The good and the bad of autism community meetings

First, I'll say the bad; it does not actually involve me but makes me angry. You remember me recommended the blog Autism News Beat ? Well, it is run by a parent of an autistic person. So logically, you would think they would be welcome at a Talk About Curing Autism Now meeting after paying $50, right? No, they denied access to them because they were "disruptive" at the last meeting. Apparently, having a dissenting opinion about vaccines and autism is "disruptive". I fail to see what sense this makes, and besides, if TACA has solid proof of the "vaccine connection", wouldn't they jump at the chance to prove it to somebody who runs a well read site about autism?

Okay...


And the good: I was delighted to be invited to attend Virginia Beach's Autism Stakeholders Meeting. Basically, it is a group of people meeting to find out what resources are already out there in Virginia Beach and brainstorm what needs to be added and improved. I am just over the moon happy at how JoAnn Bryant from the Autism Society of America felt I would be a good contribution to the meeting. I have to say, everybody at the meeting was respectful to me and valued my opinions. I wish more organizations would try to include people on the Autism spectrum in important meetings like this.

I learned quite a few fascinating things, including that the public schools are teaching fourth and fifth graders about Autism in order to lessen bullying. I also learned a lot about different resources out there in Virginia Beach. I will be researching them in more detail and writing about them.

Also, if you are looking for resources in the local Hampton Roads area or in the United States, here is the link: