The Pittsburgh Center for Autistic Advocacy

06/23/2025

An exciting announcement from Cori:
After nearly ten years, I have asked Opal Middleton to step into the director role at PCAA! Opal is a longtime community organizer, multiply disabled and Autistic advocate, and badass who dreams radical disabled futures.

It has been an incredible decade! I have had the honor of working with hundreds of fantastic Autistic and disabled adults. I have been privileged to teach and be taught, grow and foster growth. I didn't even have stable housing when I started this work, but here I am as an adoptive parent with an MSW, surrounded by people who love and challenge me to never stop growing.

I am joining Social Emotional Change as a psychotherapist, where I will continue to support our disabled and q***r communities in new ways. My ability to accept many insurance plans will be limited at first, but please know that I am working toward being able to take as many plans as possible. While this is goodbye in this space, you can still find me around the internet (and Pittsburgh!) here!

01/22/2025

We must be exceedingly clear: autism must never be used as an excuse for hate symbols. It is, additionally, absolutely condescending to perpetuate the idea that neurodivergent people cannot be accountable for our actions.

Do not forget, this hate ends the lives of disabled people. Many of the first victims of the European eugenics movement were disabled and nonspeaking children. Never again.

03/01/2024

Today, March 1st, the disabled community and our allies come together to mourn disabled people who were killed by their parents or caregivers. We read their names and we push back against the idea that disabled people are disposable, that our caregivers are burdened by our existence, and that our deaths are a mercy to those around us. Our lives are important, intrinsically valuable, and precious. We belong in every community and deserve a seat at every table.

Join our livestreamed vigil on YouTube, Twitch, and Facebook Live at 8PM EST, live-captioned and with ASL interpretation.

https://autisticpgh.org/ddom-2024/

https://fb.me/e/aawLu2Geb

https://www.twitch.tv/GenderMeowster

Image description: Yellow and white text above a photo of a single lit candle shining in darkness. "March 1st is Disability Day of Mourning. Join our virtual vigil, 8 PM EST. autisticpgh.org/ddom-2024"

02/29/2024

Meet our event staff:

Our host, Opal Middleton (they/them) is trans and nonbinary, Autistic and multiply disabled and parents Autistic and Disabled young people. Opal is PCAA’s co-pilot. They work for a world that is just, equitable, and joyful.

This year we will also have production and streaming support from GenderMeowster. GenderMeowster (they/them) is a multiply disabled, non-binary, AuDHD streamer who often collaborates with their friends on stream and hosts multiple shows and podcasts. They also started Gender Federation, a group of streamers and organizers that organize (roughly quarterly) 4-day long mutual aid events benefiting multiply marginalized folks with surgery, housing, or access needs. You can find them at https://linktr.ee/gendermeowster

https://autisticpgh.org/ddom-2024/
https://fb.me/e/aawLu2Geb

Image description: black text on a white background. "Disability Day of Mourning. Emceed by Opal Middleton, Produced by GenderMeowster." Below are photos of Opal: a white transmasculine person standing in the forest with very short pink hair; and of GenderMeowster's logo: a pixel-art cockeyed calico cat wearing a purple wizard hat and wrapped around a crystal ball with a trans symbol on it, in yellow white purple and black. Below the photos, "March 1st, 8 pm EST, autisticpgh.org/ddom-2024"

02/28/2024

Join us for Day of Mourning 2024 -

Each year on March 1st, the Pittsburgh disability community comes together to mourn and call for justice for the dozens of disabled people murdered by their parents and caregivers. As we come together for the eleventh year in Pittsburgh, we embrace our community and reject narratives that dehumanize...

02/27/2024

Meet our speakers:

Elaine Houston (she/her) is a multiply disabled Pittsburgh transplant, assistive technology innovator, and disability rights advocate. She can frequently be spotted in the community with her service dog, Oak III, from Canine Companions.

Michael James (he/him) is a q***r disabled designer, facilitator, and leader. He has learned about what the Pittsburgh healthcare system is like for disabled people as a patient, peer, and advocate.

https://autisticpgh.org/ddom-2024/
https://fb.me/e/aawLu2Geb

Image description: black text on a white background. "Disability Day of Mourning. Meet our speakers: Elaine Houston and Michael James." Below are photos of Elaine: a white woman with short brown hair and glasses, smiling and posing with Oak, a golden lab dog; and Michael: a smiling white man with short dark hair wearing an orange jacket. Below the photos, "March 1st, 8 pm EST, autisticpgh.org/ddom-2024"

02/25/2024

Meet our speakers:

Sarah Selvaggi Hernandez (she/they) is an Deaf.Autistic author, educator, occupational therapist, and international speaker. She was also the first openly Autistic person elected to serve in the United States government. She runs the popular social media site The Autistic OT and is currently joining the autistic community's effort to at the Judge Rotenberg Center in Canton, MA. They can be found at https://theautisticot.com/

https://autisticpgh.org/ddom-2024/
https://fb.me/e/aawLu2Geb

Image description: black text on a white background. "Disability Day of Mourning. Meet our speakers: Sarah Selvaggi Hernandez." Below is a selfie of Sarah, a pale-skinned person with curled light-brown hair falling over one eye, smiling at the camera. Below the photo, "March 1st, 8 pm EST, autisticpgh.org/ddom-2024"

02/23/2024

Meet our speakers:

Alisa Grishman (she/her) is a disability activist, a self-described shameless agitator, and has been arrested multiple times fighting for disability rights. She founded Access Mob Pittsburgh and co-runs Ballots for Patients and Care to Vote.

Bethany Ziss (she/her) is a disabled person and a doctor, who believes the two are not mutually exclusive.

https://autisticpgh.org/ddom-2024/
https://fb.me/e/aawLu2Geb

Image description: black text on a white background. "Disability Day of Mourning. Meet our speakers: Alisa Grishman and Dr. Bethany Ziss." Below are photos of Alisa: a smiling white woman with curly brown hair sitting in a power chair with hands zip-tied together, having just been arrested; and Bethany: a white woman with dark hair and glasses wearing a pink shirt and smiling. Below the photos, "March 1st, 8 pm EST, autisticpgh.org/ddom-2024"

02/21/2024

Friday, March 1st is Disability Day of Mourning. Pittsburgh's vigil this year will be livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube at 8PM EST, with live captioning and ASL interpretation.

https://autisticpgh.org/ddom-2024/
https://fb.me/e/aawLu2Geb

Image description: Cream-colored text over a photo of several candles shining in the darkness. "Every year on March 1st we gather to remember disabled people killed by their parents and caregivers. Join our livestream at 8 PM EST. autisticpgh.org/ddom-2024"