“Who inspires you?” (Response to writing prompt)

Over the summer I’ve been helping out in a high-school English classroom. Each morning, the teacher assigns her students to work from a writing prompt and I decided to tackle those prompts myself. The writing prompt for July 18 was, “Who inspires you?”

Temple Grandin inspires me, because she is a pioneering speaker and presenter from the perspective of a person who is actually autistic, speaking about their experience and offering their “lived expertise.” Taking her example, I strive to raise awareness around my own experiences as an autistic person. One of the highlights of my experience was being a guest with Grandin on a community radio show. As I recall, I was in the studio with the host, and Grandin joined the conversation via a call-in connection.

Discourse around autism is frequently monopolized by people who are not autistic, and it is for this reason that autistic self-advocates reiterate the maxim of the broader disability community: “Nothing about us without us” (ASAN, n.d.). Or, as John Elder Robison said, “[P]arents deserve a seat at the table, but it’s our table. ‘Our’ being us actually autistic people” (Robison, 2017, para 3). Autistic people need to be at the forefront of any discussion concerning autism policy, and what autistic people need.

References:
Autistic Self Advocacy Network. (n.d.) Our motto: What is “Nothing about us without us”? ASAN : Autistic Self Advocacy Network. https://autisticadvocacy.org/about-asan/what-we-believe/

Robison, J.E. (2017, Dec. 6). Thanks for taking the time to write these thoughts to me. I do listen and I appreciate the thought you … [Comment on a blog post by Radical Neurodivergence Speaking]. http://timetolisten.blogspot.com/2017/12/open-letter-to-john-elder-robison-on.html?showComment=1512570318648#c3656901920289911574