Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network

10/19/2026

Thank you to The NAMED Advocates for this infographic series in honor of National Disability Employment
Awaréness Month (NDEAM), which is October.

***caption below in quotes and image description both courtesy of the NAMED Advocates***

“During National Disability Employment
Awaréness Month (NDEAM), we’ve wanted to put together educational content.
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We’ve run into a problem, though. There’s not a lot of information out there about disabled folks in the workplace.
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There’s definitely not a lot about Black, brown, and Indigenous disabled workers.
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Here’s what we did find.
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And watch this space Monday for the subminimum wage conversation.”

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[Image descriptions:

There are 6 slides with text and a background of a desk.
‌
Slide 1: DISABLED PEOPLE IN THE WORKFORCE
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A NATIONAL DISABILITY EMPLOYMENT AWARENESS MONTH CONVERSATION
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Slide 2: NDEAM is held every October to honor the many contributions people with disabilities make to America’s workplaces and economy and to showcase workplace policies that benefit both employers and employees.
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Slide 3: THE STATS*
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There’s an image of a table.
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*These are the latest stats from the Department of Labor (2024)
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Slide 4: In September 2026, only 40.3% of working-age people with disabilities were employed, compared with 75% of non-disabled people. For people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), opportunities for competitive, integrated employment are even more limited.
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Slide 5: While unemployment of disabled folks has slightly decreased, it is still extremely high.
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Black, brown, and Indigenous disabled folks are among the least employed.
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And we haven’t even talked about subminimum wage yet...


Slide 6: Sources
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“Disability Employment Statistics.” U.S.
Department of Labor,
www.dol.gov/agencies/odep/research-evaluation/statistics.
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“National Disability Employment Awareness Month
(NDEAM).” Employer Assistance and Resource
Network on Disability Inclusion,
askearn.org/page/learn-about-national-disability-employment-awareness-month.
‌

Dilworth, Jackie. “National Disability Employment Awareness Month 2026: Theme, Facts, and Resources.” The Arc, 7 Oct. 2026,
thearc.org/blog/how-and-why-to-celebrate-national-disability-employment-awareness-month-october/.]

10/19/2026

Election Day is only 15 days away!

Have you had a chance to look at our voting guide yet? Because our 2026 Voting Guide is out!

Here in the US, midterm elections are approaching, and AWN wants to help make voting as low stress as possible. We have specific voting guides that are plain language, voting guides for disabled voters, trans voters, unhoused voters, as well as Spanish language versions of every Voting Guide.

These voting guides were created by AWN Art Director Erin Casey.

See below for links to both read only and PDF versions of our 2026 Voting Guides

AWN 2026 Voting Guide | Guía electoral de AWN 2026

https://awnnetwork.org/awn-voting-guide-2026/

[image description: image of our Voting Guides on our website. At top, text reads “AWN Voting Guide | Guía electoral de AWN 2026
Below a small red, white and blue drawing of part of an American flag is black text that reads : “AWN Voting Guide 2026” ]

10/17/2026

Submit a comment urging the CDC to preserve data that helps shape policies, funding, and services for disabled people.

10/17/2026

Sharing this survey from University of Kansas Institute for Health and
Disability Policy Studies. This is the 7th year they’ve done this
National Survey on Health and Disability (NSHD)

Please scroll to the bottom of the survey page for info on access needs related to taking the survey.

Some additional info about the survey-

https://ihdps.ku.edu/nshd-2026

Survey link below!

https://kusurvey.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1N5kQS3F4mjZycK

National Survey on Health and Disability (NSHD) - You are not invisible! Make your voice heard on topics important to the health and quality of life of people with disabilities and/or chronic health conditions!

10/17/2026

Sharing about this film!

(Image description in post below)

We’re thrilled to sponsor Jennifer Msumba’s film about building her amazing life & musical career in spite of enduring institutional abuse at the Judge Rotenberg Center in Massachusetts. Find out when The Fish Don’t Care When It Rains will screen near you! https://lnk.to/tfdc

[Image: The Fish Don’t Care When It Rains movie poster featuring a photo of Jennifer Msumba taken from behind. She is receiving a hug in front of the ocean and a blue sky. On top of the sky is a large closeup of her face and the text: They call it treatment. We’re calling it out.]

10/16/2026

Thanks for sharing, Nigh.functioning.Autism

[image description:

White text on black background. Screenshot of a tweet from vōx reads:

“ Why does society demand that disabled people perform absolute gratitude just to exist in public spaces?

If we aren't smiling, inspiring, or acting completely cured, we’re treated as an inconvenience.

Discomfort is a political tool.

Stop letting them outsource their guilt onto our right to access the world. ~Vox from Substack” ]

10/16/2026

October is LGBT History Month and here at AWN, we plan to celebrate this month by honoring some of the highlights and notable figures in q***r US history.

