Let me try to address the last few posts. First the Cruise for Autism. Basically this is a chance for parents and their children to go on vacation with people that understand what they are going through. A chance to go on vacation and not have other people give them weird looks and make rude comments. On board along with the usual staff there will be therapists and certified personel to help parents with their children. Everyone deserves a little time away.
Oh come on this cruise is raising money for a cure. please.
I've spoken to members of your organization before. I understand that you feel that you do not want to recover from autism/aspergers. You want this known and I can understand your point of view being that you feel like there is nothing wrong with having aspergers. Again that is how most of you feel and I'm not going to comment on that because I dont have aspergers. What I do know is that there is an overwhelming population of autistic children and adults who need answers and want some guidance and thats who we are trying to help.
Hmm see cris this is where u are wrong. It is a minority who want to be cured. while the vast majority do not want a cure.
why do you guys in the so called autism community. always assume you are speaking for all or a majority of autistics???
Cris you are welcome here. but you seem to be very sensitive to criticsm,.
you are to be commended for coming here,
Perhaps I would invite someone to write something, but I have to tell you I'm not very encouraged by the comments on this forum.
.
This carrot and stick approach is the common way NTs treat autistics. It is like verbal ABA. Be good or else. So you want us to be like or we wont get invited to write for your precious magazine. I dont like threats.
Perhaps you want a silly fool like stephen shore who will say anything you want for a buck.
Addressing the Cruise for Autism. One of the biggest problems for my publisher was traveling with her child. Her son would always have problems with breaking routine and being confined to an airplane seat was something she never wanted to put him through. After the magazine was started we received a lot of feedback from parents about how difficult it was to travel. Evelyn went ahead and met with some Cruise lines about putting something together. The other concern was parents need to enjoy themselves as well. They should be able to go on a vacation and call it a vacation. So there needed to be a structure for a five day program for children while they are on this Cruise. Activities that will both stimulate and educate and parents would have the choice of either joining or going off and doing their own thing. That said we needed qualified therapist and assistants to help us with this task. But as we all know there is a fee when it comes to hiring help. The AIN Foundation picks up this fee. The Ain Foundation has will be putting together several vacation getaways and also will be organizing art shows and poetry sessions that the voice of someone with autism can be heard through their art. As I write this I am looking at a painting sent to me by a 15 year old non-verbal autistic boy who wanted me to have one of his paintings. I hope we can finally move on from the Cruise and what the Ain Foundation will be doing with the funds we do receive.
well
you still have not addressed where the money goes.
I also didn't appreciate your comments about Stephen Shore. He is a good person and for someone to attack him for no particular reason other than you just disagree with his opinions is wrong. I have nothing against anyone being brutally honest. What I am against is someone personally attacking me. The reality is I do know why you are bitter. I understand that you do not want to be changed nor do you want to see the Asperger's population end.
Am I a good person?? Only those with the rioght views or keep the anti cure view under wraps gets invited to conferences and to write books. Stephen shore says he is anti cure but takes money from curebies and is willing to be their spokesperson for a buck. It is not being about being a good person. It is about being on the right side of history.
Stephen shore is not well respected in the autistic community as he is in the autism community. I am more respected in the autistic community than the so called autism community. I sacrificed any chance to be on the NT lecture circuit for the sake of us all. I protested and endured the insults and obscene gestures and threats from the NTs. I noticed you never mentioned me by name in any post like the others. NT autism groups have tried to marginalize me. They spread rumours about me behind my back.
But I am better known and appreciated than these so called icons held up by the NTs
By the way I really wish we could all sit down somewhere and go over all your concerns. Doing this on a message board is not the best place to have this discussion, but I will keep justifing everything I have to say and continue to understand your needs.
Well you have 2 choices
1) fly to wales
or
2) meet me for coffee in NY
oh yeah
the fact is doing it for the children is not taking a moral position. Hilter loved children german children who were not jewish nor "defective" as in cleft lip, *** or obviously autistic.
How is that different from NTs who abort if a baby is not perfect has downs or autism or cleft lip????
love for perfection is a sign on the highway to hell
You're assuming I support the abortion of babies if the mother knows they will autistic. Geez I definitely don't and now you are comparing me to Hitler. Real nice.
Not compating you to hiler just trying to show the similarity thats all.
