Quick Treats for Kyriarchy-Smashing Caregivers: Summer Edition!
A pick-me-up for parents & educators igniting the next generation of kind & courageous leaders
Summer 2025 Quick Treats
Instead of demanding action, these treats are for you, with no expectations, no obligations, and no guilt if you’re not up for it right now.
Good News
Cool Things That Exist Now
Oh Hey, We Found The Helpers
A Goofy Thing Just For You To Enjoy
Helpful Stuff To Keep In Your Pocket For Later
1. Good News In Blocking Eugenics Initiatives
After nearly 50,000 signatories pushed back, Health & Human Services walks back plans for an ‘Autism Registry’
“[Health & Human Service’s] reversal on creating an autism registry shows that even when it seems that no one is listening, your voice matters. Public outcry seems to have caused HHS to change course and walk away from some of the most concerning aspects of the project.” - From the Autistic Self Advocacy Network.
Thank you to everyone who spoke up and fought against this big step toward eugenics. Your voices keep me and my family safe, and I’m grateful <3
2. Cool Things That Exist
Know Your Rights: A Guide For Protesters
“This booklet aims to give people thinking about going to (or organizing) a protest information about best practices for interacting with law enforcement in-the-moment, as well as advance information to consider in order to assess risk and prepare for possible police encounters.” - National Lawyer’s Guild
The National Lawyer’s Guild has a free series of Know Your Rights trainings and booklets to help you prepare as you head out to protests this summer. There are also guides for students and educators, for traffic stops and for if you are targeted by police.
Knowing your rights doesn’t mean police won’t trample right over them - but these guides help you protect yourself and others from the fallout through an encounter with police and court system.
“The National Lawyers Guild Mass Defense Program is a network of activists, community members, organizers, legal workers, law students, and lawyers providing legal support for protests and movements taking an abolitionist, anti-racist, anti-capitalist, and anti-imperialist approach to human rights work.”
3. Oh Hey, We Found The Helpers…
Free Virtual Bystander Intervention Training
Right To Be teaches ordinary people how to intervene when we witness harassment and violence without putting ourselves into further danger.
Trainings include bystander intervention to stop antisemitic, xenophobic, Islamophobic, anti-Asian, and LGBTQiA+ harassment, as well as conflict de-escalation techniques in protest settings and resilience training for vulnerable people targeted in public (all of which I’ve attended, and they are great), plus more.
RTB also offers resources for K-12 educators and videos for younger kids who can’t sit still all the way through a virtual workshop.
4. A Goofy Thing Just For You To Enjoy
[Video description: A small house-turtle rides around scoots about on a mini-skateboard, following a black tabby cat about to see what the cat is up to. With the turtle’s speedy freedom, it’s adorable to see how dedicated this turtle is to getting it’s cat-friend’s attention. At several points, the turtle skips off the skateboard and lopes forward with kah-kah-clank, using just it’s little paddle-shaped feet, moving much faster than I thought turtles could go. I know nothing about them but in my daydreams, they are loyal best friends and get up to many hijinks and adventures together.]
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5. Helpful Stuff For When You Need It:
visual Summer Routine Chart
My kids no longer demand witness every time they use the potty, but they require a surprising amount of hand-holding for doing basic chores and getting to bed at night. So if kids demand your attention for Everything Single Thing They Do, All Day Long, use this handy-dandy chart for self-direction for a few minutes of daily peace.
I’ve used tools like this to get my kids to get to camp in the morning, decompress after school, and grab a quiet snack after nap time. Our original version had photos of my kiddo’s special-interest Rescue Bots putting on socks - but this version has more universal appeal.
Use this free printable visual routine chart to help your kiddo follow their own routine without bugging you.
If you’re in the phase of parenting where your kiddo can grab their own snack, potty, or head out to school by themselves, but they need a little reassurance, use these charts to get a little of your time and attention back.
You can download the printable directly using this link, or visit the Transitions Toolkit to help your kiddo if they’re having a wild time with the transition to summer and need support with executive functioning and transition management.
Coming up next: Summer Email Break!
Now that you can use these lovely tools and resources to claw back your time and attention, you’ve got what it takes to join the Summer Luminator! (See what I did there? I’m sneaky. The benevolently helpful kind of sneaky!)
Stretched thin juggling parenting, activism, and…
::gestures broadly to concurrent ongoing apocalyptii:::
Stop struggling and start making an impact - together in the Summer Luminator, we focus our floodlights into laser beams to change the world. It’s low-pressure, it’s goofy, and it’s exactly what overwhelmed parents need to smash the kyriarchy without burning out.
Enjoy your email sabbatical!
This summer is your chance to bask in the sunshine and romp through the nature of your choice with the kiddos. The last thing you need after a busy summer is to come back to a three-month email pile-up, so I’ll give you a break from this newsletter until September.*
Meanwhile, if you’re stuck inside on a rainy day, tap into our Family Action Toolkits for stories, discussion ideas, and art activities to build some memories together.
with you,
Ashia
*Unless I have something really really cool to share with you that I just can’t wait, but mostly I will try to shut up and not bother you until the weather cools!
PS: I’ve got two free Ignition Calls open to the public through June - grab a spot if you need a little help untangling your parenting & advocacy challenges.