This is what I posted on SheroesCentral recently. As people respond and I answer them, I will incorporate my answers into this post to make it more cohesive, but for now here is the original:
... OK, I'll begin with a confession or too, and keep this in mind when reading:
1. I'm a sociophobe, so just knowing what I'm typing is going to spark a controversy is making my heart thump.
2. Due to that, and also because just in general I can be not very good at expressing myself even when I fully understand the issue, some of this may be unclear. Try not to take offense at anything, and just ask for clarification of anything that doesn't seem *right*.
OK, here goes. *deep breath*
About a year ago, I became interested- well, more like fascinated- with autism. It's a really intriguing condition. It's not all that well understood medically. The diagnostic criteria vary from expert to expert and theories are constantly pushing back and forth, no one able to agree on anything. But it seems to me (and I've done tons of research, so please trust me on this) that they all share one thing in common: The portrayal of autistics themselves rarely waivers from this view of a sad, self-absorbed, lost, stupid, inhuman child.
There's almost no mention of autistic adults, although there's plenty of them; any autistic who breaks the conventions of sad, stupid, self-absorbed, lost, inhuman, gets labeled as an exception; no one seems to really care about the autistics themselves, beyond finding out what makes them tick. People seem to think that autistics, as a whole, should be wiped out. There was even one mother who said her son would be "better off if he had cancer".
There's been a recent spate of so-called "mercy killings" of autistic children by their parents, who have this stunningly, frighteningly ridiculous notion that their children are monsters who do not deserve to live. I've heard a theory that the cause of autism is that these children are born without souls. In the film "Autism Every Day" (a horrible propaganda piece Cure Autism Now uses to reel in donations), one mother said she thinks about driving her car off a cliff with her son inside, because she cannot stand having to care for him.
There's a school in New York, called the Judge Rotenburg Center, that uses electric shocks to discourage its students (not all of them autistic, but some of them; others are 'emotionally disturbed' or mentally retarded) from performing unwanted behaviors. The shock devices deliver shocks that come within a hair of being deadly, and they are not aproved by the FDA. Students are sometimes shocked while they are in the shower.
Other 'aversives' used on the students include a highly restricted diet, forced sniffing of amonia, and four-point restraint. A student died there (from starvation and injuries) in 2002, and though her death was investigated, the case was completely dropped for no appearant reason and the JRC is still open.
The extent to which these hate messages will go is horrendus. What's worse is that the public is innundated with them and they believe it. The idea that autistics are sub-human and need to be forcefully cured or otherwise exterminated ("humanely", of course) is almost universally accepted.
There are a few groups that actively oppose this. I belong to one, Aspies For Freedom-
http://www.aspiesforfreedom.com (currently down for repairs)- and there are many more. The group as a whole is called the "autism rights" or "neurodiversity rights" movement. Their message is simple, but often missunderstood.
We (and I say 'we' because I firmly believe I am on the Autism Spectrum, although I've not yet been diagnosed; I fit the criteria well) don't want a cure.
The thing that causes autism is a difference in brain wiring. There are some theories out there that those differences are caused by food alergies, mercury poisoning, or TV, but for the most part these theories have been debunked. Genetics seem to be the culprit.
Our differences are substantial. They account for a great deal of our selves, our personalities.
Some of the lowest-functioning people may be in need of asistance their whole lives to survive, but why should this be denied them? They are still people. It makes me want to scream every time someone says we should not provide support for them because they are "a drain on the economy". Actually, to be honest, I've seen figures that suggest it would cost LESS to give autistics in-home support than to lock us all away in mental institutions (which a lot of people do advocate).
My mind works the way it does because of autism. I see the world in fascinating, new ways because of autism. I am "gifted" because of autism. I am who I am because of autism. To take my autism away, to cure me, would be to make me into an entirely, completely different person- a person I do not and never will want to be.
Several prominant scientists are developing a prenatal test for autism. Granted, if this were to be used PROPERLY, it could help with identifying autism early and teaching the child in a manner that allows them to learn, as apropriate for an autistic child, and would allow for early help with speech therapy or whatever special needs the child might have.
But I know- and stastics from the prenatal test for Down's Syndrome, where 90% of fetuses are aborted, proves- that, in the current world where autism is viewed as a disease to be wiped out, and autistics as soulless monsters, the test will be used to identify autistic fetuses so they can be aborted. Doctors WILL pressure women into aborting autistic fetuses. Already in England children have been aborted for having club feet or webbed hands, and there is a program running NOW that advocates that families at risk for autism abort ALL male fetuses because there's a higher risk of autism in males than in females.
In my eyes, and the eyes of my peers in the Neurodiversity Rights Movement, this is tantamount to genocide (note I'm not saying IS because technically we're not a "race" or "minority group" in the eyes of SOME PEOPLE who complained last time I talked about this; only "tantamount to", because that's all PC or whatever. Yes, I'm bitter and angry.) It frightens me to think I might never have been born because someone thought my life had no worth. I don't oppose abortion in general, if the mother cannot support the child or if it's a rape-baby. But to abort a child just because of who THEY are, or may be- that I find disturbing.
I encourage all of you to find out everything you can. I think it's important that you know, because the public is woefully under-educated about autism, and that's how these 'charities' like Cure Autism Now and Autism Speaks can convince people that we're worthless, and steal all your money.
Here's some links to get you started:
http://www.aspiesforfreedom.com
http://www.sentex.net/~nexus23/naa_03.html
http://www.neurodiversity.com/
http://ballastexistenz.autistics.org/
-Athene /|\