In the Canadian disability rights movement, with regards to autism specifically, there has been a shift towards recognizing what is called a social model of disability. Through this movement, there has been a desire to incorporate that model into practice in governments, institutions, and healthcare. This desire also stems from advocate-centric and first-voice communities, where disabilities like autism are not viewed through a deficit-based lens. This article aims to discuss the often polarizing social and medical models of disability, comparing their uses in the disability world while weighing their respective benefits. Finally, an alternative model of disability that intersects these models is discussed as an alternative. This model is called the International Classification of Functioning, which recognizes three levels that impair a disabled person: the body, the person, and the environment. It is from this focus that policy can be developed to answer the calls of the pan-disability movement; to provide equitable changes across services and domains that are rightly deserved for Autistic and disabled people.
{"title":"Equity: What Model Should We Use When We Talk About Autism?","authors":"Rebekah Kintzinger","doi":"10.15173/cjae.v1i1.4982","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15173/cjae.v1i1.4982","url":null,"abstract":"In the Canadian disability rights movement, with regards to autism specifically, there has been a shift towards recognizing what is called a social model of disability. Through this movement, there has been a desire to incorporate that model into practice in governments, institutions, and healthcare. This desire also stems from advocate-centric and first-voice communities, where disabilities like autism are not viewed through a deficit-based lens. This article aims to discuss the often polarizing social and medical models of disability, comparing their uses in the disability world while weighing their respective benefits. Finally, an alternative model of disability that intersects these models is discussed as an alternative. This model is called the International Classification of Functioning, which recognizes three levels that impair a disabled person: the body, the person, and the environment. It is from this focus that policy can be developed to answer the calls of the pan-disability movement; to provide equitable changes across services and domains that are rightly deserved for Autistic and disabled people. ","PeriodicalId":123262,"journal":{"name":"Canadian Journal of Autism Equity","volume":"17 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131537674","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Megan Krasnodembski, Stephanie Côté, Jonathan K Y Lai
Over the past year a pandemic has swept across the world and, unsurprisingly, revealed gross inequalities across all aspects of life. We saw this in the constant pandemic media coverage that overlooked the experiences of the disability community and, more specifically, the autism community, at least at first. Furthermore, let us not forget in the early days of the pandemic that in countries such as Italy, people without disabilities were prioritized for life-saving machines (Andrews et al., 2020; Lund & Ayers, 2020), contributing to a culture of fear for the one in five Canadians with a disability (Morris et al., 2018) about what would happen to them here. As COVID-19 reached Canadian shores we saw this pattern of inequity quickly replicated within our society. For instance, Canadians with developmental disabilities, such as autism, living in residential settings did not receive the same level of support as those living in different kinds of residences such as retirement residences (Abel & Lai, 2020). Likewise, the initial claims that only people with ‘preexisting conditions’ were at risk implied that those at risk were somehow less valuable to society. Nothing has highlighted the very real problem and extent of ableism within Canadian society as a whole more than these injustices arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, and this is what planted the seed for the Canadian Journal of Autism Equity (CJAE).
在过去的一年里,一场大流行病席卷了世界各地,毫不奇怪,它揭示了生活各个方面的严重不平等。我们在持续不断的流行病媒体报道中看到了这一点,这些报道忽视了残疾人群体的经历,更具体地说,是自闭症群体的经历,至少一开始是这样。此外,我们不要忘记,在大流行的早期,在意大利等国家,残疾人被优先考虑使用救生设备(Andrews等人,2020年;Lund & Ayers, 2020),导致五分之一的加拿大残疾人(Morris et al., 2018)对他们在这里会发生什么感到恐惧。随着COVID-19抵达加拿大海岸,我们看到这种不平等模式在我们的社会中迅速复制。例如,患有发育障碍的加拿大人,如自闭症,生活在住宅环境中,没有得到与生活在不同类型住宅(如退休住宅)的人相同水平的支持(Abel & Lai, 2020)。同样,最初声称只有有“既存疾病”的人才有风险,这意味着那些有风险的人对社会的价值较低。没有什么比COVID-19大流行引起的这些不公正更能突出加拿大整个社会中残疾歧视的真正问题和程度,这就是加拿大自闭症公平杂志(CJAE)的种子。
{"title":"Autism, Equity, and How the Journal Came to Be","authors":"Megan Krasnodembski, Stephanie Côté, Jonathan K Y Lai","doi":"10.15173/cjae.v1i1.4986","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15173/cjae.v1i1.4986","url":null,"abstract":"Over the past year a pandemic has swept across the world and, unsurprisingly, revealed gross inequalities across all aspects of life. We saw this in the constant pandemic media coverage that overlooked the experiences of the disability community and, more specifically, the autism community, at least at first. Furthermore, let us not forget in the early days of the pandemic that in countries such as Italy, people without disabilities were prioritized for life-saving machines (Andrews et al., 2020; Lund & Ayers, 2020), contributing to a culture of fear for the one in five Canadians with a disability (Morris et al., 2018) about what would happen to them here. As COVID-19 reached Canadian shores we saw this pattern of inequity quickly replicated within our society. For instance, Canadians with developmental disabilities, such as autism, living in residential settings did not receive the same level of support as those living in different kinds of residences such as retirement residences (Abel & Lai, 2020). Likewise, the initial claims that only people with ‘preexisting conditions’ were at risk implied that those at risk were somehow less valuable to society. Nothing has highlighted the very real problem and extent of ableism within Canadian society as a whole more than these injustices arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, and this is what planted the seed for the Canadian Journal of Autism Equity (CJAE). ","PeriodicalId":123262,"journal":{"name":"Canadian Journal of Autism Equity","volume":"383 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-04-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122169482","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kaela Scott, Megan Krasnodembski, Shivajan Sivapalan, Bonnie Brayton, Neil Belanger, R. Gagnon, J. Mclaughlin, Jonathan K Y Lai
