Hi guys! This is your Director of Advocacy writing, and I wanted to let you know what this Section is and isn't for, and some rules specifically for this section (you should also adhere to the Forum Rules, of course.)

What Is Personal Advocacy?

Personal Advocacy is addressing the issues that you personally are facing. This covers a wide range of things, from issues with an IEP or other plan, to speaking up about your needs with your doctor or other service provider, to getting help navigating the legal system. For some people, it might even be as simple as learning how to tell a parent or other care giver what you need, or as complicated as escaping an abusive situation. Keep in mind that most of the people here are not lawyers, and that if you face legal issues you should contact a lawyer. You could ask for help finding a lawyer that deals with your specific issue, though, or help with navigating the justice and/or other systems, though!

What is not Personal Advocacy is taking on a policy, attending meetings that aren't about a specific individual, or protests. National level work is not included in this section. For more info on what does not go here, click here.

Formatting

In order to keep this area easy to access, please follow the following guidelines when you post. If you don't, you won't be penalized- I can always move things or ask you to add or delete things- but it will make things easier to find.

• If you are posting looking for an advocate, please include your state in the thread title, as well as the general sense of the issue. Give more specific geographic info (Region, county, or city, as appropriate and as is safe) in the body of the thread so that an advocate who might work in your state but not your area knows. 
• If you are offering your services as an advocate, please include the geographic area you are able to serve in the title of the thread. If you can only serve a specific region, county, or even city, say so. Please also include the issues you have experience with. If you are only comfortable with working on one issue right now, you can include that in the title of the thread as well. (Example)
• If it is an update to a previous issue (for example, you thought the issue was fixed but it ended up being more complex than you originally thought, or you were told the issue was resolved and it wasn't), please keep it in the same thread instead of starting a new one.
• You may start another thread if you have a different issue with the same provider/district/service/etc. 
• If you are looking for info or are stuck on something, Please include the words "Help" or "looking for" in the subject line along with the state and the subject. 

What doesn't belong here

• Community level organizing. We have another section for you to discuss community and state level efforts here. You may even find that an issue that starts out as a personal advocacy issue becomes a community issue as more and more people in your area come in and say "Me too!" and "That policy needs changed!" I won't end the thread here, but I will ask you to start another thread over there (or start it myself) linking back to the original thread so that the issue can be approached from a community perspective.
• Chat about a larger advocacy issue. For example, if you want to discuss the subject of seclusion and restraint- or national level policy- you should go to the Issues and Hot Topics section. But if you are looking to learn a self-advocacy skill, you may post it in this section.
• Things that belong in other sections, like talking about a fan petition for your show or advocacy for non-autism related subjects (Example: PETA, Comic book defense league, Starving kids in Africa, etc.) I WILL allow things that are somehow related to ASD, or will have irrelevant topics moved. 

Safety Guidelines

These are some basic safety guidelines in order to keep you safe. If you give away more than is safe, a moderator will edit that out and send you a private message saying why. 

• Do not use your full name unless you already have your name out there. I have my name in many advocate lists, for example, so I could use my full name, but my friend Sunshine would not use her last name, and would use a last initial or even just use initals and not use her name at all. 
• If you mention other people, please use initials (a must with minors) or First inital Last name (for providers or other public figures in your area) or First name Last initial. This is for their safety, as well as your own. If a minor is your own, or you have guardianship, you may, if you wish, use their first name ONLY, but please refrain from including your own last name if you share it with them.
• Do not include contact info such as phone numbers or addresses. It is up to you if you include your email, but keep in mind we cannot guarantee that someone won't use it improperly. If you end up finding someone to help you specifically, please take it to Private Message or Email if you need to share more information.
• When you give your geographic area, keep in mind your safety. For example, someone in New York or Pittsburgh could include their city, but someone in Franklin, Pa would be better off using their county (Venango) or if needed their region (Northwestern PA). If you are mentioning a school district in that area, use the above guidelines and the initials of the school district. 

If You need to contest something, please PM me instead of posting to the thread. This will hopefully cut down on drama. 

*This is still being worked on. If you have suggestions or feedback, please let me know.