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We exist as friction.
Changing the Disability Design Narrative – UX CakE
We exist as friction, and it’s exhausting. Allies, load-share our burden of existing as friction against structural ableismable·ism /ˈābəˌlizəm/ nounA system of assigning value to people's bodies and minds based on societally constructed ideas of normalcy, productivity, desirability, intelligence, excellence, and fitness. These constructed ideas are deeply... More. “Staying alive is a lot of work for a disabledThe label "disabled" means so much to me. It means I have community. It means I have rights. It means I can be proud. It means I can affirm myself... More person in an ableist
able·ism /ˈābəˌlizəm/ nounA system of assigning value to people's bodies and minds based on societally constructed ideas of normalcy, productivity, desirability, intelligence, excellence, and fitness. These constructed ideas are deeply... More society.” Share some of that work and friction. We need respite from this wildly painful work. We need help against the onslaught.

I would like to honour all the autistic
Ann Memmott PGC🌈 on TwitterAutistic ways of being are human neurological variants that can not be understood without the social model of disability.If you are wondering whether you are Autistic, spend time amongst Autistic people, online and offline. If... More people who survive the care
The activities that constitute care are crucial for human life. We defined care in this way: Care is "a species activity that includes everything that we do to maintain, continue,... More system somehow.
All those who survive extreme ‘therapy’.
All those who are brought to their knees, readingThere are three types of reading: eye reading, ear reading, and finger reading.The Dyslexia Empowerment Plan: A Blueprint for Renewing Your Child's Confidence and Love of Learning Most schools and... More hellish descriptions of their loved people.
And all who did not survive this onslaught.
Help
Some ways you can help in your everyday life:
- ReframeWhen we successfully reframe public discourse, we change the way the public sees the world. We change what counts as common sense. Because language activates frames, new language is required... More yourself and others. This is hard and important work necessary to all other work. Change the narrativeWhen we successfully reframe public discourse, we change the way the public sees the world. We change what counts as common sense. Because language activates frames, new language is required... More. Start reframingWhen we successfully reframe public discourse, we change the way the public sees the world. We change what counts as common sense. Because language activates frames, new language is required... More here.
- Advocate for accessibility at school, work, and in your community
What I have always been hoping to accomplish is the creation of community.Community is magic. Community is power. Community is resistance.Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century https://www.amazon.com/Disability-Visibility-First-Person-Stories-Twenty-First-ebook/dp/B082ZQBL98/ https://www.amazon.com/Disability-Visibility-Adapted-Young-Adults-ebook/dp/B08VFT4R9T/... More.
- Be a threat to inequity in your spheres of influence.
- Combat the myths.
- Use and promote Identity First Language.
- Elevate care as infrastructure. Stimpunks exists because our systems effectively don’t.
- Celebrate our interdependence
Interdependence acknowledges that our survival is bound up together, that we are interconnected and what you do impacts others. If this pandemic has done nothing else, it has illuminated how... More!
Want to volunteer with us? Volunteers are the lifeblood of nonprofit foundations.
If you are in the Austin, Texas area, we need help with care workThe activities that constitute care are crucial for human life. We defined care in this way: Care is "a species activity that includes everything that we do to maintain, continue,... More, running our learning center, and putting on accessible events for our community, including punk shows.
If you are anywhere, distributed learning and collaboration is a big component of what we do. We’re always working on our website and our outreach and our operations. Help us use technology to run this thing. Help us tell our stories with an authentic, candid, and vulnerable outpouring of words, science, and artThe arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable. Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly,... More. Help us find our people and co-create ecologies of care. Help us fundraise so we can keep our community going.
Here are some things we need help with:
- Write alt textAlt text is a written description of an image posted online. Alt text can also be added to images embedded in digital documents (PDFs, Word documents, Google docs, presentations, etc).Alt... More for images on our website.
- Gather research for our website.
- Write pages for our website.
- Design for scrollytelling and conceptual web portmanteau on our website.
- Create plain language and easy read versions of our web
In essence, the open Web, while not free from governmental and commercial pressures, is about as free from such pressures as a major component of modern capitalist society can be.... More pages.
- Translate pages on our website.
- Create art for our website.
- Flow patrol
We helped build a team at Automattic called "Flow Patrol". "Flow Patrol" is ”building testing culture in continuous delivery”. More and more, we work in places where continuous development is championed,... More our website and systems.
- Design print materials.
- Do research and data entry for the various databases we maintain such as aligned organizations and their service offerings.
- Fundraise.
- Create pitch decks.
- Find grants and write grant applications.
- Write white papers.
- Create workshops.
- Create courses.
- Create learning space programming.
- Mentor people in our community on your areas of expertise.
- Support events on-site (Austin, TX, USA).
- Support our learning center on-site (Austin, TX, USA).
The notion of disability in our society is underscored by a bizarre conception of “independence”.
The Myth of Independence: How The Social Model of Disability Exposes Society’s Double Standards » NeuroClastic
It is time to celebrate our interdependence!
Collaboration allows us to create genuinely safe spaces for autistic and otherwise neurodivergentNeurodivergent, sometimes abbreviated as ND, means having a mind that functions in ways which diverge significantly from the dominant societal standards of “normal.”NEURODIVERSITY: SOME BASIC TERMS & DEFINITIONS Neurodivergent is quite... More people.
For the first time, the age of digital networks enables us to construct cognitive assistants that help us to nurture and maintain globally distributed human scaleThe scope of trusted relationships is constrained by human cognitive limits (according to Robin Dunbar’s research, a human can maintain a maximum of 150 relationships at any point in time)... More competency networksAll healthy and resilient institutions have a well-functioning competency network (Laloux 2014; Wilson 2015). A good way to understand competency networks is via the notion of trustworthiness and the nurturing... More – networks of mutual trustAutists conceptualise the world in terms of trusted relationships with unique people.The beauty of collaboration at human scale The Autistic way of developing trust is based on experienced domain-specific competence.... More. It is time to tap into this potential and to combine it with the potential of zero-marginal cost global communication and collaboration.
All healthy and resilient institutions have a well-functioning competency networkAll healthy and resilient institutions have a well-functioning competency network (Laloux 2014; Wilson 2015). A good way to understand competency networks is via the notion of trustworthiness and the nurturing... More (Laloux 2014; Wilson 2015). A good way to understand competency networks is via the notion of trustworthiness and the nurturing and maintenance of trustedAutists conceptualise the world in terms of trusted relationships with unique people.The beauty of collaboration at human scale The Autistic way of developing trust is based on experienced domain-specific competence.... More relationships (Bettin and Elliffe 2016). A competency network can be formalised as a directed graph of experience-based pair-wise trustworthiness ratings in relation to various domains between the members of a group. You can think of it as the gifts that people bring to life by relating to each other.
The Beauty of Collaboration at Human Scale: Timeless patterns of human limitations
Values Fit
Before volunteering, get to know us and our mission, creed, covenant, and philosophy.
Do our values fitRemind yourself that shared values, rather than shared beliefs, are what matter when it comes to interacting with others, and that there is no replacement for doing the hard work... More yours?
GitLab Values | GitLab
Our values are expressed all over our website, but in particular on our “organize our lives around love and care” pages.
Let’s organize our lives around love and care.

