ESCANABA — The Bay College Diversity Committee is recognizing Autism Awareness month in April with several events. The college is inviting campus and community members to stream the film Wretches & Jabberers on Vimeo. The film is available April 1-30 via Vimeo. Email Joseph Mold moldj@baycollege.edu for the free code.

About Wretches and Jabberers:

Oscar winner and twice Academy Award-nominated filmmaker, Gerardine Wurzburg, directed the feature documentary Wretches & Jabberers. Wurzburg’s compelling documentary chronicles the world travels of disability rights advocates, Tracy Thresher and Larry Bissonnette, in a bold quest to change attitudes about the intelligence and abilities of people with autism.

On April 5 the TRiO Program will be hosting Shane Howe for a virtual event at 4 p.m. Shane is an #ActuallyAutistic transgender student. They are the founder of THRIVE: Transgender Healthcare Resource Initiative and Family Transends; an international mentorship program for at-risk trans youth. They will be speaking on being “Autistic and Part of the Alphabet Soup – The Intersection of Autistic Neurodiversity and Being LGBT+”. Join them to learn about the prevalence of Autistic LGBT+ people and Autistic-centered Disability Justice. They will also cover social and medical models of disability, the importance of stimming, Autistic asexuality, and more! Email meade@baycollege.edu for the Zoom link and invitation.

During the same week, Bay College welcomes back the Wretches and Jabberers crew, Tracy, Larry, Harvey and Pascal to discuss how the pandemic is affecting their access to communication and what we can do to make sure people on the spectrum have equal access to communication during a nationwide shutdown. The presentation, “Autism and the Pandemic” will be held on April 7 at 4 p.m. via Zoom. Email Joseph Mold moldj@baycollege.edu for the Zoom link and invitation.

The public is also invited to join the Bay College Community via Zoom as we share our stories about being Neurodiverse, on the Autism Spectrum, or ADHD/ADD, for “What’s Your Story About Neurodiversity” April 13 at 4 p.m. Via Zoom. All are welcomed to attend this live sharing event to discuss victories, challenges and life as being Neurodiverse. Email Joseph Mold moldj@baycollege.edu for the Zoom link and invitation.

This series is part of the Bay College Autism and Neurodiversity Awareness Events. These events are sponsored by the Bay College Diversity Committee and TRIO.