Morénike Giwa Onaiwu is an American educator, author, and autism and HIV advocate. ^{[1] [2]} Alongside E. Ashkenazy and Lydia Brown, Onaiwu is an editor of All the Weight of Our Dreams, an anthology of art and writing entirely by autistic people of color published by the Autism Women's Network in June 2017. ^[3]

Biography

Neurodiversity paradigm
Philosophy Bodily autonomy Disability rights movement Independent living movement Self-advocacy
Organizations Aspies For Freedom Autism Network International Autistic Self Advocacy Network National Autistic Society
Events Autism Acceptance Day & Month Autism History Month Autistic Pride Day Autscape Disability Day of Mourning Neurodiversity Celebration Week Weird Pride Day
Issues Ableism Anti-autism All in a Row Applied behavior analysis Augmentative and alternative communication Autism-friendly Autism Speaks Communication Shutdown Community integration Controversies in autism Deinstitutionalisation Disability-selective abortion Double empathy problem Ethical challenges to autism treatment Eugenics Facilitated communication Filicide Inclusion in education Inclusion as a right Judge Rotenberg Center Ole Ivar Lovaas Social model of disability Societal and cultural aspects of autism Universal Design for Learning
People Alex Plank Ari Ne'eman Damian Milton Daniel Lightwing Devon Price Donna Williams govy Jim Sinclair John Elder Robison Judy Singer Julia Bascom Lydia Brown Mel Baggs Michelle Dawson Morénike Giwa Onaiwu Morton Ann Gernsbacher Nick Walker Roy Richard Grinker Shain Neumeier Stephen Shore Steve Silberman Temple Grandin William Davenport
Films Citizen Autistic Loving Lampposts Neurotypical
Criticism Pro-cure perspective National Council on Severe Autism Matthew Belmonte Manuel Casanova Jill Escher Michael Fitzpatrick Bruce Hall David Miedzianik Jonathan Mitchell Alysson Muotri Jonathan Shestack Alison Singer
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Personal life

Giwa Onaiwu was born in the United States to immigrant parents from Nigeria and Cape Verde, where the majority of her relatives still live. She states that her early symptoms of autism were possibly misinterpreted as characteristics of "a black person [...] trying to fit into the white environment," especially with more physical symptoms misinterpreted as the "stereotype of the violent or over emotional or sassy black person." ^[2] In an interview with Quartz, she stated: "Many characteristics that I possess that are clearly autistic were instead attributed to my race or gender. As a result, not only was I deprived of supports that would have been helpful, I was misunderstood and also, at times, mistreated." ^[4]

Giwa Onaiwu attended United States International University in San Diego, California. ^[5] She served as an undergraduate working with refugee children in a housing project and as a mentor in public schools. ^[6] After graduating with a BA in International Relations, Giwa Onaiwu worked in the non-profit sector with a variety of disenfranchised groups, including women, at-risk teens, and refugee families. ^[7]

She has multiple adopted and biological children, of whom the two youngest are also autistic. ^{[7] [8]} Giwa Onaiwu uses both "she" and "they" pronouns.

Giwa Onaiwu graduated with a Masters in Special Education from the University of Texas of the Permian Basin. ^[5]

Activism

Giwa Onaiwu has launched and led a number of campaigns for human rights, concentrating on HIV and Autism advocacy. In 2009, ^[5] she began as an active participant in HIV research and advocacy, ^[9] and she founded the organization Positive Playdates to benefit families affected by HIV. This organization would later be merged into Advocacy Without Borders, an organization she founded in 2014 to support community activists. ^{[5] [10]}

Giwa Onaiwu is co-chair of the Women's HIV Research Collaborative and the ACTG Community Scientific Committee elected representative to the international cross-network Community Partners Working Group. She was the chair of the Autism and Race Committee for the Autistic Women's Network from 2014 to 2020. ^{[5] [7]} She is a current and former executive and advisory board member of a number of organizations, including serving as Vice Chair of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) Board of Directors from 2016 to 2020. ^{[5] [11]}

However, in 2021, Giwa Onaiwu signed a letter stating that Autistic Self Advocacy Network was silencing racial minorities and autistic individuals with intellectual disabilities. Allegations included that ASAN plagiarized a Native American activist's work, and that several board members who are racial minorities resigned due to racial discrimination. ^[12] She later announced that she was leaving the #actuallyautistic movement because of issues such as microaggressions. ^[13]

Outside of organizations, she has acted as an individual activist. In 2015, she started a petition to dismiss felony assault charges against an autistic middle school student and delivered it to the court alongside several other autism advocates. ^[14] In March 2018, Giwa Onaiwu was featured in the Simons Foundation's Spectrum alongside two other women, all speaking on their various experiences as autistic women. ^[15]

Giwa Onaiwu speaks at functions to raise awareness and promote the empowerment of marginalized communities, including abuse survivors, people of color, and disabled people including autistic girls and women of color ^{[16] [17]} and of those living with HIV/AIDS. ^[18]

Research and writing

Giwa Onaiwu has held several leadership positions in prominent global research networks for HIV clinical research, autism, and gender. She is an editor and author of several publications, including edited collections, chapters, peer-reviewed articles, and op eds. Her most recent publication, Sincerely, Your Autistic Child: What People on the Autism Spectrum Wish Their Parents Knew About Growing Up, Acceptance, and Identity, is published by Beacon Press and co-edited with Autistic Women and Nonbinary Network. She will release Neurodiversity En Noir: A Collection of Black Neurodiverse Voices, with Jessica Kingsley Publishing in late 2021.

Bibliography

• Brown, Lydia; Ashkenazy, E.; Giwa-Onaiwu, Morénike, eds. (2017). All the Weight of Our Dreams: On Living Racialized Autism. Autism Women's Network. ISBN  9780997504507.

External links

• All the Weight of Our Dreams, editor
• Sincerely, Your Autistic Child, editor
• Autistic Community and the Neurodiversity Movement, essayist
• Knowing Why, essayist
• The Real Experts: Readings for Parents of Autistic Children, essayist
• Blog, "Who Needs Normalcy"

References