It Takes Brains! - Autism Brain Net

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Why are there ads about "stem cell treatments for autism" on Wrong Planet?

This whole thing seems pretty screwy, mainly because I don't generally trust autism researchers.

Now if they were offering money I'd take the plea more seriously. Enough to buy reasonable sized suburban house, or just pay off my university HECS debt. I'm willing to donate my heart and kidneys for altruistic purposes, but since autistic brains are such a rarity I ought to try and make the most of it, and these people ought to be desperate enough to pay for them.

But even then I wouldn't let these people get their sweaty paws on the fruit of my skull. Autism Speaks is attached to the project, so it just isn't going to happen. If they offered cash I'd sign up and order my loved ones to cremate my skull as soon as the funeral festivities were over. Make like it was a humorous misunderstanding. To defraud those who prefer that I do not exist is a dream of mine.

From what I've seen, the drive to acquire and analyze is a recent trend in Autism Research Land. The University of Queensland is working on an "Autism BioBank", the description I've linked to suggesting that the project will have implicitly eugenicist implications. Until I can be certain that this strain of autism research is conducted in the interests of autistics, I will not participate in any of these studies.

Keep the zombies away from me!

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I don't find much value in digging through dead human brains, one is much like another, I don't think a better understanding of autism will be achieved this way.

Many thanks for bringing this to our attention. In terms of research, the goal is not to 'cure' (necessarily) at all. Instead, to understand autism at the neuronal and molecular level. In fact, we might guess that there are positive autistic features that might help all of humankind. Maybe they can learn from us.

There´s a thought worth considering.

"to solve autism"...sorry, that is not about awareness, but about curing...they are just playing with words as they are fully aware that they won't get many adult autistics to participate in some eugenics BS...I don't trust them, I don't buy it...

If access to autistic brains can help find methods to help those, who suffers greatly from problems connected with autism - they should have them.
Wiping out autism? Don´t think it would be possible.
Can they "stabilize" human genome to a degree, where varieties won´t occur? Don´t think so.
Is autism by nature a "machine failure"? Then exaggerated sociability, adaptability and conformity is as well.

Just noticed something about the page linked to - at the bottom in the red band there are three blocks of writing.

Left to right, and therefore in order of the importance the writer places on them I read:

1) Australian Government - Department of Industry and Science.

2) Business - Cooperative Research Centres Programme.

3) Cooperative Research Centre for Living with Autism.

So the Autistralian government is presented as more important than Industry and Science, which are all more important than Business and so forth. In fact every word in that red band is placed as more important than the word Autism.

But wait a minute - the word Business is in bigger print than the rest, so it's almost like the print is shouting, and it's central, so slipping on my tin foil hat of Literary Criticism, perhaps the picture of the words on the page is telling us that Big Business is central to the enterprise. Perhaps.

Slipping into my natural bias, I wouldn't trust the Australian Government as far as I could flick a tank (they've got form for Eugenics), and the same absence of trust goes for Industry. Let me shout the next bit: THE INTERESTS OF BUSINESS ARE NOT GOOD FOR US. EVER.

Back to the whole page of text, the word Autism is variously spelt with and sometimes without a capital letter in the text, but, in the two titles at the top the word Autism is given the lower case first letter. Call me picky, neurotic even, but the words: "Australia's first autism Biobank" do seem to me to play up Australia and Biobanks at the expense of Autism.

Wondering what those hands in the little sign are about - palm prints on hindu cows? six pointed stars? Think of the children?

No way. Autism $peaks is involved, and the phrase "solve autism" is used at least twice, once in huge letters. This is dubious grammar: would one say "solve cancer" or "solve diabetes"? Why not "understand autism"? And autism isn't necessarily bad. Everyone's brain is different, some people are autistic, and autists tend to have gifts that are lacking in neurotypicals. We enrich our culture, our science and technology.

Despite the fine print in the poster, Autism $peaks's goal is not to understand autism, but to "cure" it. I know that other, more decent, organizations are involved, as is Alex Plank, but the wording of the poster cannot be ignored.

What will they use this research for? Will it be used to figure out a cure or preventing autism?

I want to know if this research will actually help us or just further our oppression.

I'm already an organ donor and I'm cool with people studying the autistic brain but this seems kind of weird to me. I don't like that Autism Speaks is involved and why do they let family members of autistic people register? Surely they don't accept donations from autistics who can't consent, right?

........and OMFD!! ! what a kewl cape!...with matching shoe laces no less!