The next post in our infographic series is of Sylvia Rivera!



[image description:

Illustration and text against a white background.
At top left the header in black text reads:
“AWN celebrates LGBT History Month”

At center left is black text that reads:
“June 28, 1969: Police raid the Stonewall Inn in New York City”

Below that text is a location marker, outlined in black with a heart drawn on it. To the right inside of a gold circle is a digital portrait of Sylvia Rivera,shown from the shoulders up. Sylvia has wavy, dark brown shoulder length hair and is wearing a light brown shirt. She is shown with a closed mouth smile and is wearing red lipstick.

In the lower left of the image, black text reads:
“The Stonewall Inn was a place where LGBTQIA+ people could socialize, dance, and spend the night for relatively little money, Pictured is Sylvia Rivera, who was inspired by the Stonewall Riot to join Marsha P. Johnson in founding the Street Transvestite Action Revolution, which advocated for q***r folks and people of color.”

In the lower right hand corner is the awn logo:
A large pink “a” with a pale green
winged spoonie dragonfly on it. Below the “a” is our url:
awnnetwork dot org. ]

Artwork and infographic by Erin Casey, AWN Art Director

10/15/2026

Important reminder that Disability Justice and Racial Justice are deeply connected-

Sharing this infographic series about the Black Panther Party and Section 504 sit ins from the NAMED Advocates

**Image description and caption below in quotes both courtesy of The NAMED Advocates.

“This month, the Black Panther Party celebrates their 60th anniversary.
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In 2027, we will be commemorating the 50th anniversary of the 504 sit-in.
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The sit-in would have not lasted as long as it did and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act would have not been signed into law if it weren’t for the Black Panthers.
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Another example of how racial and Disability Justice intersect.”
‌

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[Image description:

There are 6 slides with a black background at the top and various photos of the Black Panthers at the bottom.
‌
Slide 1: 60 YEARS OF THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY + ITS LINK TO DISABILITY JUSTICE
‌-
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Slide 2: In 1966, the Black Panther Party was born in Oakland out of necessity. Police violence, economic exploitation, and systemic neglect were not abstract conditions— they were daily realities shaping Black life. The Panthers named these conditions for what they were and moved to change them. They studied, they organized, and they built— not to be included in a system that oppressed them, but to transform it.
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Slide 3: Local chapters of the Panthers, often led by women, focused attention on community “survival programs.” They organized a free breakfast program for 20,000 children each day as well as a free food program for families and the elderly. They sponsored schools, legal aid offices, clothing distribution, local transportation, and health clinics and sickle-cell testing centers in several cities. These activities provided concrete aid to low-income communities and drew support for the Panthers.
‌-
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Slide 4: Local chapters of the Panthers, often led by women, focused attention on community “survival programs.” They organized a free breakfast program for 20,000 children each day as well as a free food program for families and the elderly. They sponsored schools, legal aid offices, clothing distribution, local transportation, and health clinics and sickle-cell testing centers in several cities. These activities provided concrete aid to low-income communities and drew support for the Panthers.
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Slide 5: In 1977, during the 504 sit-in, security tried to block anyone else from coming in the building after the protesters had occupied it, but the Black Panther party was able to get in and deliver food. Black Panther support for the protest stemmed from their philosophy of fighting oppression. They published several articles in their newspaper discussing the protest and the link between the rights of Black Americans and disability rights.
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Slide 6: Sources

Black Panther Party 60th Anniversary. Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation and It's About Time BPP, www.bpp60.org.

“The Black Panther Party: Challenging Police and Promoting Social Change”; National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution, nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/ black-panther-party-challenging- police-and-promoting-social- change.
“The 504 Protests and the Black Panther Party”; Disability Social History Project, 19 Dec. 2021, disabilityhistory.org/2021/12/19/ the-504-protests-and-the-black-
panther-party/]

10/15/2026

Really enjoying this month long series!

Day 15 of Auctober! “Parallel Play”

Image description courtesy of Autie-biographical comics*

[Image description:

A one panel comic titled "Auctober" and subtitled "Parallel Play".
Honeydew plays on their Switch while their friend reads a book. They glance over at each other and Honeydew says "You're so fun to hang out with!" The friend responds "So are you!"]

Day 15 of Auctober!

Having so many neurodivergent people in my circle makes it easy to hang out with them, since they understand and appreciate parallel play! Sometimes you want to hang out with someone, you just don't want to do something cooperative with them, and that's totally okay.

[Image description: A one panel comic titled "Auctober" and subtitled "Parallel Play".
Honeydew plays on their Switch while their friend reads a book. They glance over at each other and Honeydew says "You're so fun to hang out with!" The friend responds "So are you!"]