Mission
We exist for the direct support and mutual aidPut simply, mutual aid is a form of political participation in which people take responsibility for caring for one another and changing political conditions by building relationships, networks of reciprocity,... More of neurodivergent and disabled people.
We serve our loved people so we can keep on living through the onslaught.

Creed
I center the marginalizedFor me this space of radical openness is a margin a profound edge. Locating oneself there is difficult yet necessary. It is not a “safe” place. One is always at... More and the differentOur friends and allies at Randimals have a saying, What makes us different, makes all the difference in the world.Randimals We agree. Randimals are made up of two different animals... More. I center edge casesCompassion Isn't CoddlingPeople often mistake compassion for “being nice,” but it’s not.The point of compassion isn’t to soften bad news or stressful situations with niceties. It’s to come from a... More, because edgeFor me this space of radical openness is a margin a profound edge. Locating oneself there is difficult yet necessary. It is not a “safe” place. One is always at... More cases are stress casesCompassion Isn't CoddlingPeople often mistake compassion for “being nice,” but it’s not.The point of compassion isn’t to soften bad news or stressful situations with niceties. It’s to come from a... More and design is tested at the edgesFor me this space of radical openness is a margin a profound edge. Locating oneself there is difficult yet necessary. It is not a “safe” place. One is always at... More. I center neurodivergent and disabled experience in service to all bodymindsBodymind: A term used to challenge the idea the body and mind are experienced separately (Descartes). Written in various ways, Bodymind or Body-mind, this usage foregrounds the understanding that experiences... More.

Covenant
We pledge to act and interact in ways that contribute to an open, welcoming, diverse, inclusive, and healthy community.

Philosophy
We steer by these acquired phrases. They are compasses and stars that align us on our mission.

Interdependence
It is time to celebrate our interdependence. Interdependence acknowledges that our survival is bound up together, that we are interconnected and what you do impacts others. Interdependence is the only way out of most of the most pressing issues we face today.

