Hate for auties on Oprah.com

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After Oprah did a show recently on autism, I visited the forum at her website. There is a whole section just for autism, which is great to see. What surprised me though, is there are some people there who are completely bigoted against us auties. One in particular, has an intense hatred for autistic people and wants a cure to wipe us all out. She says we are arrogant, and that our lives are hell. She's even visited THIS site, just to read here and make hateful comments about us on the Oprah site!! !

I think a few of us need to get over there and defend ourselves. Let's speak up for ourselves and our fellow auties who cannot speak. I can't believe this kind of hatred exists toward us. We auties have so many positives, gifts and abilities.

Here's the link, it's easy to join up:
http://www.oprah.com/community/communit ... iscussions

she is just jealous

I am a member and do try from time to time, but if they do not like what you say they delete your post....

I did not see the episode on Oprah, how could I have missed that?

This month's O Magazine had an article on the Donor X case where multiple autistic children were born from one sample at a Cryobank clinic, and some of the language bothered me, like the narrator assures us that some of the children can still "pass" for normal if lots of work is put into it - so its not a total death sentence for parents! and so forth.

Also the whole thing of withdrawing the sample, warning people, blaming the clinic, scrutinizing the evaluation of the fathers behaviors -- what little thing did he write or say that could have been sign that we missed?! attitute etc... like it was an emergency for the center for disease control... (despite the fact he was very charming, eloquent, literary, an astrophysicist and musical talent) The sample is withdrawn from circulation, he is warned "for his future reproduction...", parents that chose the sperm for their first child, now aware that, in their words, "the odds are stacked against them" will go for another father for the child's siblings. This despite the fact that the child is fine, has the donors musical talents etc... a number of the children have genius qualities...

The article was good in many respects but I found it framed as if around a crisis and all I could see was a bunch of incredibly gifted and unique children, where there was no hope of a child before.

ok, I better stop talking now. I've got a habit of going on long rants here which is not cool...

I posted there to respond to estrella77's points in the one thread. I hope it sounded constructive.

anyone who has to tear someone down in order to feel superior is inferior in my book. I'm surprised that anyone who claims to be socially superior can act so childishly.

Thanks for the response everyone. I was pretty shocked...I know there's a lot of misunderstanding towards autism, but I never saw such hatred for us before. I figured people see us as a little weird, maybe some see ret*d, but to actually hate us as a group...wow.

Nory: the episode on Oprah was Jenny McCarthy and Holly Robinson-Peete talking about their autistic sons. A lot of people are not happy about the episode, myself included, because it painted autism as a terrible disease that can be cured by cutting out dairy and gluten. They were so negative, Jenny even got someone fired for suggesting her son was autistic!! !! ! Holly sat there lecturing the world on how we MUST be called "people with autism", not autistic which annoyed me because I don't like "person with autism", and I did a poll here that showed about 97% agreed with me. So you didn't miss much.

MysteryFan3: I just read your post, it was a great one. I don't think we'll change this chick's mind, but at least we can show that we are intelligent, articulate people who can stand up for ourselves. In another thread she said autistic people lead lives of "hell"...well there's plenty NTs who have hellish lives, and plenty of happy auties!!

asplanet: Yes you are right, they already deleted one of mine. If you're careful about how you word your replies, it's not too bad.

Specter and kleodimus: You are right, she said she came here and found us "arrogant" because we're proud of our abilities (good memories, math talent, whatever). And yes, she wants to tear down another group to feel good about herself.

Thanks for the episode summary! That is kind of shocking. What really suprises me is Jenny becuase Jim Carrey is probably the least NT actor out there... He's talented to the extreme, but always seems to be in character. I remember seeing him on Oprah too recently and it was so hard to tell when he was not acting. Don't get me wrong I love this about him, he is hilarilous but it is almost like a savant talent at times. I'm just suprised that Jenny would be with someone so unique and then have this axe to grind... oh well.

Jenny McCarthy is an idiot. And I'm sorry but I'm not a person with Asperger's. I'm an AS kid. I'm okay with it. It is part of who I am and what I am. I'm not a person with autism. I'm autistic. So is my kid. I hate person first language. I even work with people with disabilities. I get yelled at all the time for not using person first language. I don't say ret*d people or anything like that, but still....

We've taken this whole thing way too far, don't you think?

I've never seen a message so bigoted torwards the autistic community.
Seriously, what that person said was disgusting.
THEY'VE GOT A DIFFERENCE! GET THE MEDS!

Hm I might take a look at that forum a bit later.
I will try to be gentle with those ignorant people, I have heard they can be quite um fragile and don't like hearing a different opinion
you guys go give them some hard facts and tell them to take those 'rose tinted glasses' off and get real!

Wouldn't Autist be too easily confused with artist?

I really liked your message on the Oprah board. I think what has happened is Jenny is responding from a place of fear and defensiveness as a new mother, and her emotional response has somehow, inexplicably, been accepted by others as a form of political correctness. I know my mother was and is the same way, the word autism is hard for her to say and she always makes up excuses for me with family, if I brought it up with family she would be incredibly upset. It was the same when I was growing up, I was just put into a zillion schools. Parents can get in the mindset that if someone is commenting on a perceived lack in their child it is an insult to them, and their child. This is a kind of protection that is ultimately detrimental to the child, but I think it is instinctual too somehow, in the maternal instinct.

Good point, nory. I was diagnosed last year with AS and started finding out what I could. A lot of my initial opinions have changed over the past year as I learn more and swap ideas on the forums with people. I posted again today and recommended the Parents' Discussion forum here and Asperger's Family Forum on delphiforums. I think she is getting a lot of ignorant b.s. from people telling her to drop the GFCF diet for her niece and "accept her as she is". She needs to get on a support forum that can answer her questions and offer positive guidance. Let's hope she finds one.