Health equity allows people to reach their full health potential and access and receive care that is fair and suitable to them and their needs regardless of where they live, what they have, or who they are. To achieve health equity, equity in healthcare focuses on the role of the health system to provide timely and appropriate care. When viewed in the context of a National Autism Strategy, this extends to ensuring access to the resources that each Autistic person requires to meet their health needs, such as an autism diagnosis, services, and supports. Based on the equity panel discussion held at the Canadian Autism Leadership Summit 2020, this article reflects on the current disparities and barriers to achieving health equity in a National Autism Strategy, and outlines ways to address them. Disparities to equitable care within the autism community extend from the level of support needs of an individual to how those intersect with several key determinants of health including: geography, culture, gender, and socioeconomic status. Notably, barriers arise due to a “lack of” theme, including lack of awareness, knowledge, access, and voice. Four reoccurring ideas were identified for how to address inequities in health care for Autistic people. First, allocate resources for regional or in-community endeavours; second, improve Autistic representation and connection; third, establish a community of allies to advocate and collaborate; and fourth, establish leadership within the community and government to make disability a priority for Canada. To achieve equity in health care in a National Autism Strategy, we need to look at the intersectionality of autism with the key determinants of health. Moreover, to effectively engage with the government, health professionals, and the public, the autism community should strive to find a unified and diverse voice. And finally, conversation must turn to action.
{"title":"Towards Health Equity in a National Autism Strategy: A Lens on Disparities, Barriers, and Solutions","authors":"Kaela Scott, Megan Krasnodembski, Shivajan Sivapalan, Bonnie Brayton, Neil Belanger, R. Gagnon, J. Mclaughlin, Jonathan K Y Lai","doi":"10.15173/cjae.v1i1.4992","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15173/cjae.v1i1.4992","url":null,"abstract":"Health equity allows people to reach their full health potential and access and receive care that is fair and suitable to them and their needs regardless of where they live, what they have, or who they are. To achieve health equity, equity in healthcare focuses on the role of the health system to provide timely and appropriate care. When viewed in the context of a National Autism Strategy, this extends to ensuring access to the resources that each Autistic person requires to meet their health needs, such as an autism diagnosis, services, and supports. Based on the equity panel discussion held at the Canadian Autism Leadership Summit 2020, this article reflects on the current disparities and barriers to achieving health equity in a National Autism Strategy, and outlines ways to address them. Disparities to equitable care within the autism community extend from the level of support needs of an individual to how those intersect with several key determinants of health including: geography, culture, gender, and socioeconomic status. Notably, barriers arise due to a “lack of” theme, including lack of awareness, knowledge, access, and voice. Four reoccurring ideas were identified for how to address inequities in health care for Autistic people. First, allocate resources for regional or in-community endeavours; second, improve Autistic representation and connection; third, establish a community of allies to advocate and collaborate; and fourth, establish leadership within the community and government to make disability a priority for Canada. To achieve equity in health care in a National Autism Strategy, we need to look at the intersectionality of autism with the key determinants of health. Moreover, to effectively engage with the government, health professionals, and the public, the autism community should strive to find a unified and diverse voice. And finally, conversation must turn to action. ","PeriodicalId":123262,"journal":{"name":"Canadian Journal of Autism Equity","volume":"31 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-04-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115354627","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Late diagnosed Autistic adults who are also practicing artists are very likely to have clues about their identities expressed in their work. This gives them the opportunity to reevaluate their meaning through a more accurate lens and proper context. It also challenges viewers and audiences to do the same and to confront misconceptions. These biases are likely to extend across all forms of cultural production. This leaves Autistic and disabled artists with a very small and unrecognized footprint in our current cultural landscape. This needs to be rectified by rejecting outmoded stereotypes and establishing committed programs of engagement with Autistic culture by our public institutions.
