Petition against Autism Speaks

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I signed it too.

Wow, I had no idea Lauren Thierry was so evil.

That's a pretty horrible example of "autism awareness". I have shared many personal thoughts that those mothers shared (at different times) but I saw nothing redeeming in their stories or outlook. They blamed everything bad on their children. They all seemed to share the same (upper middle class, white, urban) demographic and not reflect any change in lifestyle or expectation in their lives. That one woman repeating the mantra that her son would go to Harvard???
There are so many oversights, it would be close to impossible to name them all.
I kept thinking I saw the worst of it and then there would be something to top it. The simple problem of children running out the door is one. My son bolted out of doors once he could reach the door knob. We learned to not only use dead bolts but the top, slider locks too. He still is prone to run and we adapt. He is 6 1/2 and we hold hands on busy sidewalks and always in parking lots and intersections. The child running down the street and into traffic is unacceptable.
There is no discussion of NT adaptation, just lack of AS adaptation, the lacks of their neighborhood, schools, not the quest to do better for their kids. They have spent the money enough to buy second homes in rural areas with better schools and more space.

KimJ, basically it's the complete and utter equivelant of a Nazi propaganda film about the Jews, only except it's by NTs towards Auties.

I signed the petition. That video is pure propaganda. It uses innocent children and well that's just wrong.

What was really disturbing was that mother who wanted to take her daughter and drive over a cliff. The child is NOT DEAD. People with Autism can still live semi normal lives I'm proof of it. Seirously the police should investigate that woman.

I have signed the petition because I agree with it, although I don't agree with some of the posters here in this thread. I have no problem whatsoever with what the mother was saying. I don't think the real aim here should be to censor her thoughts.

My problem is with how Autism Speaks has effectively normalised her thoughts, and how they have failed to acknowledge the possible ramifications of this. Furthermore, they have tried to portray the 'reality' of autism in a completely unflattering way, that takes into account nothing positive. That's unfair to autistics because it denies their basic human worth, and it's unfair to parents of autistics because most of them are trying to be a positive influence on their children's lives, not saying they would be better dead. It's even unfair to the mother they interviewed, because she's probably a good person at heart who's been misportrayed and manipulated.

First of all, if Autism speaks, then how come when watching the entire video, none of the autisic participants actually...oh, I don't know, maybe, SPEAK?.

Second, I find its lack of portrayal of the Aspie/auties hyper-focus on their obession when their peers are doing things that are immoral and sometimes illegal disturbing in the extreme to say the least.

Third, before someone pops up and says 'least said, soonest mended', I have to say that while that may work in what is, IMHO, a very few cases, this is not one of those cases. Besides, powerful speeches that changed the world for better followed that saying and proved that proverb, as much as you can say a polar bear is well adapted to the desert.

Fourthly, I am also outraged and dismayed (though I'm subduing it) at the fact that this 'Autism speaks' video was allowed to be broadcast. Had it been a visible disabilty, I am pretty certain there would have been uproar.

My second problem with the 'Autism speaks' people is that they uses the term 'Sadly misunderstood' to descibe Asperger's on their site yet they do absolutely nothing to help, and do a lot to hinder.
If they believe it's sadly misunderstood, then why would you make a video that portrays in it in what is unrealstic pessism and not explain?

And that's probably the longest post I've ever written. Not that I could fully describe how negative my reactions are to it, given infintity.

Let's just say, it made me feel sick at one point...literally. And that's just the beginning of how I felt with the first minute.

I watched that video, I sat there arguing out loud with it the whole time it was playing, I felt sick, I signed the petition.

For some reason it says I've already signed when I haven't. Maybe I'll try another email address.

I haven't seen the video but since Autistics are portrayed badly, I refuse to see it. I'll sign.

"It's even unfair to the mother they interviewed, because she's probably a good person at heart who's been misportrayed and manipulated."

She's a key member of Autism Speaks, with extensive experience in Media.
[link]http://www.autismspeaks.org/leadership.php#alison[/link]

I copied and pasted the petitions with all the signature and I Emailed it to all of the people on the "contact us" list.

Hopefully I'll get a positive reasponse

Yeah, I know it isn't going to make much difference if any, but I signed it anyway.

Their mission statement portrays us as victims of some horrible disease that needs to be cured. That was enough to piss me off.

And by the way, I can speak TWO oral languages (English and Spanish) and can sign in American Sign Language fluently, despite what they say about is... Why do they say we can't speak when I am TRILINGUAL?