I am not one for joining groups but the way that Autism Speaks is growing by leaps and bounds has me very concerned and I thought that maybe it's time for autistics to really work at putting a stop to this organization's agenda.
They have gotten Toys'R'Us on board as well as Sony Music and NASCAR not to mention other good companies to help them with their mandate .... to CURE autism and to make autism a word in the history books.
What really scares me about these people is that even their executive vice-presidents who have children with autism are going on national news programs like "Good Morning America" and saying that killing their autistic children would be a viable option if they didn't also have 'normal' children. The latest glurge propaganda from Autism Speaks by Bill Shea (their Creative Director VP) is online at ht tp://ww w.whatkindofw orlddoyouwant.co m/vide os/view/ id/2131 54 as part of a fundraising campaign done in conjunction with the artist and his label, Sony.
I don't know about anyone else, but I know that autism is genetic and so if Autism Speaks want so make autism a word in the history books, the only way they can do that smacks of the goals the Nazi's had in WWII for other groups of people Nazi's wanted to have mentioned as words in history books.
Any suggestions on how Autism Speaks can be legally stopped (i.e. maybe some sort of massive campaign by autistics themselves?)?
[edit] link broken [couldbecousin]
I am not a supporter of Autism Speaks, however I am bothered by the continual misrepresentation of the mother who said she had considered driving off of the bridge.
It's not a misrepresentation of the mother. The mother is Alison Tepper Singer, the VP of Communications for AUTISM SPEAKS where she has spoken on more than one occasion -- including an AUTISM SPEAKS promotional video -- where the situation was caused by seeing that her daughter would be placed in a kindergarten class with other high needs children where the teacher:student ration was 1:12 with educational assistant support. Her only reason for not driving off the bridge was because of her 'normal' child who was not with her and her daughter at the time.
She did not state nor did anyone in the organization state that killing one's autistic child was a viable option. It was one mother sharing her darkest moment. She was clearly ashamed and remorseful about the moment.
She was not ashamed or remorseful because she not only was in the AUTISM SPEAKS promotional video speaking of this possible action to resolve her situation with her autistic child, but also in a documentary wherein she stated exactly the same thing and has stated this repeatedly on a number of national and regional news programs and news reports. How exactly does this sort of repetition --without remorse -- show shame?
She was certainly not promoting murder or suicide. She was showing how overwhelmed, stressed, and distraught she had become and what this had done to her ability to reason and her will to go on.
Had she embraced her daughter for her difference, this would most likely not have been the case. The flaw is with the mother, not with the child.
I think she shared this in hopes that others may not have to go to such a dark place. Or if they already are they can know that they are not alone and that it will pass.
Perhaps you should watch the promotional video in question wherein she speaks of this 'thought' as well as the documentary. Then watch the most current video and you will see that AUTISM SPEAKS most assuredly has a dangerous agenda in place.
Then again, I remember hearing from my grandfather that before WWII broke out, many of the minorities in Germany who were sent to concentration camps during the war, also did not believe that the Nazi's would do what they did do to those minority groups during the war.
There's more to the story then the interview, but let's not derail.
Thank you, Erkolos.
I do stick by my original complaint, however. Sharing a moment of instanity is not the same thing as promoting murder.
Except it's not just a moment with that mother. She repeats this story ad nauseum and speaks constantly about curing her autistic daughter because it's just so awful having an autistic daughter when she had planned to have two normal children.
The mother isn't sharing a moment of insanity -- she continues to promote that her autistic daughter isn't good enough. She's the VP of Communications for AUTISM SPEAKS, the people who recently put out another video talking about eradicating autism from the face of the earth which is something that speaks loudly to genocide.
If the comments were being made about African Americans the way they are made about autistics ... we have to make them white because black is just wrong (we have to make autistics normal because autism is just wrong) ... perhaps it would be easier for you to see that this isn't a one-time comment rooted in despair on the mother's part. You would perhaps see it for what it really is ... dangerous.
*Has a dream to make a special preschool for Auties and Aspies....*
I don't know if I should call myself an autist since I only have Aspergers. But I really dislike Autism Speak's agenda. It bothers me, because, why aren't they putting their money to organiztions that can train employeers on how to treat HFAs and Aspies in the workplace. Providing good working enviroments. Parent training classes, training support dogs and adjusting the enviroment for the autists.
Their agenda doesn't not make sense to me.
Anyway I do want to say that I found some joy and sorrow in my aspergers. AnthroCon is where I realized it. It was Saturday night, and I was at the Con Rave. I was dancing with the fursuiters and really boogin' to Sandstorm. When I saw this little guy really having a blast. Turns out this little guy was Derek, one of the Staff's kids. He too was an autist, his main condition was Hypogycef-something, I can't know the term, but it's when the brain fluid swells up. But anyway, I really loved playing with him. His mom was really sweet and I enjoyed talking to him and her. Derek would be classified as an LFA, but the music and the lights didn't seem to bug him. However....it's was different for me.
After playing with Derek... I was getting tired, and when I get tired, I'm more aspie then usual, my symptoms are really promeient. and I show a lot of autisic triats. I was close to a meltdown. And It hit when my friend playfully bumped into me. I hated it! It was jarring, painful and weird. I broke down, I was tired I wanted to go back to the Omni and go to sleep. I heard too many noises, the lights where starting to be too bright, and I was in general state of unhappiness.
It was their I told a friend, how I felt. In a choppy stutter I explained, that I should be proud of my austic mind. Of myself. But now I feel weakness and shame. I was sick of meltdowns and having people guide me home and cover my ears when the ambulance came. I hid for awhile until the meltdown went away. But in a sense, I sometime, I wish I wasn't diagnoised...