Fed up with exclusion from relevant conversations, disability rights activists popularized a slogan in the 1990s: “Nothing about us without us.” Was this group marginalized because non-disabled people inherently believe people who are disabled need “fixing”? While challenges brought about by autism are worthy of supports, the concept of ableism lurks in corners of parenting, education, and employment.

Guest Sxdni Small brings their lived experience as a neurodivergent person to this discussion. Born on the traditional and current land of many Native Peoples, including the Ojibwe, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Oneida and Potawatomi Nations, Sxdni was raised in a Milwaukee, Wis., household graced by kitchen table lilac blooms. Reading and community organizing were household staples in a home filled with love for words and learning. Sxdni is a dog training geek and honeybush tea fan, as well as a member of the Wisconsin Writer’s Association. They treasure their spouse’s poetry and the growing pile of books atop their own kitchen table.

Previous episodes that provide more context: Episode 1 (Intro), 2 (Justus), 3 (Noey), 4 (Chelsea), 20 (Masking)

Topics, terms, and resources, in order of their appearance, that might evoke some curiosity:

• Leah Smith on ableism
• Nicole Ciarlone’s “4 ways ableism still affects people with disabilities”
• Stella Young on inspiration porn
• medical vs. social model of disability
• The DSM-5 (The American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th ed., 2013) diagnostic criteria for autism
• Dr. Stephen Shore: "If you've met one person with autism, you've met one person with autism."
• “cis, het” = cisgender, heterosexual
• spiky profile
• identity-first language 
• neurospicy
• R-word
• empathy and autism
• dyspraxia and autism
• Auditory Processing Disorder
• Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
• stress levels of mothers of autistic children

Podcast includes an introduction for episodes 6 and following at the beginning. Transition music, "Taking a Vocation", by Noey Budde.

Closing narration for episodes 6 and following.