14/04/2025
On Today's Episode of 'What has AVATAR Borders Done For You?', we're our ability to link in with The Scottish Parliament:
On Tuesday the 25th of March 2025 our wonderful George Watts (Chair of AVATAR [Autistic Voices Advocating Tpgether for Autonomous Rights] Borders) was invited to speak to the Equalities, Human Rights, and Social Justice Committee from Scottish Parliament chaired byKaren Adam MSP [Member of Scottish Parliament]; alongside other amazing Scottish APOs [Autistic People’s Organisations] such as AMASE [Autistic Mutual Aid Society Edinburgh], ARGH [Autism Rights Group Highland], Aurora Consulting, Diversified, and SEMA [Scottish Ethnic Minority Autistics CIC].
George's main point of call was to present to the committee on employment and the Police/Criminal Justice System, but the group also:
Raised a lot of the significant barriers facing our community.
Called for a ban on Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), Positive Behavior Support (PBS), and other forms of "Behaviorism".
Discussed the crisis facing Autism Assessment Pathways, and the discrimination we face when we do have a diagnosis.
Talked about employment, education, social care, physical and mental health and how intrinsically linked they are.
And Sofia from SEMA spoke powerfully on intersectionality, and Disabled People’s Organisations experiences through the LDAN [Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence] Bill consultation process.
"Although the gravity of the situations we shared was evident to everyone, it was reassuring to see sincere discussions taking place. I hope this is just the beginning of the conversation and that we can continue working together to bring about meaningful change for autistic people across Scotland." - George Watts, Chair of AVATAR.
