Social media is a popular platform for discussion, and we welcome comments and feedback from anyone who comes across our posts.
Please note that, while we welcome constructive criticism, we do not tolerate online abuse towards our team, so please consider how you phrase your comments. We also encourage people to read Autism Parenting Magazine’s views and beliefs before drawing conclusions.
We do find that many social media users ask similar questions, so we’ve made this “Social Media FAQs” page in an attempt to address these comments in one place.
1. What’s our view on ABA therapy?
Autism Parenting Magazine (APM) aims to be a balanced voice, offering articles on a range of therapies and techniques. We cover everything from ABA therapy, speech therapy, and occupational therapy, to more holistic approaches such as music therapy, art therapy, and even equine therapy.
We include a comprehensive range of options so families can choose which works best for each individual child (because we appreciate there is no “one size fits all” approach!). We also understand some individuals do not support autism therapy—and that is entirely their right.
We accept there is controversy surrounding ABA therapy in particular. However, we’ve seen much evidence of good ABA providers helping children to live more independent lives. As with all therapies, the success and quality depends on the provider—so we only feature reputable ABA therapists in our pages who bring positive value to the lives of the people they serve.
2. Do we provide a platform for autistic voices?
Some individuals say we are “silencing autistic voices” when we occasionally delete social media comments. Please note, we only delete comments which are defamatory, use abusive language, or become (what we consider) an ongoing onslaught. We censor all comments regardless of whether the person posting is on the spectrum or is neurotypical. As mentioned above, we’re open to feedback—we simply urge people to phrase their concerns in a respectful manner.
If you’re concerned APM does not provide a platform for autistic voices, please note the following:
- Many of our writers are autistic advocates. Notable figures on the spectrum, including Dr. Temple Grandin, Siena Castellon, and Marcelle Ciampi (AKA Samantha Craft), plus many more, have provided content for our pages. As well as being autistic, many of these contributors are dyspraxic, dyslexic, dyscalculic, or have ADHD
- Our founder is on the autism spectrum
- We invite submissions from diverse writers. In addition to publishing insight from doctors and therapists, we run articles from parents, other autistic adults, and family members with personal experiences of autism. If you would like to submit a piece for possible inclusion, just click here.
3. What’s our view on identity-first/person-first language?
There is much debate about whether people on the spectrum should be referred to as “autistic” or “with autism”. We understand both schools of thought and we believe most people on either side of the debate are trying to be supportive.
In order to respect everyone’s beliefs, we encourage each writer/contributor to use their own preferred language. In addition to this, our team members use person-first and identity-first language interchangeably. We recommend reading this article on the subject by one of our regular writers.
4. Why do we charge for magazine subscriptions?
People sometimes ask “why should people have to pay to read your magazine?”.
We keep costs as low as we can in order to make our publication accessible to as many families as we can. Unfortunately, we do have to charge for the magazine in order to cover the expenses of producing the magazine. Our team works very hard to compile our specialist content and produce the publication so we can continue providing readers with support.
We do offer lots of free content through our newsletter and blog. We also offer a free issue of the magazine to those on our mailing list! To sign-up for our newsletters and to get your free magazine copy, visit https://www.autismparentingmagazine.com/freegift/
5. Do we support Autism Speaks?
As mentioned above, we provide a neutral, balanced voice to the autism community and we cover a variety of topics, news, and events related to autism.
We sometimes include information about events being hosted by Autism Speaks and other autism charities. On the other hand, we also raise awareness if/when our readers have concerns about the work of any particular autism charity or organization.
6. Do we use the puzzle piece symbol?
We use the puzzle piece at times to show our support for autism awareness. The puzzle piece as a symbol for autism was originally used by the National Autistic Society in the UK in 1963. It was created by a group of autistic and non-autistic individuals. Autism Speaks then went on to use the puzzle piece in autism awareness campaigns in the USA.
We do hear from some autistic individuals who do not agree with the puzzle piece being used as a symbol of autism. We also hear from others, including the symbol’s autistic co-creator, Thomas A. McKean, who are keen to further support for the symbol’s original intentions. We respect the differing views, but we ask our readers to note the positive messages behind the symbol’s creation. We recommend reading this article by Thomas and this article in Autism Parenting Magazine about its origins.
7. Is it safe and secure to purchase APM online?
Rest assured we take customers’ security seriously. Here are some of the steps we take with our website to ensure buyer security:
1) We use 128 bit SSL encryption between the web browser and our checkout page
2) We don’t store credit card details on our servers but use Stripe to handle credit card payment processing. Here are the steps they take
3) People that don’t want to use credit cards can check out securely via PayPal. More details about PayPal’s security including buyer protection can be found here
To use PayPal, please follow the instructions found on this Solutions Page.
8. Is our magazine only focused on children?
Some social media users presume our publication is only about kids. That is far from the truth! While a large chunk of our readership is parents with young children, we also have many readers with teenagers or young adults. We include at least one article on the theme of Transitioning to Adulthood in every issue of APM. Some of the many topics we cover are: puberty, relationships, financial planning, finding work, and living independently. Our writers/contributors also include young adults on the spectrum who are keen to share their own life experiences.
9. Is APM shipped internationally?
People often ask where the magazine is shipped and how they can receive the print version. APM is a digital-only magazine and can be downloaded anywhere in the world. For more information, please head to this page.
Summing up
If you stumbled across our magazine on social media, we hope this page has been helpful in answering your queries.
If you have any further questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact our support team.
