As most of you who follow the news or who regularly use social networks probably know, a very popular movie called "Bully" is now out and has been showing in movie theaters all over the US. This movie uses the real-life experiences of a number of young people and other features to bring home to the public the reality of bullying and its impact on society. You probably know and may have signed, a Change.or petition called, "Don't Let the Bullies Win! Lower The Bully Movie's Ratings From R to PG-13." The girl who started that petition campaign was 17 and experienced bullying because she had "come out" about being a lesbian. In her petition letter to the film industry, she shared her story of a specific bullying incident ealier in her school years, where a bully had pushed her into a locker and broke her wrist. And even on this Change.org site where people seem to have trouble with both signing and sharing petitions, she had managed to get hundereds of thousands of signatures and had started a movement of people calling for The Bully Movie's ratings to be lowered so that younger kids, who most need to be reached with its message, could view it. I find myself wondering, how had her petition come to the attention of celebrities, including a popular talk show host? How had her petition come to the attention of politicians? What was so compelling about this one girl that her campaign had been so hugely successful and brought her massive backing from the country? Even requests for TV appearances? Because of her campaign but also as importantly, because of the massive support and backing she had received, The Bully Movie is unrated and it is being brought to more and more cites in the US and efforts are being made to bring it to Canada. Naturally, she is being hailed as a hero for starting this petition and for her huge success.
Many of you may, at some time or another, seen my posts about a petition I have started this past Saturday whether you have had a chance to take a look at it or not: http://www.change.org/petitions/1-000-000-people-for-better-lives-for-all-persons-with-autism#share. I started this petition because of personal experience, first of all. I'm mom to a beautiful, precious daughter, who is doing well at home and school, who is diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and one day will age out of her school system. And when that happens she will lose her entitlements to services for children with autism. And I know that this scenario is true for many other children with autism, who are/will age out of their school systems and out of their entitlements to services and resources. I have created the petition also for many adults in the "lost generation" and I am a part of this generation; this is a generation of older adults who grew up before the diagnostic criteria for ASDs like Pervasive Devalopment Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS) and Asperger's Syndrome. Some in this "lost generation" have been fortunate enough to conquer their challenges and find success in life; some have been diagnosed with ASDs even in their 50s or 60s. But most of this "lost generation" of adults live on the fringes of society. Many are jobless and use government programs; others work in jobs that don't use their talents or interests. Many develop mental health issues as a result of lifetimes of being misunderstood, abused, bullied and being convinced that that their differences and challenges are due to being bad, stupid, lay or crazy. Most are more vulnerable both to becoming victims or perpretrators of crime and many are homeless. All of this costs society also. IN recent months, I have added to this petition, calling on the US congress to renew existing and reallocate existing funds to expand services for underserved children with autism as well as for their adult counterparts.
Now I'm not starting this petition to gain name recognition or to get in the spotlight; I don't even like being in the spotlight. But I know one thing: I cannot, no matter how hard I work to make it happen, gather a fraction of the signatures that are needed to make this canmpaign a success. What is needed is the guidance, support and rallying of other individuals and organizations who will share my passion for seeing this campaign through until it become reality. I have been contacting prominent nonprofit organizations and certain advocates in the hope that some of them will rally behind me, seeing the need for this and do what they can to multiply my efforts far beyond what I can do myself.
On one of my Facebook pages:https://www.facebook.com/CaringEnoughToMakeADifference, I have been seeing supporters post comments, expressing their concerns that they or others cannot sign or share the petition; one has said "I don't like to use apps." I have gotten at least one post like this on my own page. I'm thankful for people showing interest in signing and am wondering why the petition is not more accessible for both signing and sharing. So I have contacted Change.org because this is unacceptable; I have brought my concerns to them. This morning, I got an email reponse that the issue is being investigated. I have found that on Facebook and in emails that I have been having trouble sending the link to people with success. When I had created the petition and tried to create an ongoing time-frame for how long I have to gather signatures, I got the message that the maximum time frame for a Change.org petition is one year. And my petition goal is 1,000,000 signatures.
On the above-mentioned Facebook page, as petitions are not replacements for many people sending their heartfelt stories and thoughts in emails and handwritten letters to legislators, I plan to include the links to addresses to government-sponsored websites so supporters can correspond with legislators, sharing their thoughts and stories. Most politicians, including the US President, no longer provide their email addresses. You need to send them messages directly from their websites. We can greatly increase our impact when we share our thoughts and stories; even if you feel that you have no personal connection to autism, you can share your thoughts that we need to do all we can to create opportunties for a more accommodating, welcoming world for the ever-growing number of adults with ASDs through funded services in each state. I know that writing to legislator is time-consuming but if many more of us do it we can influence them and increase our impact. We can do this!
My fear is that no matter what I say or do to convey to many people that this issue is relevant to them and the costs to society (of which they are a part), of calling for more services for all people with autism, that they will not support this campaign. This is unfortunate and I hope that many people will prove me wrong. A 17 year old girl was able to garner incredible, wholehearted rallying and support for her campaign on an issue that needed to be addressed through making a movie about it more accessible to more people. My campaign is for another issue that is equally serious and also in need of being addressed. Autism affects all of us.
It is now a brand new year. It is a time of new beginnings. As you make your New Year's resolutions, I hope that you will consider signing this petition if you have not done that yet. If you have signed it already (and I thank you for that) I hope that you will circulate it, using the options I an providing and directing you to, for this. Concerned about privacy? You can uncheck the box "Display my Name Publicly" and your name will not be seen on the petition page. You will be asked your address but it will not be made public; only your name, state and zip code are. Outside the US and interested in signing? There is an option of "Outside the US?" there. Whatever other objections you have to signing, I hope you will reconsider. There are so many in the autism community, including many parents of children with autism, who are crying out for services, or more services, to be made available and affordable to them. So many adults are experiencing failure in all areas of their lives because they do not have services. Because of all this, society does not know how to welcome many with differences due to autism. We can make a difference and change that!
Ideas for supporting this campaign:
1) If you know a lot about computers or website development or have a blogspot or website that gets many visitors, visit my petition site at http://www.change.org/petitions/1-000-000-people-for-better-lives-for-all-persons-with-autism#share. Consider adding my petition to your own site as a widget so your own supporters can sign it right there without leaving your site. And if you are so inclined, I would appreciate it if you would show me how to set up a website with a widget to my petition. But what I would most like to see is my petition being added to your own websites as a widget.
2) If you know other people or organizations that would help with this, share your referrals to me at ldesherl@gmail.com or at my Facebook pages at the links below.
3) Visit my Facebook pages https://www.facebook.com/CaringEnoughToMakeADifference and/or https://www.facebook.com/OnLifeLoveAndTruth and you will keep seeing the petition being reposted for easier sharing; keep sharing it, over and over, with those in your social networks.
4) On the petition sites at the link at option #1, you can find the Facebook "Share" option there. The names of your friends should show up in alphabetical order. It can be tricky to use; when people's wall settings are locked you will get the notice "Unable to get permission from Facebook" when you hit "Share" to send the petition to such Facebook users. You need to get rid of the notice at the top of the site for further sharing. Change.org will allow only 16 "Shares" a day. But if many of you take the time to use this option, it helps a lot.
5). Please visit my website at http://caringenoughtomakeadifference.com where my petition is on a widget and can be signed at the site. This site is under construction but has many things in place already. At the site is also a page that shows the actual petition text. I have not yet been able to create the page set up for petition flyer. Much more is planned there but this site is helpful to share especially with those in your life who do not socially network; sharing this site is promoting the petition.
5)Any other ideas you have would be much appreciated!
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