The AskAnAspie FAQ

Q: Should I treat your word as infallible and follow your advice blindly?

A: NO! We are not professionals, we're just college students. We are happy to dispense information about our personal experience and to offer advice based on that experience, but what you do with that advice is completely up to you. Basically: We are not responsible for anything that might happen because of our advice. Don't sue us.

Q: My child has Autism or PDD-NOS, not Asperger's. Can I still email you?

A: Of course. We try to help parents of children across the Spectrum.

Q: Are you a bunch of wild-eyed radicals who go around yelling at people and setting things on fire?

A: Well, I was trying to bake some Challah the other day, but my oven was broken, so I put it in the toaster oven... But that's probably not what you meant. No, we aren't crazy radicals. We certainly have our opinions, but on the whole most of us are moderates, and all of us have put a lot of thought into our opinions. The two firmest rules at AskAnAspie are a) no yelling at people and b) no knee-jerk reactions to anything.

Q: Despite the fact that I am asking this question in English, I don't actually speak it. What languages can panelists answer questions in?

Well, English is really best. All of us are native English speakers. But in a pinch, one or more panelists has a high-school-level proficiancy in Spanish, French, American Sign Language, Latin, and Japanese. And we have friends we can turn to who know Russian and Chinese. But if at all possible, English is really best.

Q: I think the people in my parents' group, some of whom don't go online/speak English/own computers, would be interested in your website. Is it ok if translate/print excerpts?

A: Yes, as long as you credit the website, include the web address, and if it goes online, email us a link.

Q: I really like the idea of those "Celebrate Neurodiversity" shirts. Can I buy them online?

A: We're working on that. If you want to be sure that you'll know when they become available, sign up for our newsletter at http://groups-beta.google.com/group/AskAnAspieSiteNews

Q: I've heard some companies use slave labor to print shirts. Do you guys do that?

A: Well, Wiley does all the screenprinting herself by hand. She doesn't get paid, but we like to think of it more as "volunteer" labor.

Q: Will you come visit our support group / meet my kid / talk at our conference?

A: Yes, within reason. Here are the general "within reason" restrictions:
1) We're all college students, so while some weekday nights may be possible, weekends tend to work better. Also, we tend to disappear for the summer.
2) None of us have cars, so if where you want us to go isn't accessable by public transportation, we would either need to be picked up by someone with a car or reimbursed for taxi fare. And if you want us to go somewhere outside the Chicago area, you're responsible for any transportation/lodging costs.
3) We don't really have enough time to meet everybody one-on-one, so we mostly come meet with groups. This isn't a written-in-stone rule, but if you can get a group of kids and/or parents together, it helps us reach as many people as possible without spending our entire lives on the CTA.
4) One way we raise money to run the site, photocopy brochures, etc. is by selling t-shirts and other random things. If you don't want us to bring our t-shirts to your meeting, please let us know ahead of time. We don't require any sort of speaker's fee, but we would like the opportunity to offer our t-shirts for sale. They're very cool, they say "Celebrate Neurodiversity" on them and they come in a variety of sizes and colors. I don't know why anyone would object to them, but this is fair warning that unless you tell us not to, we will try to sell you t-shirts.