Autism TV and Autism Speaks

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Thanks for offering to do that. I actually asked Alex to make a formal announcement twice a few weeks ago, but I guess he has his reasons for not doing so. I have the feeling a little communication could go a long way, though, like another poster had said.

Your idea (and John Robison's idea, per an earlier post) about creating a thread or something where people could suggest ideas for the show might be helpful, too. I think many of us with ASD hate feeling as if we are being ignored or overlooked and as if we don't have enough input regarding media portrayals of ourselves. It might seem like we are being overly sensitive, but given the history we've had with some organizations, including Autism Speaks in particular, I think it's pretty understandable.

What's the relevancy of including a picture of his sister. The only way you can get people attracted to your sh***y blog?

Alex's sister is really quite yummy: the world needs to know.

She's average looking.

*gasp* I'm obviously going to have to bring out the beach shots.

I was filming a rolls royce parade for the basketball hall of fame and they let me ride in one. It has nothing to do with Wrong Planet or Autism Talk TV and the rolls royces were borrowed from the owners for use in the parade.

i think i'm a little starstruck. [waves at alex]

Ahahahaha- It's not like he's on vacation. He's just living up here right now, and he's staying with John because it's cheap and convenient (plus John gets someone to vacuum for him lol).

As for your suggestions, the autistics in the criminal justice system is already a topic that I proposed, and Jack and Alex seemed to approve of. I think looking into Steve Silberman's area of research would be good (how special interests can get spectrumites in trouble), and also I think it's important to address the problem of autistics seeming "guilty" when talking to police, etc.

I'd also proposed the idea of a special ed class episode. Perhaps contacting the local schools and talking with their staff, etc. I think it's definitely a topic that should be addressed.

I'm not sure how easy it would be to turn the other two into episodes though. I assume by the Nazi Germany episode you mean we should discuss tolerance and understanding of the disabled. I think this isn't really suited to the "genre" Autism Talk TV will hopefully start to adapt. It's supposed to be lighthearted and funny in a way that viewers can identify with, spectrumite or NT. Autism news and current events is still sort of a niche market, and this will hopefully help it become more mainstream.

Lessons of Down syndrome testing would likely fit into a larger episode. Perhaps the vaccine episode or a curbie vs anti-cure episode. I see what you're getting at, and I do think it's an issue I at least would like to see addressed, but it's not quite enough to be a whole episode on its own. I like it though and will suggest it, don't get me wrong!

(ps) Your pinky & the brain video was HILARIOUS! hahaha

While there are confrontational issues, abortion, calling people Nazis, and other acts that could give a bloodthirsty mob a bad name, they are off the main point.

Showing off a disability is exploitive, manipulating it is worse. I have denounced both Autism Speaks, and Neurodiversity on this point, and Autism Speaks seems to be listening.

The narrow view, Autism, a differance in thought and perception.

Here I think Alex has it, "The Voices of Autism," from an educated center. While not many have any understanding, those that do fit into Autistic Film Makers, the All Star NT cast of Autism Speaks, and the Science Crew, who seem on both sides of the line.

On WP I have found a consistant culture, all these people who think differently, think alike. So I question why this group who has dificulities with the world, has a normal level of human differances on WP. In person or by phone, I trigger some response, hostile, which is lacking if I use email.

I have compared it to VHF/UHF, incompatable, and email a magic decoder ring.

There is a watershed between thoughts, RDOS has proved it.

Horror stories exist, but they are the result of the natural differance, with no controls.

Alex has a pool of near matched subjects, Autistic and NT, and from the educated and intelligent, can show this watershed. Two interviews spliced, same questions, and the pattern RDOS shows on graphs will show in real life. RDOS gets consistant results over age, gender, education, there is a differance.

Others report the same differance, but from the point of Psychology, Enightened and God Like, testing Simian Lab Subjects.

It is a differance that can cause instant hostility from a stranger. Fear responses, and worse.

Science has not found the cause, cannot define the differance, but will study just what they were studying, for the cause, if funded.

I think Autism Speaks is confused about what they are dealing with, I am too, but they go ahead with, "Somebody should do something!" It is comfort seeking behavior in NTs to form together in a group to face total confusion, and they do it well.

Autism TV is there, imagine an interview, with an RDOS spider chart forming in the corner as they answer questions. Interviews in closely matched pairs, but AS/NT. perhaps split screen.

I find WP a broadly consistant mental type, I think NTs are, so the experiment replicated over several paired inteviews, should show the Autism/ Neurotypical differance, in action.

We know it is a differance in thought and perception, and Alex can show it.

Now in the old days we had Magicians, then Science, Numerology, Phrenology, Astrology, Deviners, Psychology, then the new, prove it, sciences, Physics, Chemistry, Astronomy. Not many paid them any attention.

