ASAN getting rolling in Houston

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ASAN stands for Autistic Self-Advocacy Network. And a person can be either diagnosed by a professional or self-diagnosed and can participate and join either way. I myself am self-diagnosed and am quite comfortable being self-diagnosed.
http://www.autisticadvocacy.org/

This weekend, I helped to staff a table at a resource fair geared mainly for high school students and young adults. Well, I'm a guy in my late forties, but I was invited to help out, and so I did.

One thing I observed, people seemed very open to the idea of being "on the spectrum." I mean, it sounds so much more interesting being "on the spectrum" than not being on the spectrum.

I was also impressed that three families were helping their adult or teenage children start businesses: bird feeders using re-purposed items, jelly with hot peppers, and an art business. Now, 80% of new businesses fail (yes, that's right, 4 out of 5), typically because the fixed expenses eat you alive before you can really get rolling with the sales volume. And so, starting small to test the basic concept I think is a pretty good way to go about it. It gets the odds more in your favor. In fact, this is what Fred DeLuca of Subway Fame recommends in his book "start small, FINISH BIG."

I'm in favor of multiple tracks: political activism, educating the general public, raising funds and directly providing services if we can, challenging corporate HR departments with "Hey, you guys are missing some opportunities," etc, etc, etc. I am in favor of people having a range of options and a range of opportunities.

I hope to do additional pro-spectrum activism. We on the Aspergers-Autism Spectrum have a lot to offer and a lot to contribute.

If anyone in the Houston area is interested in autism activism, please send me a PM. And we'll see if we can get something going.