the Shangri-La. This has been such an awful week, and finally seeing her in the game - especially as a Command ship - legit made me cry tears of joy. She's absolutely perfect and I cannot wait to fly her ❤️💙

I see my friends and people doing so many incredible projects and making a difference, and I feel like I'm just...nothing. Try to get in touch with people to collaborate? Doesn't work. I can do stuff on my own, but it all feels so...lonely. Like people don't care and it doesn't matter

@thomasthecat.bsky.social @daveblass.bsky.social Hi there, I have a super quick question - where are the escape pods on Picard-era ships like the Sagan and Connie III? I can see details like RCS thrusters, transporter grills, docking ports - are the escape pods instead internal?

Thank you all for being here, and for being you - all that you are, and all that you strive to be. I promise you with all of my heart, you are more than enough, and you always will be. 💕

And my mission for the rest of my life is to work to continually earn that honor - to earn the immensity of everything the autistic community has gifted me: the friendship, love, purpose and hope.

That hope has kept me and all that I cherish alive, and I cannot thank you enough.

An advisor once told me "the autistic community is lucky to have you".

That's not true. In fact, quite the opposite. I'm the one who is lucky to have you.

Serving the autistic people I love, uplifting and embracing us, fighting for our fundamental rights - it's beyond a privilege and an honor.

Isn't it great when you learn that the lead contractor planning your house renovation casually talks about how he believes the government is putting chemicals in everyone's food and drinks that are making people autistic?

Isn't that just wonderful and incredible? 🙃🙃🙃

Precisely. It really feels like the bottom is falling out and societally the moral standards are so in the floor.

Absolutely - it's not at all shocking that this is where Singer's stance is on RFK given her history. It doesn't make it any less horrific and awful for autistic people though - it was just as wrong and awful then as it is now now. I'm insanely sad that decades work has only gotten us so far.

This is absolutely horrifying on Singer's part. And yet unsurprising given the narrative regarding the way autistic people are portrayed constantly within neurotypical spaces - a prime example being the statement from Senator Maggie Hassan during the RFK Jr. hearing.

www.nytimes.com/2025/01/30/u...

Vaccines DO NOT cause autism.

But what the autistic people in your life hear when you spread that widely debunked misinformation is that you would prefer to have a child die a painful death from eradicated communicable disease than to be like them.

That's nasty work.

Hope this helps!

RFK Jr. confirmed as Trump's health secretary, over Democrats' loud objections Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. wins confirmation to be President Trump's secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. The vote was 52 to 48.

An absolute abomination and tragedy on all levels for public health, disabled/autistic people, everyone. When even the parents who push for autism cures are against this and THAT isn't enough to stop him, it demonstrates how little autistic voices matter to our country.

www.npr.org/sections/sho...

THOMAS I AM ABOUT TO CRY YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH I ADORE THIS

Yeah, this is not positive. There are many ways to help autistic people, mainly through accommodations, and we could use more of those, and more research on how to make life easier for us.

Whereas the desire to find the "cause" of autism is a eugenicist one. It is not to help us.

I have MANY feelings on this to process - most of them not good. This ideology of looking at what is responsible for autism/disability and treating it gives no acknowledgment of the discrimination and oppression that led to us being scapegoated for the anti-vax movement. We are not to be cured.

YouTube video by Stu1701 Theory Craft: Shangri-La Class | Star Trek Online

If anyone at Cryptic/DECA is reading any of this, I just want to make sure that you're aware of this lovely video about what a ship like this could look like stats-wise. I really love the way this was approached and I hope you do too! Fingers crossed 🤞🖖

www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNwG...

I can't believing I'm having to say this:

Autism is not an excuse for Nazi rhetoric or salutes or anything resembling that. THAT IS NOT AUTISM

All the parallel does is dehumanize and harm autistic people by assocoation w/out the context of WHY his ties to Trump's fascism make his salute fascist.

I always go back to this quote from Huey P. Netwon:

"It is incorrect to seek power over people. We have been subjected to the dehumanizing power of exploitation and racism for hundreds of years...What we seek, however, is not power over people, but the power to control our own destiny."

BEING AUTISTIC IS NOT A CRIME.

#neurodiversity #autism #autistic

You know what I can't shake the feeling about? That even under our administration before today in the US, disability rights and advocacy wasn't a primary issue. Disabled people are struggling with awful healthcare systems, constant stigma, and non-disabled people deciding what it means for them to exist or not. And that was under a Democratic leadership that ostensibly cared about the rights of other intersecting minority groups - which means that after today, and for the next four years (and maybe beyond), disability rights, neurodiversity, and advocacy will be bottom-of-the-list issues for our governmental climate.

We will continue to not be seen as significant or important, and we will continue to suffer and die. Not because it's inherent to our lives, but because of systems and cultures that non-disabled people have created and refuse to dismantle. And for that and so much more, President Trump does not deserve to hold the mantle of one of the highest offices in the world. But to this little community of mine, I want you to know that we are important to each other and deserve the love and joy and rights as much as anybody else. And I'll keep fighting for it even knowing that the fight won't ever be quite finished. But it's sure as hell going to be an awful next few years. Stay safe, my lovely, endlessly beautiful and wonderful disabled friends ❤️

My statement on the inaguration of President Donald Trump today:

Disabled people matter so, so much, but we don't seem to matter to our governmental systems and culture - and certainly won't under Trump.

Christmas to me isn't about surprises or even giving gifts. It's about sharing and enjoying the love that - quite frankly - we should be freely giving to one another every day, and taking in the ordinary, small, wonderful moments and making them extraordinary.

That doesn't mean that I'm not appreciative of the thought - it's why I'm always polite and make clear that I understood their intent. But if you feel bad about giving a gift someone doesn't like or expect when you know full well their brain thrives on sameness, then is the giving really about them?