Ollibean Think Tank

The Importance of Supports

"If we invested a mere one-tenth of the amount of money that we currently pour into causation into empowering Autistic people to communicate, that young man and hundreds of thousands more like him would be able to communicate their needs to us today. I am not here today to speak for every Autistic person – that’s impossible. What I am here for is to argue for every Autistic person to have the same opportunity to communicate that I have come to enjoy thanks to the support that I have been lucky enough to receive in my life." Ari Ne'eman

Top 3 FAQs About Inclusive Education

Parents naturally want what is best for their child, particularly when it comes to education. If a parent is not very familiar with inclusive education or had a child in an inclusive school, they have

Inclusive Educational Practices for Students with Special Needs

Studies have shown when kids with disabilities are educated in inclusive settings, the classrooms are better for all of the students.

Amy Sequenzia: “Just Me”

Amy Sequenzia writes about rejecting society's many labels. Perceptions such as “super spectacular” autistic and “low-functioning” are equally harmful .

Presuming Competence

We Are Not In Our Own World

We need to be careful about how we think about and talk about people with disabilities. One example is the reference that those who are autistic or deaf or blind or have some sort of movement differences are “in their own world.”

Judith Snow ~ Relationships & Inclusion

"The research shows that when a child who is not academically gifted is included in a regular school, not only do the academics improve across the school, and I did say that, I didn’t say “in the classroom”, I said “across the school”, not only do the academics improve, but drug use and violence goes down."

Facebook blocks NC mom’s pictures of Special Olympics event

Diane Cornwell said her seven year old, Cole, who happens to have Down Syndrome had a great time at his first Special Olympics event last Friday. She uploaded an album of 40 pictures to share and says Facebook blocked it for inappropriate content and locked her account.

“Loud Hands – Autistic People, Speaking” A Review

The title of the book should be enough for anyone who wants to know, know more or know anything, about autism and Autistics to buy it and read it.

2014 Joint Letter to the Sponsors of Autism Speaks

January 6, 2014

To the Sponsors, Donors, and Supporters of Autism Speaks:

We, the undersigned organizations representing the disability community, are writing to urge you to end your support for Autism Speaks. We profoundly appreciate your interest