Abuse and Neglect

Shock Therapy is Still Legal. It’s Time to #StopTheShock.

The Judge Rotenberg Center, an educational and residential facility in Canton, Massachusetts, says it has a “near zero rejection policy,” accepting autistic people and those with developmental disabilities and mental health conditions whose families say they have nowhere…

We Need to Break Through the Silence on Abuses of Institutionalized Children

Content note: this post discusses psychiatric hospitalization and sexual abuse. When I was thirteen years old, I was sexually abused by a staff member in a psychiatric hospital. The first time she abused me, she took me into the examination…

Is Strip-Searching a Form of Sexual Abuse?

This blog post is part of a series in partnership with the Disability Visibility Project® to bring attention to the omission of disability from larger conversations taking place within the #MeToo Movement. Trigger warning: this post discusses institutionalization and sexual…

We Cannot Ignore the Connection Between Disability and Intimate Partner Abuse

This blog post is part of a series in partnership with the Disability Visibility Project® to bring attention to the omission of disability from larger conversations taking place within the #MeToo Movement. Trigger warning: this post discusses abuse, violence, and…

Why We Need More Research on How Substance Abuse Impacts the Autistic Community

I will always remember the first few times I tried an alcoholic beverage. I was around the age of eighteen, and at first found the feeling very uncomfortable. Even a slight buzz—just a partial alcoholic beverage—changes my perception and how …