Understanding the intersection between autism, race, and mental health can be a challenge, even for seasoned mental healthcare practitioners and policymakers. In our Autism, Race, and Mental Health policy brief, we outlined some ways that service providers can improve mental healthcare for autistic people of color, from understanding the ways autistic people express themselves to…
Psychosis is an altered state connected with several psychosocial disabilities, including schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and bipolar disorder. In psychosis, people’s perceptions of reality become substantially different from others’. The main symptoms of psychosis are hallucinations (sensory perceptions that others may not see) and delusions (unusual, fixed beliefs that don’t match consensus reality). Psychosis can be…
Happy Mental Health Awareness Month! Throughout the month of May, we’ll be sharing posts about race, autism, and mental health, covering a wide array of topics, including healthcare, policy, and practical tips to support autistic people of color with their mental health.
We’re proud to celebrate Autism Acceptance Month at the Autistic People of Color Fund. Every April, we celebrate being autistic and what being autistic means for us. What does autism acceptance mean? Autism acceptance means that it’s OK to be autistic. It’s OK to be disabled. It’s OK to get help when you need it. …
Happy Autism Acceptance Month! At long last, we’re proud to introduce two new policy briefs: Autism, Race, and Employment (by Finn Gardiner, Lydia X. Z. Brown, and Mira Bhattacharya) and Autism, Race, and Mental Health (by Finn Gardiner, Lydia X. Z. Brown, and Natalia Rivera Morales). We hope both these reports will help advocates, policymakers,…
Who are we? The Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network (AWN) and the Autistic People of Color Fund (The Fund) strongly oppose the anti-transgender bills, laws, executive orders, and regulations introduced by state governments. AWN is a national nonprofit that supports autistic women, girls, transfeminine and transmasculine nonbinary people, and trans people of all genders. The…
We condemn the modification of the College Board’s Advanced Placement (AP) African American Studies curriculum to remove content that involves an intersectional understanding of racial justice. By erasing the contributions of Black people who experience multiple forms of marginalization at once, the curriculum diminishes the cumulative effects of misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, and other forms of…
The Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network and the Autistic People of Color Fund are saddened to hear of the tragic mass shooting in Nashville, Tennessee, where a shooter killed three adults and three elementary school-aged children. First and foremost, we acknowledge the pain, suffering, and trauma that the victims’ family, friends, and colleagues, as well…
We are devastated to hear of the death of Judy Heumann at the age of 75. A longtime advocate, organizer, and mentor, Judy Heumann galvanized disability activists and the broader community through her dedication to disabled people’s civil rights and liberties, both within the United States and abroad. Judy’s passion for disability activism was sparked…
We’re proud to announce the release of two new policy briefs: The Dirty Truth about Clean Eating and Autism, Race, and Housing Justice. Based on our policy priorities set out in our 2022 Community Priorities Policy Report, these briefs describe current policies and practices regarding food justice and housing—and offer policymakers potential solutions to address…
The Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network (AWN) and the Autistic People of Color Fund (the Fund) are profoundly saddened and angered to learn of the murder of Tyre Nichols by five police officers in Memphis, Tennessee. First, we acknowledge the pain that Tyre’s family, friends, and colleagues doubtless feel after his killing. Because of his…
We at the Autistic People of Color Fund are profoundly saddened to hear that Lois Curtis, a pioneering disability activist, artist, and public speaker, died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 55. As a Black woman with multiple disabilities, Curtis spent her life fighting discrimination, prejudice, and marginalization at multiple fronts. Lois Curtis was…