{"title":"Supporting Autistic Culture in Defining Autistic Identity","authors":"Gerald Beaulieu","doi":"10.15173/cjae.v1i1.4983","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15173/cjae.v1i1.4983","url":null,"abstract":"Late diagnosed Autistic adults who are also practicing artists are very likely to have clues about their identities expressed in their work. This gives them the opportunity to reevaluate their meaning through a more accurate lens and proper context. It also challenges viewers and audiences to do the same and to confront misconceptions. These biases are likely to extend across all forms of cultural production. This leaves Autistic and disabled artists with a very small and unrecognized footprint in our current cultural landscape. This needs to be rectified by rejecting outmoded stereotypes and establishing committed programs of engagement with Autistic culture by our public institutions. ","PeriodicalId":123262,"journal":{"name":"Canadian Journal of Autism Equity","volume":"124 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-04-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116380294","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This article explores the dynamics of equity and ergodicity in a psychological lab context including navigating consent (commitments) and transparency (debriefs). The article explores how evolutionary determinants are translated into competitive gameplay in human social interactions and how cooperative gameplay based on cultural stories counteracts harms associated with competition. Other themes that are explored is a love of learning at the center of cooperative storytelling. An Indigenous form of perspective-taking called etuaptmumk or "two-eyed seeing," developed by First Nations Mi'kmaw Elder Albert Marshall, is used as an example of ergodic intervention as a balance to cognitive biases. How are concepts of dignity and respect, as support for equity in needs, and a recognition of community member competencies and contributions, work to nurture a neurodiverse writing community where individuals can openly navigate consent, transparency, consensus, and inclusion? What are both the theoretical and practical implications of using multimodal expression such as writing on a neurodiverse community?
{"title":"What is it About our Story: Does Ergodicity help us Understand Equity from a Neurodiverse Perspective?","authors":"Joseph Sheppard","doi":"10.15173/cjae.v1i1.4989","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15173/cjae.v1i1.4989","url":null,"abstract":"This article explores the dynamics of equity and ergodicity in a psychological lab context including navigating consent (commitments) and transparency (debriefs). The article explores how evolutionary determinants are translated into competitive gameplay in human social interactions and how cooperative gameplay based on cultural stories counteracts harms associated with competition. Other themes that are explored is a love of learning at the center of cooperative storytelling. An Indigenous form of perspective-taking called etuaptmumk or \"two-eyed seeing,\" developed by First Nations Mi'kmaw Elder Albert Marshall, is used as an example of ergodic intervention as a balance to cognitive biases. How are concepts of dignity and respect, as support for equity in needs, and a recognition of community member competencies and contributions, work to nurture a neurodiverse writing community where individuals can openly navigate consent, transparency, consensus, and inclusion? What are both the theoretical and practical implications of using multimodal expression such as writing on a neurodiverse community? ","PeriodicalId":123262,"journal":{"name":"Canadian Journal of Autism Equity","volume":"11 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-04-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121778683","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Recently, there has been a push to increase research engagement within the autism community. Historically, research engagement has largely focused on childhood disability research and participatory autism research remains rare (den Houting et al., 2021). This gap in the literature can often result in the substitution of parents’ voices for those of their Autistic children within the framework of family-centred services. This article argues that research engagement should be conducted in a way that can represent the wider autism community and cautions against allowing voices of one element of the autism community to speak for the whole.
