By Suzanna Chen (she/they pronouns)
I proudly identify as Autistic. I am reaching out to you as a member of Detester Magazine, a non-profit platform dedicated to amplifying BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) youth activism on socio-political issues.
We, alongside the platform, Learn from Autistics, are collecting research for a book on #ActuallyAutistic youth/young adult advocacy for inclusion in all areas of society, with particular emphasis on the intersection of disability and race—although respondents do NOT have to be a person of color nor a youth/young adult. We believe that all Autistics have valuable voices to share.
Topics to be discussed will include the educational, racial, social, and emotional inclusion of Autistic youths in all areas of society—including encounters with the police. We believe that Autistic youth testimonies on these crucial topics are valuable to everyone, and we want to provide a platform for them with our book.
We have created a Google Form survey to collect authentic Autistic voices. Although, please be aware that because it is quite long in order to cover the many topics we are interested in, it might be overwhelming if completed at once. The survey’s introduction explains how to make a copy of the survey for you to work at your own pace and paste your answers into the survey later. The survey is available here: https://forms.gle/ZfCXsMLSxTdduT828
There is a comprehensive disclaimer about how we respect respondents’ privacy, but please don’t hesitate to connect with us via email (reply to this one or email [email protected]) if there are any questions or concerns.
We are confident in this project’s potential and would sincerely appreciate it if you can contribute with your powerful opinions or help us share this opportunity on your platform.
Suzanna (she/they) is an arguably eccentric but #ActuallyAutistic undergraduate student at University College London (UCL). Standing at the intersection of gender, racial, and ability minorities, she is immensely passionate about advocating for the overlooked intersectionality of social justice issues. She welcomes connections within the neurodiverse community and encourages you to explore her work via her Instagram—@suzannachen8
