Dear Friends,
It has been longer than anticipated since my last post! I came down with something, and Tara got it, too. I am all better now, and she is okay, if still tired. So here I am at long last.
So I hinted at some schemes for the summer. One is to bring together people through casual coffee hours, where people can learn more about spellers in an open and friendly environment, for adults around my age. This is my idea to help people who have no direct experience with nonspeakers learn to better relate to us. It is my answer to all the “socialization training” that autistics are expected to go through. Just kidding (kind of)! But it does address an obvious need in society: better informing the public of our realities.
I believe that ignorance is a big reason why disabled lives are seen as less worthy. It is not the only reason, but it is the easiest to address. I want people my age, who would never have had a chance to interact with me even if they had attended my high school at the same time as me, to get to know me and to see that I am more than they were taught to see me as. I want to empower them to see my peers as theirs, to better know how to interact with us. And I want to give myself a chance to restore my faith in people.
This will also give me another reason to hang out in coffee shops. Which I always love.
We will plan the first one for last June. I am excited for this!
This is just one of my fun ideas for the coming months. What do you think?
Your Friend,
Danny
Danny With Words 