Ollibean Think Tank

Ollibean Think Tank2012-06-27T10:32:21+00:00

Senator Harkin Delivers Speech in ASL Upon ADA Passage in 1990

Upon passage of the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) on July 13th, 1990, Senator Tom Harkin delivered a speech on the Senate floor in American Sign Language. Harkin, whose brother Frank was deaf, was the lead Senate author of the ADA, which was enacted later that year. His speech is the first in American Sign Language to be delivered from the Senate floor.

  • Image description: Photograph of screenshot of C-SPAN a light skinned man with black hair. He is wearing glasses and a dark grey suit, light shirt and maroon tie. Ari Ne'eman Autistic Self Advocacy Network

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

Changing the Paradigm

Sir Ken Robinson on education reform. "Changing Paradigms in Public Education" covers the importance of thinking differently about human capacity , recognizing the benefits of collaborative learning, and changing the culture of our institutions.

Krip-Hop Nation: Music, Advocacy and Education

"Where were the other people who looked like me as a Black disabled young man? With this continuous question of race and disability along with my love of poetry and music, I started to question the arena of music and performance around the representation of musicians with disabilities, especially disabled musicians of color." - Leroy F. Moore, Jr.

‘Autistic People Are’ by Amy Sequenzia

Autistic People Are

 

Awesome!

 

Autistic People are the real experts on autism.

 

Autistic people are not

more complicated than non-autistics.

Autistic people are

misunderstood and mischaracterized by non-autistics.

 

Autistic people are artistic and we don’t need speech to show our talents.

 

Autistic people

Mother

This is for every person who embodies the meaning of motherhood. This is for the ones who nurture and protect, who never consider their lives more important than the lives of the ones being nourished, educated, protected and loved.

Acceptance

Welcome new Ollibean writer, Amy Sequenzia! We know you’re going to love her blog and her poems……..
“Accepting myself is

Open Letter To Jon Stewart

When I met Jon Stewart I was very disappointed by his lack of knowledge and sensitivity toward autism. During a recent interview, while still a bit condescending, his views seem to have evolved. This is my open letter to him.

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