Other tutorials for leaders/facilitators
Below are the beginnings of a list of online tutorials on miscellaneous topics useful to leaders/facilitators of autistic peer-led groups.
- Potential sources of trouble in groups and subcultures
- How to write a press release
- Mutual aid societies
- History of autism and the autistic community
- Miscellaneous
Tutorials on other topics will be added later.
Potential sources of trouble in groups and subcultures
- The Problematic Issue of Boundaries and Autism by Jessica Penot, LPC, Psychology Today, January 14, 2023.
- TRASHING: The Dark Side of Sisterhood by Joreen (Jo Freeman) -- classic essay written way back in 1976, about the feminist movement of that era, but similar issues have occurred in other movements/subcultures as well.
- The tyranny of structurelessness by Jo Freeman aka Joreen -- another classic essay, from 1970. See also more recent commentary: A 1970s Essay Predicted Silicon Valley's High-Minded Tyranny by Noam Cohen, Wired, Nov 15, 2018, and Networked Social Movements and the 'Tyranny of Structurelessness' by Rhodri Davies, HistPhil, February 20, 2019.
How to write a press release
There are lots of tutorials on the web about press releases, with somewhat different takes.
First, here's a general tutorial on press releases by a very experienced PR consultant:
- How to Write a Press Release Reporters Will Actually Read by Josh Weiss May 24, 2021.
Note that he voices some opinions about formatting that are a bit different from many of the other tutorials on this page, such as the relative position of the end marker (e.g. "###") and the contact info at the end.
Below are some tutorials on press releases for nonprofit organizations, specifically:
- Press Releases for Nonprofits: Information and Sample Releases (PDF) by Joanne Fritz, Massachusetts Nonprofit Center.
- Write a Press Release for Your Nonprofit, The Modern Nonprofit, September 11, 2018.
- Non Profit Press Release: Why You Should Write One and How to Do It - Galaxy Digital.
- How to Write a Non-Profit Press Release by the Berkeley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs.
- How to Write a Nonprofit Press Release by Ilma Ibrisevic, donorbox, 01.01.2018.
- How to Write and Distribute a Nonprofit Press Release by Tatiana Morand, Wild Apricot, November 06, 2020..
- Sample Press Release for Nonprofit Both Content and Format are Crucial by Joanne Fritz, The Balance, updated on May 30, 2019.
- How to Write a Press Release for a Nonprofit by Julia McCoy, Express Writers, Jan 11, 2017 .
- 8 Principles For Writing A Nonprofit by Meredith Janke, causevox.
- 5 Ways to Get Your Nonprofit Press Release to Stand Out, boomerang.
One of these articles mentions the AP Style Book -- the online edition of which is paywalled. But the AP Style Book's blog is publicly viewable, as is its Twitter account.
Another article mentions the AP style rules for the dateline, which are paraphrased here: How to Format a Press Release Dateline With AP Style by Anthony Santiago, Newswire, April 19th, 2018
The remaining tutorials are about press releases from businesses. But the same basic principles still apply.
From Wikihow:
- How to Write a Press Release by Linda Chau, September 16, 2021.
- How to Submit a Press Release, September 16, 2021.
From PRWeb:
- 10 Tips for Getting Your Pitches Read -- and Reported: How to stand out from the sea of distractions to get your message read.
- Quick & Easy Guide to Sharing Your Press Release With the World How to craft your perfect press release.
From Media College:
- How to Write a Press Release - Introduction.
- Media Contacts.
- Format.
- Getting Your Press Release Published.
- What Makes a Story Newsworthy?.
- How to Write a News Story.
From Prowly:
- How to Write a Press Release? [The Guide + Expert Comments].
- 20+ Press Release Examples to Draw Inspiration From in 2021.
Various press release how-to:
- How To Write A Press Release: 2021 Guide and Free Template - Class:PR.
- How to Write a Press Release [Free Press Release Template + Examples] by Hannah Fleishman.
Various articles about common mistakes in press releases:
- 10 Things Journalists Hate About Press Releases by Paul Murricane, LinkedIn, Jul 15, 2015.
- What Journalists Hate About PR (and More Specifically, Your Press Release) by Rudi Davis, 12 July 2016.
- 10 Things Journalists and PRs Hate About Each Other.
- Six Reasons Why the Media is Ignoring Your Press Release, Vela Agency, Jan 2, 2019.
- Why CEO press release quotes suck: Reporters hate PR quotes by Ann Wylie.
- How to stop using words journalists hate in your press releases by: Lorraine Forrest-Turner, March 16, 2021.
- 6 Reasons I Hate Press Releases by By Christina, a PR consultant who formerly worked as a TV journalist.
One important type of press release that is not mentioned in the above tutorials: A press release whose purpose is to express an opinion. For this, at least one quote is required, and is the part of the press release most likely to get used. Also the press release must be a timely response to a news story on the same topic, and must be sent to the reporter who wrote the news story. (For most mass media sources, "timely" means within 24 hours and preferably within 12 hours.)
Mutual aid societies
One of the types of groups we eventually want to create are mutual aid groups.
- The Americans Who Knitted Their Own Safety Net by Annie Lowrey, The Atlantic, March 24, 2021. Mutual-aid groups are helping Americans envision communities that meet everyone's needs.
- What Is Mutual Aid, And How Can It Transform Our World? by Victoria Mendez, Global Giving, Feb 3, 2022
- The Power of Mutual Aid Networks for Community Change - Giving Compass, Mar 17, 2022
- Astoria Mutual Aid Network
- Mutual Aid NYC - see also Mutual Aid Groups and Community Resource Library: Resources for all of NYC and For Groups + Organizers
- NYS Mutual Aid
- Mutual Aid Hub (U.S.A.)
- Mutual Aid 101 by Alaxandria Ocasio Cortez
- How to Help Your Community with Mutual Aid - Public Health Career Guide
- Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next) by Dean Spade, Verso Books
- How to create a mutual aid network by Mary Zerkel, American Friends Service Committee, Jan 7, 2022
- What Is Mutual Aid, Why It's Important & How To Get Involved - Ethical Unicorn: Sustainable Living and Racial Justice, June 02, 2021
- What is mutual aid? How do you start a mutual aid project in your community? - ioby, May 21, 2020
- Mutual Aid Societies - New York Heritage Digital Collection
Mutual aid groups for autistic people:
- AMASE: Autistic Mutual Aid Society Edinburgh in Scotland, UK
- How Disabled Mutual Aid Is Different Than Abled Mutual Aid
- Autistic People of Color Fund
- Stimpunks Foundation: Mutual Aid and Human-Centered Learning for Neurodivergent and Disabled People
History of autism and the autistic community
This list of links has been expanded and moved to a new page here
Miscellaneous
- Advocacy Resources - Self-Advocacy Voices
Featured pages:
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Various autistic peer-led groups including support groups, career-oriented groups, and hobby-oriented social groups, led or facilitated by members of the Autistic Peer Leadership Group. Our newest group is the Autistic Women's Support & Social Group. All groups currently meet via text-based chat. Some groups will hopefully meet in-person after the COVID crisis is finally over with.
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A list of Online forums and social media for autistic people.
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Where to get an ASD evaluation as an adult: This page will be expanded and updated sometime after the COVID crisis is over with.