ASAN Protests Autism Speaks in New York City Nov. 17

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By Ari Ne'eman, ASAN President.


We'll be gathering at Seventh Avenue and 57th Street, 154 West 57th Street in New York City from 6 PM to 8 PM this coming Tuesday, November 17th, to hold up signs and hand out flyers to Autism Speaks sponsors going in to their New York City concert with Bruce Springsteen and Jerry Seinfeld. Come join us! Please RSVP to [email protected] or go to the facebook event page here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?invit ... 5191180125

Please distribute to your friends, contacts and listservs!

WHY ARE WE DOING THIS?

1. Autism Speaks talks about us without us. Not a single Autistic person is on Autism Speaks' Board of Directors or in their leadership. Autism Speaks is one of an increasingly few number of major disability advocacy organizations that refuse to include any individual with the disability they purport to serve on their board of directors or at any point in their leadership and decision-making processes. In large part this is due to Autism Speaks' public relations strategy of presenting Autistic people as silent burdens on society rather than human beings with thoughts, feelings and opinions.

2. They use fear and stigma to try and raise money off the backs of our people. Autism Speaks uses damaging and offensive fundraising tactics which rely on fear, stereotypes and devaluing the lives of people on the autism spectrum. Autism Speaks' advertising claims that Autistic people are stolen from our own bodies. Its television Public Service Announcements compare having a child on the autism spectrum to having a child caught in a fatal car accident or struck by lightning. In fact, the idea of autism as a fate worse than death is a frequent theme in their fundraising and awareness efforts, going back to their "Autism Every Day" film in 2005. Indeed, throughout Autism Speaks' fundraising is a consistent and unfortunate theme of fear, pity and prejudice, presenting Autistic adults and children not as full human beings but as burdens on society that must be eliminated as soon as possible.

3. Very little money donated to Autism Speaks goes toward helping Autistic people and families: According to their 2008 annual report, only 4% of Autism Speaks' budget goes towards the "Family Service" grants that are the organization's means of funding services. Given the huge sums of money Autism Speaks raises from local communities as compared to the miniscule sums it gives back, it is not an exaggeration to say that Autism Speaks is a tremendous drain on the ability of communities to fund autism service-provision and education initiatives. Furthermore, while the bulk of Autism Speaks' budget (65%) goes toward genetic and biomedical research, only a small minority of Autism Speaks' research budget goes towards research oriented around improving services, supports, treatments and educational methodologies, with most funding going towards basic research oriented around causation and genetic research, including the prospect of prenatal testing. Although Autism Speaks has not prioritized services with a practical impact for families and individuals in its budget, its rates of executive pay are the highest in the autism world, with annual salaries as high as $600,000 a year.

Link to our Joint Letter Against Autism Speaks, signed by over 60 Disability Rights Groups: http://www.autisticadvocacy.org/modules ... ?itemid=61

...And I'm trying to get as many of my friends as possible involved.

Looking forward to seeing people there today!

Will someone post back here to tell how it went?

Now the question is did we get any of the celebrities to see us hear our message and walk out on them? I doubt it but if that had happened it would be AMAZING and what a message it would send them!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iH2otGcEfYU[/youtube]

Additional videos from the demonstration:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8za6ISJLLdE[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c88DBICBrmE[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAkYuUhcGbM[/youtube]

And some photographs from the demonstration:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uKupfksc7c[/youtube]

The trouble with "nothing about us without us" (and it is a good catchphrase in some ways,) is that it implies the "us" is a united whole. BUt are we? How can we be? and will we ever be?

The autistic community is as diverse and rich as a community of NT's. No one group i sever going to be the be all and end all of the autistic self advocacy movement. That is just the way it is and will always be.

I believe in autistic self advocacy. but my personal experience is very much that i have been able to be of more service as an individual than as a member of an activist group. I found my energy sapped by group antics and schism and conflicts.
In saying this, I do however respect and recognise the need for autistic self advocacy groups, but my own experience has led me to believe I can be of more value operating on my own as an individual who happens to reside on the spectrum somewhere. I suppose i am just a singular aspie and always will be!

I recently had the opportunity to lecture to some government departments in my country on the issue of "invisible disabilities" in the workplace. What was most gratifying was that the Director Generals of various offices, as well as department heads, listened and spoke to me about the needs of ASD people in the workplace. They took on board the need for sectioned off workspaces, the issues with lights and noise, sensory issues and the possibility of allowing aspies and autistic people to word from home as part of their working week structure. One aspie contacted me after to say the following day her office had immediately implemented changes to help her.
that's nice. it helped to change a person's life for the better.