Dear Friends,

Respecting people’s stories is very important to our team. Many of you have stories with I CAN Network, whether through our National Online Mentoring Program, I CAN School Program or through our content. We would love to hear your feedback on your experience with us, so we can strengthen what is working and improve our Autistic-led services for the future. 

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Collectively we are part of a broader neurodiversity movement that promotes Autism acceptance. As many of you know, April 2nd is World Autism Day and April is Autism Acceptance Month.

In that spirit, this newsletter includes some resources that send validating messages to our young people and address challenges in a way which doesn’t signal to them “You’re broken”.

We are also sharing a few of our favourite videos and books for members of our community who want to use April (and beyond) as an opportunity to learn from and amplify Autistic voices. We continue to highlight many respectful, Autistic-led resources on our popular Facebook page and growing Instagram and Twitter accounts, so please join us.

RESOURCES 

Please click on each resource to access them:

- Nurturing Self-Esteem & Pride in Autstic Young People: Autistic young adults from our I CAN Team, supporting our 120-strong schools program, have put together resources and a tip sheet for parents, carers, teachers and other adults of influence.

- Always Remember: Messages and reassurance from Autistic young adults on our team for their younger Autistic peers.

- Staying Connected To Passions & People: Autistic interests can be a wonderful source of comfort, joy and validation. This Autistic-crafted tip sheet was created in the lead up to our AWETISM 2020 Virtual Expo. You & your young people might also enjoy seeing some of our Autistic presenters delve into their respective passions. See playlist (not exhaustive) here.

- What It Means To Be Autistic, a gentle, beautiful “TED-B” talk by I CAN Ambassador Dr Wenn Lawson, geared toward Autistic young people.

- The Awesome Autistic Go-To Guide: A Practical Handbook For Autistic Teens & Tweens by Yenn Purkis & Tanya Masterman, one of our favourite resources for Autistic young people.

School holiday reading recommendations: - The members of That Au-Some Book Club, an international online book club, put together these outstanding recommendations of Autism & Neurodiversity-positive books for kids and teens. Most of these books can be purchased via online book vendors. View list here.

AUTISTIC-LED RESOURCES 

- LISTEN, a short film made with and by non speaking Autistics, including a number of young people. We urge everyone in our network to watch and share this incredible work, which includes links to a resource kit.

- Changing the Narrative. The closing session of our AWETISM 2020 Virtual Expo, featuring Chris Varney, Wenn Lawson, Yenn Purkis & Steve Silberman.

- How My Unstoppable Mother Proved The Experts Wrong, the 2013 TEDx talk that laid the foundation for I CAN Network.

- Why Everything You Know About Autism Is Wrong, a captivating 2019 TEDx talk by Dr Jac den Houting of Macquarie University.

- Ask An Autistic: What Is Autism?, from Amythest Schaber. An excellent overview of Autism.

- Understanding The Spectrum - A Comic Strip Explanation by Rebecca Burgess, a very helpful visual depiction of the Autism Spectrum.

- 100ish books on Autism & Neurodiversity by the aforementioned That Au-Some Book Club includes a diverse array of books, including many by Autistic authors. Of special note is I CAN Ambassador Tim Chan’s 2019 autobiography, Back From The Brink, co-written with his mum Sarah.

Thank you for your support and feedback in advance!
We look forward to celebrating Autistic Pride Day with you on Friday 18th June, 2021. 

Chris Varney and the I CAN team