Autistic Self Advocacy Network
The Autistic Self Advocacy Network seeks to advance the principles of the disability rights movement in the world of autism. Drawing on the principles of the cross-disability community on issues such as inclusive education, community living supports and others, ASAN seeks to organize the community of Autistic adults and youth to have our voices heard in the national conversation about us. In addition, ASAN seeks to advance the idea of neurological diversity, putting forward the concept that the goal of autism advocacy should not be a world without Autistic people. Instead, it should be a world in which Autistic people enjoy the same access, rights and opportunities as all other citizens. Working in fields such as public policy, media representation, research and systems change, ASAN hopes to empower Autistic people across the world to take control of their own lives and the future of our common community. Nothing About Us, Without Us! The Autistic Self Advocacy Network is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization run by and for autistic people. The Autistic Self Advocacy Network seeks to advance the principles of the disability rights movement with regard to autism. ASAN believes that the goal of autism advocacy should be a world in which autistic people enjoy equal access, rights, and opportunities. We work to empower autistic people across the world to take control of our own lives and the future of our common community, and seek to organize the autistic community to ensure our voices are heard in the national conversation about us. Nothing About Us, Without Us!www.autisticadvocacy.org
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Search complete. 5 mentions across 4 episodes found for "Autistic Self Advocacy Network".
Sep 24, 2026
Kate KahleSOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
It's just a different way some brains can work.
Kate KahleSOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
If you want to help autistic people, you can support organizations like Autistics for Autistics, Autistic Self-Advocacy Network, and Autistic Women and Nonbinary Network that support autistic self-love and acceptance, as opposed to organizations that spread fear about autism.
Kate KahleSOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
You should also identify yourself as an autistic advocate to people in your life, be understanding, and allow friends and family to unmask with you.
Kate KahleSOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
This is also a call to action for the psychology community to conduct more research on autism in women, people of color, and other minorities.
Tyler HudsonGUEST
Um, [lip smack] he had said, "A good man has ideals and has to stand for them, and he's, he's, he's willing to risk, um, social exclusion in order to stand for something, whereas a nice guy will just go with the flow and not, not disrupt [chuckles] society." And that, that hit me like a ton of bricks.
Tyler HudsonGUEST
I'm like, "That's exactly where I am." A nice guy will listen to the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network, who advocates about, uh, advocates strongly against, um, RFK Jr.
Tyler HudsonGUEST
or anyone that seeks to limit the prevalence of autism in society, and they-- uh, a nice guy will listen to that and go, "Oh, yeah, I hear it's terrible.
Tyler HudsonGUEST
Hmm, yeah, it's really bad." And a good man will go, "Hey, listen.
Jonathan MachneeGUEST
They started a organization...
Jonathan MachneeGUEST
Well, uh, Ne'eman started an organization called ASAN, and, and then they advocated on behalf of this.
Jonathan MachneeGUEST
And one of the things they wanted to do was to break down these differentiations so that insurance coding couldn't ice you out of it if you got like...
Jonathan MachneeGUEST
You know, functionally, this is-- the au-autism is a spectrum, right? And so you will have people who are on the high side of level one or, like, on level one, but on the border of level one and two, right? They, they just fall to the left.
Artificially AwareHOST
Are we really helping these individuals by refusing treatment or focusing only on acceptance? Shouldn't we address the suffering head-on? These are difficult questions without easy answers, but they force the neurodiversity movement to confront its own limitations and blind spots.
Artificially AwareHOST
Despite these challenges, organizations like the Autistic Self Advocacy Network have been at the forefront of pushing for systemic change.
Artificially AwareHOST
Founded by Ari Neiman, ASAN advocates for the rights and inclusion of neurodivergent individuals, not as patients in need of treatment, but as people whose voices need to be heard.
Artificially AwareHOST
ASAN played a critical role in campaigns like the Ransom Notes campaign, which successfully fought against harmful disability ads that portrayed autism as a life-ruining condition.
Artificially AwareHOST
Then there's Specialisterna, a company that has made it its mission to create jobs for neurodivergent individuals by tapping into their unique skills, particularly in tech industries.
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These organizations...