I want to clarify a few points about my thread about the Sia movie because I think in my long thread, I still wasn't clear enough on a few points. I'll try to condense them to one thread at a time.

1. I wanted the point of the thread to be about how we as a community were addressing the issue was often using talking points and language that doesn't reflect the best language for nonspeaker rights.

2. Many of the things said about Sia were things that are tacitly ableist and can cause harm.

3. I wasn't trying to defend Sia or the decision to not cast an autistic, but to point out that harmless or disabling aspects of her own disability were being used in ableist ways.

4. Messaging about Rainman and Forest Gump was not simply criticizing that abled actors played the roles, but were insulting real autistic traits they portrayed.

5. The film does champion a concept that is radical and challenging to the mainstream, and that is the presumption of competence. It also appears to unapologetically normalize AAC.

6. She did cast many autistic actors and based the movie on someone she loves. She had autistic consultants. I do wish that an autistic would have played the role, but many were implying she didn't listen to any autistics.

7. While speaking about nonspeakers, I felt like there was a real need to listen to them about their disabilities and the motor planning and executive functioning and sensory issues that make many things difficult for them. I felt like we need to try harder to understand them.

8. Autism Speaks is manipulative and self-serving, and they insist with a very scripted speech that they're the representatives of the majority and we are the "small but vocal minority."

9. We all need to better understand, read, listen, and platform nonspeakers more. It's very hard to get speaking autistics to invest in that, and I'm not sure why. There are films, books, YouTube channels, orgs, blogs, and FB pages for nonspeakers that we should platform.

10. I feel like we were undermining a very important message (presuming competence) with the way we were discussing the film. The decision to cast a nonautistic is disappointing, but that very critical message needs to be discussed.

11. Sia did respond poorly. But also I felt like we needed to look at some of the ableism and just the sheer mass of messages and their content and give some room to recover and make it right.

12. Communication First issued a statement with a brilliant idea: to add an introduction to the film from nonspeakers who express and discuss important issues in communication rights and representation. Also an apology to the community for the response. That would be great.

13. I don't have answers and am not saying anyone is wrong or that I'm right. I'm saying that I would like to see us use this as an incentive to work together and pool our resources to center nonspeakers and fight together to shut down the group of ppl who actively oppress them.

14. We need to all be educated on the big barriers to Justice for nonspeakers, and then we need to take our grievances about this film and the broader industry and mobilize that justified anger to help fight for and with them. We can be very powerful when United.

15. I'm sorry if anything I said was invalidating. Every autistic person is justified in their grief and this world is traumatic. We deserve to author and star in our own stories. The world needs to know we are here and listen to us, not dismiss us as angry and trolling.

16. Also, two people have pointed out that nonspeakers did interact in the thread. I tried hard to follow it all, but I didn't see that. I will add or RT any nonspeaker responses to this thread if I see them. I am trying to follow it.