My First Foray Into Regional Center Politics

I didn’t expect to be accused of “faking it” so quickly.

How could a neuropsychologist with a PhD not realize I was faking my autism all along? I’m on my way to undiagnose myself right now! Photo by Nik on Unsplash

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If you have ever spent any time involved with Regional Centers here in California, you will quickly learn that their work leaves much to be desired. If you wish to become more familiar with some of the issues plaguing them, as well as why they exist, you can read the following three articles of mine: On Being an Unconserved Adult California Regional Center Consumer, Sorry, it’s not my fault your child doesn’t have services, and The Untold Administrative Burden of Living With a Disability.

First steps

Naturally, when one is fed up with the seemingly endless negative manifestations of a nearly intransigent bureaucracy, it only makes sense to try and see what can be done to improve the situation. I therefore decided to ask around and see how I can get closer to directly interacting with key decision makers and make my voice heard. Like anything else having to do with Regional Centers, there is little transparency and lots of confusion, and I still don’t quite know what to do.

First, my occupational therapist sent out multiple emails on my behalf to relevant personnel in exchange for silence. It was…