Puzzle Peace

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this is a little bit about my campaign for Worldwide Autism Acceptance

taken from my website:
Part of my reason for doing what I do is because I believe there are people among us who live with their eyes closed to the idea that brilliant people (such as those who are Autistic) do not deserve the right to better health care, better education, more services...the list goes on and on. Some go so far as to abort their unborn children for fear that they are not "perfect".

It scares me to know that so many people can be that cruel to their fellow human being.

Some folks even blame vaccines for their child's autism. in reality, it's a genetic disorder. It could have come from anything really

The thing we need to consider is that these individuals deserve to be protected from such manners of cruelty. The cure-supportive judgemental crowd may not see it. But we have rights also.

I have tried to contact Human Rights group Amnesty International on such issues as this and so far all they could give me was a link to their Demand Dignity website. I have not given up hope.

No one deserves to be treated like this. We deserve to have our rights protected.

Now I will talk about my two "operations" I've started through this movement.

Operation: Forgotten Children

My First Campaign through Puzzle Peace which is basically a Children's rights campaign. Its purpose is to acknowledge that every child (in the case of O:FC, whether disabled or not) has a right to an education, A right to shelter, A right to a healthy meal, A right to clean water (in the case of children who live in developing countries), A right to see a doctor if needed, a right to safety and most important the right to live. Basically, If any child is deprived of these rights, consequences are children can get sick and eventually die if food is scarce or kept from them altogether, they can also get sick if the water isn't clean enough to drink or bathe in and if there's very little to do about healthcare, then that's an issue.

The issue of safety in our schools

All children have the right to go to school and to feel safe and in today's world, sometimes that isn't always the case. We still have schools in the United States that allow such things as isolation rooms (nicknamed "Time-out rooms" in some schools) and restraining methods to control "Out of control" children. The worst and most unimaginable of these is a school in Canton, Massachusetts called the Judge Rotenberg Center where they have for many years denied any abuse of students happening. The truth is, a disability rights group recently filed a case against them to the United Nations stating that the use of their Electric shock on the students which they claim last only two seconds and is the equivalant of a bee sting is torture. Of course, JRC has continue to deny this only to maintain their image as "the school to send your child to when everything else has failed". Not only are they guilty of this but every article I've seen fails to mention the lack of privacy the students are getting. Judge Rotenberg Center has cameras everywhere! It sounds like the "1984" universe in that place! And even worse, adults of the opposite sex watch these monitors all the time. Here's my problem with that, Do they even screen these people to see if they're sex offenders? Because if you're a 35 year old man watching a 13 year old girl with let's say Severe Autism trying to put her pajama top on right after she mistakingly put it on backwards, would you move on to another screen or stare mindlessly? Another problem I notice is that there is zero interaction among student unless it is rewarded for good behavior. Also, there is no interaction between students and teachers in the classrooms when class is being taught. Instead, the students are to sit at a computer screen while the so-called teacher acts as "Behavior Police" and monitors for any behavior they see as not normal. Another reason is the teachers themselves. They did not have the proper training to educate or rather handle students with disabilities. In order to be on the JRC staff as a "Teacher" or "Psychologist" or any other phony title given to you by the higher ups, You do not have to have a college education nor a degree in special education or psychology. Most of the staff at JRC only have a High School diploma.

I also did further research by going to the Canton, Massachusetts Public schools district page and Judge Rotenberg Center is not in the district. Of course who can blame Canton Schools for not including JRC? This school is extremely controversial and is in the news everytime some blows the whistle on them.

the conflict of Forced Child Marriage and giving up your education as a result

Did you know that in some parts of the world where they allow child marriage, a girl's education ends at approximately age seven depending on when the marriage is arranged? For some girls, they may not even get to go to school. The problem here is that early, forced marriages is considered a violation of basic human rights. It's been estimated that 49 countries have a significant child bride problem. In India and Ethiopia, the legal age of consent for marriage is 18, but this law is often ignored.

Women who had primary eduation are less likely to get married as young girls than those who received no education. In Zimbabwe, only 48 percent of women who attended primary school as girls got married by age 18 compared to the other 87 percent who had no education.

Child marriage is very harmful and here's how:

Denial of education: Once married, the girl cannot go back to school.

Health Problems: These include premature pregnancies (remember in some cases, when a young girl is in this situation, it can be very stressful and may even be deadly. She's not biologically ready for motherhood just yet but since this is all being forced upon her, she goes through a lot of problems and nothing is being done.

In teenage girls there is a risk of STIs and HIV/AIDS.

Abuse: Children who refuse to marry or choose a prtner against their family's wishes are often punished or killed in so-called 'honor killings'. This is a common thing in child marriages.

Child Soldiers

A child soldier is any person under 18 years old who is part of any kind of regular or irregular armed force or armed group in any capacity, including but not limited to cooks, porters, messengers and anyone accompanying such groups, other than family members. The definition includes girls recruited for sexual purposes and for forced marriage. It does not, therefore, only refer to a child carrying or who has carried a gun.