Edges
Our designs, our societies, and the boundaries of our compassionCompassion Isn't CoddlingPeople often mistake compassion for “being nice,” but it’s not.The point of compassion isn’t to soften bad news or stressful situations with niceties. It’s to come from a... More are tested at the edges, where the truths told are of bias, inequalityEquityA commitment to action: the process of redistributing access and opportunity to be fair and just.A way of being: the state of being free of bias, discrimination, and identity-predictable outcomes... More, injustice, and thoughtlessness.
Let's organize our lives around love and care Let's write each other letters and call it prayer Let's congregate in the place that isn't anywhere At the temple of broken dreams
Contributor Covenant
All StimpunksStimpunk combines “stimming” + “punk” to evoke open and proud stimming, resistance to neurotypicalization, and the DIY culture of punk, disabled, and neurodivergent communities. Instead of hiding our stims, we... More agree to abide by our contributor covenant while in Stimpunks space.
Do you agree with our covenant and code of conduct?
Contributor Covenant: Frequently Asked Questions about Contributor Covenant
Roles in Social Change
In our lives and as part of organizations, workplaces and movements, many of us play
The Social Change Ecosystem Map (2020)There is nothing more human than play. Humans were designed to learn in play. In fact, nearly all mammals evolved this way.Play's Power At our learning space, we provide learners fresh... More different roles in pursuit of equity
EquityA commitment to action: the process of redistributing access and opportunity to be fair and just.A way of being: the state of being free of bias, discrimination, and identity-predictable outcomes... More, shared liberation, inclusion, and justice. And yet, we often get overwhelmed, lost, and burned out. Some of us are newcomers to ongoing social change efforts and don’t know where to start. Still others are catalyzed into action in the midst of a crisis in our community.
The Social Change Ecosystem Map is a framework that can help individuals, networks, and organizations align with social change values, individual roles, and the broader ecosystem.
While considering volunteering, consider your roles in social change.
The Social Change Ecosystem Map (2020)
- Weavers: I see the through-lines of connectivity between people, places, organizations, ideas, and movements.
- Experimenters: I innovate, pioneer, and invent. I take risks and course-correct as needed.
- Frontline Responders: I address community crises by marshaling and organizing resources, networks, and messages.
- Visionaries: I imagine and generate our boldest possibilities, hopes and dreams, and remind us of our direction.
- Builders: I develop, organize, and implement ideas, practices, people, and resources in service of a collective vision.
- Caregivers: I nurture and nourish the people around me by creating and sustaining a community of care, joy, and connection.
- Disruptors: I take uncomfortable and risky actions to shake up the status quo, to raise awarenessAcceptance means training mental health service providers to look at autism and other disabilities as a part of a person's identity, rather than a problem that needs to be fixed. Acceptance... More, and to build powerThe 20th Century political scientist Karl Deutsch said, “Power is the ability not to have to learn.”I quote this statement often, because I think it’s one of the most important... More.
- Healers: I recognize and tend to the generational and current traumas
In expanding our definitions of trauma, we must make sure we see trauma as a structural issue, not just an individual one. Scholars now recognize what people from marginalized communities... More caused by oppressive systems, institutions, policies, and practices.
- Storytellers: I craft and share our community stories, cultures, experiences, histories, and possibilities through art, music, media, and movement.
- Guides: I teach, counsel, and advise, using my gifts of well-earned discernment and wisdom.
Playbooks at Stimpunks
There are lots of ways to help out. We offer these four playbooks that we borrowed from Human Restoration Project as convenient shorthand.

Joymakers
Joymakers assist in design, artwork, music creation, and other creative endeavors.

Empaths
Empaths assist in partnerships, event hosting, and social media campaigns.

Envoys
Envoys assist in reaching out to schools, fundraising, and informing our work.

Operators
Operator assist in transcription/translation, copy-editing, data entry, and more.
Volunteer
If all that feels like a values fit, here’s our volunteer form.
Our volunteer form has four parts:
- First, we ask for contact information.
- Then we ask for your social media. This is optional but helpful in us getting to know each other.
- Then we ask you to describe your interests and how you can help our mission.
- Finally, we show you a preview of your submission so you can review and revise before you submit.
🔐 About Us and What We Do With Your Information
Chelsea, Inna, and Ryan are at the other end of our contact form. Get to know us on our About page. Alas, we can’t usually move at the speed of emergencies, and sometimes we take a week or two off for self-care. We get lots of spam and sometimes miss your requests in the noise. If you don’t hear from us within a week, feel free to contact us again. Your information will be entered into our CRM software (HubSpot) and our accounting software (QuickBooks Online) for complianceNoncompliance is a social skill.Noncompliance is one of the most important social skills. Noncompliance skills make it possible to say no, even when others want your right to say no to... More purposes. Your IP address will be used to geolocate your browsing session. Your “user journey” through our website on the way to submitting the form will be captured. We collect as little as we can from you and do our best to keep it secure. We use 1Password for Business to secure our accounts with long, randomly generated, unique passwords. Your information will be reviewed by our directors: Ryan, Inna, and Chelsea. Our nonprofit consultant and our nonprofit lawyer audit our grants and grant process for ethics and legality.






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