Autism and Social Media

Increasingly, people with autism and other disabilities, along with their supporters and allies, are using  social media  to press their concerns.  Many are responding to the case in Kentucky where a school used a duffel bag to restrain Chris Baker, an autistic nine-year-old who had misbehaved. Laura Shumaker writes at The San Francisco Chronicle:

Lydia Brown, an 18-year-old university student who also has autism , learned about Chris from a story on Landon Bryce’s blog ThAutcast.com and launched the petition on Change.org calling on the school to fire the teacher and institute a comprehensive training program in the school district.

More than 7,000 people have joined the campaign in the first 24 hours.
“Clearly there is anger over the alleged treatment of this boy, and the growth of this campaign is quite remarkable,” said Benjamin Joffe-Walt, director of communications for Change.org, the world’s fastest growing online campaigns platform. “Armed with only a laptop and without any funding or support, an autistic 18-year-old has recruited some 10,000 supporters in less than 24 hours, with dozens joining every minute.”

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To learn more about Change.org, CLICK HERE.To sign Lydia’s petition, CLICK HERE.To learn about Landon Bryce and ThAutcast, CLICK HERE.Need to explain autism to someone? CLICK HERE for a primer.

(Post adapted from Autism Policy and Politics)