Ivanova Smith

Yeah. So many people like that think that if you can post on the internet, you must be Level 1 and not need any support.

I remember many times in autistic subreddits there would be an Autism Mom/Dad yelling at people any how they don’t understand what it’s like, because apparently they assumed everyone there was Level 1 (they weren’t), or telling them they don’t need any accommodations like their child does.

I love getting to work with her on AASPIRE

My Autistic Son Needs Extensive Supports. And Yet, I Oppose Labels Like "Severe Autism." — THINKING PERSON'S GUIDE TO AUTISM Recently my teen autistic son and I walked around a fancy shopping center, while his sibling was at a nearby appointment (public strolls are not always something he can do, but that day he was up for ...

People may assume that anyone who claims to advocate for autistic people is a good person. This is often not true; many parent-run autism organizations actively oppose autistics on autism issues, specifically orgs like NCSA and @autismsciencefd.bsky.social:

thinkingautismguide.com/2019/01/im-p...

Also note that anti- #neurodiversity parent-led orgs National Council on Severe Autism (NCSA) and @autismsciencefd.bsky.social are NOT among the Autism and Disability Organizations at next week’s @aapd-disability.bsky.social National Roundtable Discussion:

www.aapd.com/autism-round...

That good thing we can’t let them take away our rights

Connecting on AAC Research Opportunities If you are a researcher or an AAC user interested in research opportunities!

Looking to connect on AAC Research Opportunities? @communicationfirst.bsky.social
has agreed to help facilitate more participatory research in the field by helping to connect researchers (whether or not they use AAC) and people who need and use AAC:

communicationfirst.org/connecting-o...

Autism diagnoses are on the rise – but autism itself may not be Autism is better known and diagnosed than ever before, leading to misconceptions that cases are skyrocketing.

On autism disinfo: "A lot of people want not only an explanation but something to blame […] The resulting vacuum has created space for simplistic ideas to spread—even those that lack evidence & have been repeatedly debunked." @autisticadvocacy.org's Zoe Gross, at BBC:

www.bbc.co.uk/future/artic...

THINKING PERSON'S GUIDE TO AUTISM Autism news and resources: from autistic people, professionals, and parents.

It took a week to (mostly) recover from attending #INSAR2025, the International Meeting for Autism Research (we loved being there; it was also exhausting).

We'll start posting our official conference coverage soon, at www.ThinkingAutismGuide.com. Stay tuned!

Research aimed at finding out what a few different stakeholder groups think often don't handle folks who belong to multiple stakeholder groups/have multiple roles very well. Makes it hard for autistic researchers, for example, or autistic parents of autistic kids.

#AutINSAR #INSAR2025

Nope forcing people into any medical treatment is not ethical and people think that ok are promoting medical model abliesm not all body react same to treatments force never ok!

Grant: Not including underrepresented autistics (with ID/HSNs) is AGAINST the #neurodiversity paradigm, which for autism is about the heterogeneity of the autistic community. We need to share power.

#INSAR2025

And w/o denigrating the urgency of HSN people’s needs, mostly speaking autistics like me lose speech more frequently than non-autistics may think. However short my periods of speech loss may be, at those times my self-advocacy skills dip too.

Square Canva graphic with a dark gray background. In the center is a white blob. At the top, red all-caps slanted text reads, "Today in Hell Yes, Research!" Next, black text reads, "“We should use the terms ‘non-speaking’ or ‘minimally speaking,’ because they are preferred over ‘nonverbal’ and ‘minimally verbal’ by autistic people these terms attempt to describe.” Next, dark gray all-caps slanted text reads, "Bottema-Beutel, Zisk, Zimmerman, & Yu." At the bottom, small black text reads, "tinyurl.com/NonSpeakingNotNonVerbal" and "@ThinkingAutism".

The terms 'non-speaking' and 'minimally speaking' are more useful than 'nonverbal' and 'minimally verbal,' as the latter "may hamper research, practice, & policy efforts aimed at improving the lives of the autistic people who purportedly belong to these groups."

journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

What happened to your socialized medicine seem UK has same problems as US we more alike then not…….

I don’t understand where opponents of the Neurodiversity framework even get the idea that we are denying disability. I see myself as sometimes benefiting from the differences my autistic brain generates, and sometimes disabled by those differences. Many things can be true at once. #INSAR2025

More on the (common, despite professionals denying it exists) autistic profile of folks who can do academics, go to college, but are pretty severely disabled in terms of functional pragmatics, novel problem-solving, independent-living skills in general, etc.

I’m encouraged that she admitted that her view is in the minority.

Disappointed that Singer and Siegel doubled down on the importance of dividing the autistic community when asked what commonalities we can all come together and agree upon.

@johnmarble.bsky.social your question was so poignant and appreciated!

#INSAR2025 #autres

This is why a virtual option would be so valuable. We need to see more humans like Grant! #ListenToNonSpeakers.
Damon Kirsebom was the ONLY Non-Speaker on a panel at the #CALS last week and he could not join in person so we saw a brief video from him but he also attended virtually.

No virtual option just shows how far behind the research is.

A 6 #AutINSAR I like see more Research on adoption trauma in autistic adoptees

On burnout and also how we metabolize medication differently, or our sensitivities to medication. Seconding the sleep issues as well.

A7: @drmbothapsych.bsky.social says that being wrong, especially having a paper retracted, can end your career. @autisticenough.bsky.social says that this is less likely for white men. Much more risky for other researchers. #AutINSAR @INSAR2025

A7: Dena Gassner says that there are a lot of people who have good hearts and then realize that they've done harm. And there's no support for them to be supported through growth. We need to be more welcoming and forgiving, and provide a safe landing space.

#AutINSAR #INSAR2025

A7: Dr. Botha IRL says too many researchers are writing for their peers. Because terrified for their jobs. It causes a toxic culture of writing for the wrong people. #AutINSAR #INSAR2025

A7: @zahrablue.bsky.social says that there's also a fear of being wrong, so if you say something boldly, you have to be brave, and that's hard. #AutINSAR #INSAR2025