It is estimated that 300,000 children-boys and girls under age 18- are today involved in more than 30 conflicts worldwide. These children are used as combatants, messengers, porters, cooks and for forced sexual services. Some are abducted or forcibly recruited, others are driven to join by poverty, abuse and discrimination or to seek revenge for violence enacted against them or their families.

Children are more likely to become child soldiers if they are seperated from their families, displaced from their homes, living in combat zones or have limited access to education. Children may join armed groups as the only way to guarantee daily food and survival.

No Child Left Behind and the disabled student

So far in my reading, No Child Left Behind does not include students with disabilities. The government has a seperate office for Special Education, but it's not enough. because of the absense of awareness in this act, more and more disabled students are being hidden away in a room or forced to answer difficult test questions in a mainstream class by themselves without assistance. And if the student asked for help, the teacher would probably make up some excuse involving No child left behind. This is wrong and it's a violation of human rights! Every student has a right to proper education without discrimination.

Operation: Silence Can Destroy

Started in October 2010, Operation: Silence Can Destroy focuses on ending violent and harmful situations against individuals with disabilities.

Such efforts include:

Ending the war against bullying

Stamping out hate crimes

Ending suicide

Raising peaceful tolerance for disabled youth in a mainstream enviroment

and bringing proper awareness and education to those who need it

The goal of "Operation: Silence Can Destroy" is to make people (mainly students) aware to tell someone if they think their disabled peer is being harmed. It is also a good education tool for students with disabilities who are verbal to practice social skills in an emergency setting and that they know of a safe person (or "Safe zone") to go to if they are the one at risk of being harmed.

Some facts about abuse and people with disabilities:

*Because some individuals with disabilities (for example, someone who is Autistic) have a good memory. The memories of being bullied and/or abused stay with that person.

*A study by the United Nations found that 50% of Disabled women experience abuse.

*According to US statistics, a person with a disability is 4 to 10 times more likely to be a victim of a crime than a person without a disability.

*Profoundly Disabled people who live in institutional settings (or group homes) are more at risk because they rely on a massive number of people and are less likely to get away.


Under the Education section of my website I have some tips of how to identify and find what I like to call "Safe Zones". This means if the student on the spectrum is having a hard time in the school enviroment, then they can have a plan of action and a Safe person to talk to and a Safe Zone to go when things are not just going according to plan.

Some examples of this might include:

A bullying situation (the student can go to a teacher or other staff and report the problem. If the problem should continue, they can go to the principal.)

A Fire Drill (If the student is really sensitive to loud noises, try to find a solution so the student won't go into sensory overload.If the solution involves earphones, make sure they are not sound proof so the student can still hear the sound of the alarm. The goal you're aiming for is to get everyone to safety.)

Revisiting Interaction (basically social interaction again)- Some students on the spectrum tend to misinterpret what is said by their typical peers for example: The word "ret*d" can be taken as offensive to some kids on the spectrum even if it's just passing by an everyday conversation shared by two typical students.

This is because due to many changes in everyday conversation and new slang terminology, the word "ret*d" has become another way of saying something or someone is stupid.

click on my profile for a link to my website for more info.

Thanks

Stephanie

Here is a promo vid for Puzzle Peace i made last year with some info about why I started the movement.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_URCFBnE1I[/youtube]

Last edited by Tokiodarling21 on 12 Jan 2011, 7:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.

welcome to WP
there are many other hurtful usages besides "ret*d"-
i hate when people describe something they consider lame as being "gay" - that stinks as bad as something/someone being dismissed as "ret*d."

I really like that video. It speaks for me.

I like your ideas. However, I disagree with the "right to be born." Erroding Roe v. Wade is dangerous. Women, autistic and otherwise, also have rights. We need to change the cultural norms that make it socially acceptable to terminate an otherwise desired pregnancy because of the possibility of a disabled child, not the law.

To me that's genocide and that's why I campaign against such actions. I am sorry you would rather sway in the other direction but I support acceptance not genocide.

My autism acceptance advocacy video was just posted as of last night. It's a Puzzle Peace related video. And I do appear in the video as i give a brief speech (being "founding advocate" and all. I do believe that's what my title should be in regards to this movement) this video talks about the history of Puzzle Peace, its origin and where it's going now. There is also a promo for charity in regards to the radio rally (set for tomorrow April 2) where you have the option to request the song "World behind my wall" by Tokio Hotel into your favorite radio station or download it via itunes or your favorite mp3 site. The charity aspect falls into play if you go to the video and click the link in the description or here: Puzzle Peace Charity Pool there you can view the list and learn about each charity.

Here is the video i didn't put music to it b/c it got late:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JXfRAooa0E[/youtube]