最近,在自闭症群体中有一种增加研究参与的趋势。从历史上看,研究参与主要集中在儿童残疾研究上,参与式自闭症研究仍然很少(den Houting et al., 2021)。这种文献上的差距往往会导致在以家庭为中心的服务框架内,父母的声音取代了自闭症儿童的声音。这篇文章认为,研究参与应该以一种能够代表更广泛的自闭症群体的方式进行,并警告不要让自闭症群体中的一个人的声音代表整个群体的声音。
{"title":"A Call for Expanding the Diversity of Voices in Autism Research Engagement","authors":"M. Salt","doi":"10.15173/cjae.v1i1.4991","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15173/cjae.v1i1.4991","url":null,"abstract":"Recently, there has been a push to increase research engagement within the autism community. Historically, research engagement has largely focused on childhood disability research and participatory autism research remains rare (den Houting et al., 2021). This gap in the literature can often result in the substitution of parents’ voices for those of their Autistic children within the framework of family-centred services. This article argues that research engagement should be conducted in a way that can represent the wider autism community and cautions against allowing voices of one element of the autism community to speak for the whole. ","PeriodicalId":123262,"journal":{"name":"Canadian Journal of Autism Equity","volume":"10 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-04-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128376250","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Using the career of infamous Confederate General Braxton Bragg as a case study, this article poses questions about how we search for and discuss possible examples of Autistic people in history. The article contends that we need to reconsider what we hope to accomplish when posthumously diagnosing historical figures and the way in which those discussions are structured, cautioning against both the hunt for role models and the tendency towards defining people by their disability.
{"title":"Nothing to Bragg About: Examining the Search for Autistic Representation in History","authors":"Cameron Winter","doi":"10.15173/cjae.v1i1.4988","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15173/cjae.v1i1.4988","url":null,"abstract":"Using the career of infamous Confederate General Braxton Bragg as a case study, this article poses questions about how we search for and discuss possible examples of Autistic people in history. The article contends that we need to reconsider what we hope to accomplish when posthumously diagnosing historical figures and the way in which those discussions are structured, cautioning against both the hunt for role models and the tendency towards defining people by their disability. ","PeriodicalId":123262,"journal":{"name":"Canadian Journal of Autism Equity","volume":"C-25 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-04-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"126481126","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The introductory graphic represents the identity conflict that the author experiences daily. The terms represent labels assigned to the author in the past, the barriers that Autistic people must constantly overcome, and some of the social rules the author has very consciously and intentionally adopted to "fit in" with society. The accompanying experience piece outlines some of the difficulties the author has experienced that suggest that there needs to be more awareness in Canadian society regarding autism and intersectionality. Anecdotally, there appears to be a need for increased access to diagnostic and clinical services across Canada for women across the spectrum, and further investigation into how disability, race, and gender interact.
{"title":"Intersectionality, The Social Model of Disability, and Identity","authors":"Amy I. Kim","doi":"10.15173/cjae.v1i1.4990","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15173/cjae.v1i1.4990","url":null,"abstract":"The introductory graphic represents the identity conflict that the author experiences daily. The terms represent labels assigned to the author in the past, the barriers that Autistic people must constantly overcome, and some of the social rules the author has very consciously and intentionally adopted to \"fit in\" with society. The accompanying experience piece outlines some of the difficulties the author has experienced that suggest that there needs to be more awareness in Canadian society regarding autism and intersectionality. Anecdotally, there appears to be a need for increased access to diagnostic and clinical services across Canada for women across the spectrum, and further investigation into how disability, race, and gender interact. ","PeriodicalId":123262,"journal":{"name":"Canadian Journal of Autism Equity","volume":"32 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-04-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125762522","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The poems are the musings of an Aspie (not ableist, just how I refer to myself) mind, wondering where, how and if I fit in. I would suspect many on the spectrum ask these questions, or others similar in nature, themselves. I often wonder if I shouldn’t just create my own niche and have you meet me there. In many ways I already have.
{"title":"Are We Equal","authors":"Terri Robson","doi":"10.15173/cjae.v1i1.4987","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15173/cjae.v1i1.4987","url":null,"abstract":"The poems are the musings of an Aspie (not ableist, just how I refer to myself) mind, wondering where, how and if I fit in. I would suspect many on the spectrum ask these questions, or others similar in nature, themselves. I often wonder if I shouldn’t just create my own niche and have you meet me there. In many ways I already have. ","PeriodicalId":123262,"journal":{"name":"Canadian Journal of Autism Equity","volume":"107 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-04-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132456606","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}