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Hello,

being very disappointed with both Autism Speaks and The Thinking Person's Guide to Autism, I find myself in lack of a platform where useful articles and news about ASD are shared.
I follow autism and oughtism, which is a wonderful blog, but I was wondering if there is another ASD news platform that is worth following. A platform where there is respect and understanding for both people on the spectrum and their parents and that shares useful information. Any tips?

What's wrong with The Thinking Person's Guide to Autism? Just wondering.

Their articles about scientific research and about self-advocacy are great, but the threads about parenting usually end in parent bashing and shaming NT parents who are not doing what the people at TPGA think they should be doing. And then there's the infanticide posts, which are appalling on many levels.
I just can't handle all the negativity, the shaming of everyone who dares to say that they find it hard to parent a kid on the spectrum, the personal attacks- with poor rhetorics - on everyone who disagrees with what they state, and this weird idea they seem to have that most parents are horrible.

there is a website:
Daily Autism Update - I don't have the link handy.

Also you might consider setting up a google alert and then you will get a list of every article, blog and forum that mentions the words you ask for.

For example if you set up an alert for the word autism you will get a daily email of everything published that day with the word autism - this may sound like it is a lot, but really it isn't so much and it is a great way to stay updated without depending on someone else.

Oh, that google alert tip is great! Never even thought of that! It probably makes it possible to combine a couple of search words, which is even better! Going to try this.

sidney,
here is a good google trick that will give a lot of results.

theyre called google dorks,its a type of code that makes google give very specific results.
the format is the following-

Thanks, KingdomOfRats, that's a great trick indeed, thanks!

Also, thank you for your insight on the parenting issue. I understand. Ever since my son's Dx I now see the ablism everywhere, the disregard of anyone being different, the not understanding how some things are just profoundly different and the bullying - even by adults; the way some people talk about kids (usually not their own) that are a bit different sometimes makes me want to punch them in the face.
And I can't even begin to understand how it must have been for some kids without Dx, without understanding, being considered to be a 'bad child', being abused in the name of 'discipline'.
So I understand that some people might be a bit defensive and do not want to hear parents 'complain' about raising a kid with autism.

However, I also see the other side of it, as you wrote.
I'm not even going to mention the waiting lists, all the battles I have to fight to get any kind of support, etc. The hardest part about raising a special kid, is the lack of understanding from the outside world.
I lost the majority of my so-called friends. There is still no-one in my surroundings who understands my kid or who understands my worries. Everyone has an opinion, though.
Finding a good school for him is impossible, so I spent many hours trying to get his teachers to understand him and his needs. The parents at his school think I'm a nut.
Talking with other parents about kids, is always awkward, because when I try to join the conversation, I get a lot of 'yeah, humm... but it's different with him, I guess', or just the staring-at-their-shoes.
It breaks my heart when kiddo doesn't get invited to yet another birthday party. And when I express my grief, guess how much understanding I get? (in Bill Clinton's voice:) Zero. Because I 'have to understand'. I think you'll understand why I get meltdowns too.

That's why I cringe when people on TPGA e.g. point angry fingers at struggling parents. I just think it's dangerous, because these parents are alienated, misunderstood, and often unsupported.
I would never hurt my kid, but I do feel desperate sometimes. Desperate, and alone. If TGPA really wants to help people, they need to understand that most parents are standing outside in the rain with their kids, uninvited to the neurotypical party going on inside the house.

I checked your blog. It looks very interesting, I'll read some of your stuff later.
Thanks for the input, and thanks for listening too .

Their book is probably very informative. And the vibe used to be different, people say. It's a pity.

You could also try the news subforum on this website.