Once and for all. All parents are paying for is their rooms on the cruise, food, therapy, activities are all covered by the Ain Foundation. There is no money being made off the cruise. Passengers are being offered a heavily discounted rate for a good cause. The Ain Foundation is picking up the rest of the cost. Thats basically it. We're not funding some research for a cure or anything else. This is for much needed fun in life. Nothing wrong with that is there?
ok
Stephen Shore does not make money off of Unlocking Autism if that is what you are saying. He is on their board of directors and again UA is more about awareness than anything else.
UA is about curing autism in jesus'es name . says so right there on the website. Autism awareness please
I'm flying out to England sometime this summer ... London to be exact. Otherwise I live in New York, I'd like to do a story about AFF for the October issue.
Going to the NAAR walk?
I don't think the NAAR walk is happening anymore, but no that is not why I'm coming to London.
**Joyous celebration**
I'm sorry, but I just rather you refrain from ever using Hitler and my name in the same sentence again. And UA does other things other than cure autism. Matter of fact all their campaigns are awareness based nothing about curing. Do they support yes they do, but don't totally dismiss the work they do. .
Well
the fact is the similarity of Hitler's views and that of curebies is undeniable. If you feel uncomfortable about that too bad. But there are bigger things here at stake than your feelings.
To them autism is something bad. They have it all wrong those LFA's problem is not that they are too autistic but not autistic enough for if they were they would be high functioning. They have too many NT traits to function correctly.
Cris, do you mean that the NAAR UK walk is not happening?
It is still on their website, no sign to say its not on. Where did you get that info?
it could be a trick
disinformation to throw us off
Cris, do you mean that the NAAR UK walk is not happening?
It is still on their website, no sign to say its not on. Where did you get that info?
it could be a trick
disinformation to throw us off
or maybe NAAR is being NAAR and trying to get much money as possible for an event they know isnt gonna to happen!!
Bonnie: You are misinturpreting my words and its disappointing. First drop the assumption that I'm against you or out to get you and then read it again. I'm not going to continue with it.
FYI
Cris
Bonnie is well respected in the autism community. She is one of the few that is welcome as a mod practically everywhere. lol If you have bad blood with her, I dont think there is an online forum you could turn to , to be bonnie free.
She has a site Aspergianpride.com. She has the permission of Edan to do so.
Have u seen aspergia.com?
And you keep referring that line to me when I didn't say it. My publisher did say it she did not use it dilitberately like you are. It's really not fair that some of you have taken the approach that I'm against you. But I came here to stand up for myself and tell you that I'm an objective journalist willing to hear you out. Instead you have taken my being here as an opportunity to try send a blunt message to NT's by attacking me. I came to this site and kept an open mind and wanted to meet some of you and write a story. Sorry if I'm offended by comparisons to Hitler, but I just am. To say I remind you of someone who riled up all the Jews in Germany and stuck them in a gas chamber is hurtful. If you want to keep attacking me thats fine. Just know that I have never deliberately attacked you. This is my final post on the message board. If anyone would like to contact me about a story I would be willing to listen, but I'm not going to continue to answer emails that are full of hate and that lack an open mind.
look stay,
We are not attacking you per se but the people u support. You started spectrum with a point of view. So I cant see how we could see you as an objective journalist.
Amy can you step in here?? maybe we can come to understanding with him?
And you keep referring that line to me when I didn't say it. My publisher did say it she did not use it dilitberately like you are. It's really not fair that some of you have taken the approach that I'm against you. But I came here to stand up for myself and tell you that I'm an objective journalist willing to hear you out. Instead you have taken my being here as an opportunity to try send a blunt message to NT's by attacking me. I came to this site and kept an open mind and wanted to meet some of you and write a story. Sorry if I'm offended by comparisons to Hitler, but I just am. To say I remind you of someone who riled up all the Jews in Germany and stuck them in a gas chamber is hurtful. If you want to keep attacking me thats fine. Just know that I have never deliberately attacked you. This is my final post on the message board. If anyone would like to contact me about a story I would be willing to listen, but I'm not going to continue to answer emails that are full of hate and that lack an open mind.
Look I am sorry about the hitler thing . but I NEVER said you were hitler. So I think you are taking it too personally.
Now I guess you will tell all your collegues that you were compared to hitler (which isnt true). The point I was making is that Hitler's view on defective children is being mirrored in todays world. By who???? the Cure Autism crowd
love for perfection is a sign on the highway to hell
I should have said
unbridled lust for perfection is a sign on the highway to hell