Human Rights and Asperger Syndrome

How well do you know your rights? If somebody asked you to name three human rights, would you be able to answer accurately? If you or somebody you know has Asperger Syndrome/High Functioning Autism (AS/HFA), how can you tell if your rights have not been respected or even violated in some cases?

Often when people think of rights abuses and struggles to maintain rights privileges, images of famous people such as Mary Robinson, Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King come to mind but the fact is that anyone can be a human rights activist. Thousands of people from a variety of backgrounds make complaints each year that their rights have not been respected.

Eleanor Roosevelt

The first and most important thing you should be aware of is that people with AS/HFA (and their carers/families) are entitled to the same rights as everybody else. 

But what are these rights?

Following from a fascinating presentation given by Rosalind McKenna from Amnesty International (Ireland Division) about Human Rights Based Approaches (HRBA) for our Parent’s Day, Aspire recently hosted the first of its Coffee Mornings around the theme 
of Human Rights and Asperger Syndrome for our members. We decided to approach this topic again due to the amount of calls and queries received around this issue. As the only association for people with Asperger Syndrome in Ireland, Aspire will always do what it can to make sure that everyone affected by this condition is properly informed of their rights. 

Please click on the PowerPoint Logo to download the Amnesty International 
HRBA Presentation

Please click on the PowerPoint Logo to download the Aspire Presentation on Human Rights and Asperger Syndrome

If you have a query relating this or think that your rights have been violated and are unsure of your next step, please contact Shane O’Halloran, Development Coordinator for Aspire for further information (Ph: 01 8780029 / Email: development@aspire-irl.org).

By publicising developments, reports, lobbying and media awareness, Aspire will continue to make sure that your voice will continue to be heard and the condition will not be ignored.

Each of the following sections below will open onto a new area once clicked. I suggest that you read them in the order presented to get a better understanding of what is involved.