Humans learned from Stage Plays, Novels, Magic Lantern Slide Shows, Moving Pictures, Talkies, and lost the thread with TV, but it continued in Movies, and film makers became social leaders in thought. What are humans, how do they behave, how can that be shown, is Film Maker Science, a most powerful magic.

Our common culture is from hardly anything else, we have all seen the same movies. Few know Science, fewer History, or anything else. The common base is the Media, which long ago, Marshall McLuhan said, "The Media is the Message." It is the big pipe input, which all are using.

Someone in Holloywood observed, "If you have a message, send a postcard." Propaganda we have filters for, people want to observe reality, but in an artifical medium. "All enlightment is personal, it cannot be given." But let a million people watch the same social experiment, and they will all reach a personal view. Now the message becomes universal. People "do media," to live for a while from another point of view.

Autism, the word, confuses me, but watching it in action, contrasted to NT, can bring a universal understanding of autism.

Hollywood and TV have already done the cutural ripoff of Autism, Rainman, and other minority cultures, The Amish, The got it wrong, have caused many people to ask me how to win the lottery, or beat the casino, but they did make a lot of money.

The Medium works, it was just in the wrong hands.

For a bit of clarity here: Special interests do not get people in trouble. Poor judgement or wrong action can get people into trouble, and that applies to all people equally and even while *not* involved in one's special interest.

"Poor judgement or wrong action"

I'm probably guilty of both, quite frequently. I hope I don't use Autism as an excuse.

I haven't been hanging out at WrongPlanet recently, other distractions going on in my life.

But I received the email about the latest Autism TV video comprising an interview with the guy who wrote that article in Wired.

Tbh, I must admit, I was sooooooooooooooo dismayed to see the Autism Speaks logo. Really. Truly. I thought WrongPlanet was the good guys, sticking up for people like me, and other people on the spectrum, so I'm deeply upset by this.

And I note that someone else's comment in this thread attracted this response:

Let me get this straight, what I say here is not meant to be an attack or a criticism, I'm just asking questions, wanting to know how and why WrongPlanet.net - no, let me correct myself, WrongPlanet, because this is a community, it's not just a website - got into bed with Autism Speaks?

John Robinson was already involved in Autism Speaks in some way and asks Alex Plank along to a meeting.

At a meeting, they're chatting about WrongPlanet and Alex's work and an idea is thrown into the air, for Autism Speaks to fund some of this Autism TV work.

Hmm...

Again, don't take this as an attack or a criticism, but I'm just wondering whether or not Alex was suckered in? When it gets down to the nitty gritty, what's in it for the parties? WrongPlanet doesn't have much money, so there's no point schmoozing Alex or most other WrongPlanet members for financial donations. So what does WrongPlanet have that Autism Speaks desperately needs? Credibility.

Now, I can't speak for anyone else but myself, but personally, my principles aren't for sale.

I wonder, how hard did Alex and the others try to raise funds from other sources? I know it's hard, being in a related industry myself, and I have lots of filmmaker friends, some who make documentaries and current affairs programmes, some who are actors, directors, sound engineers, that kind of thing, who are involved in entertainment films.

So I don't underestimate the logistical problems or the costs involved (although it is possible to make films on a shoestring).

I just wonder whether Alex and the others have been seduced (perhaps even in an extremely calculated way, in order for Autism Speaks to capitalise on WrongPlanet's credibility among the autistic community, a previous post even hinted at that).

Again, this isn't meant to be a personal criticism or an attack, it's just questioning, wondering whether Alex and the others have been take advantage of by people who are much smoother operators than they are?

Again, this isn't meant to be an attack or a personal criticism, but looking at this situation logically, it's being presented as:

(1) WrongPlanet.net wants to make a TV project, but doesn't have the money to fund it.

(1) Autism Speaks has some money and can and will fund it.

(1) + (1) = (2) = Done deal.

Again, this is not a personal attack or criticism, I'm just applying my Aspie logic to the scenario.

Firstly, WrongPlanet.net wants to make a TV project, but doesn't have the money to fund it.

Let's take a closer look at that. We all understand the difference between "want" and "need", don't we? We might want Father Christmas to bring us a pony or a Wii, but we don't need those things. Is Autism TV a "want" or a "need"? What's the strategy behind it? Or is it just a really neat, 'hey this is cool, dude', thing to want to do? Hell, yeah! Let's drive around and make movies!

But seriously, now, what's the raison d'etre? If you've got loads of money to play with, then heck, why not do exactly what you want. But if you don't have the funds, then are you proposing it because you want to do it, or because you need to do it? If it fulfils a genuine need, then what's the strategy?

It doesn't strike me like it was a strategic decision if some guys are chatting over a few beers or whatever at a function, and the conversation goes along the lines of Yeah, we've got an idea for Autism TV, it'll be really cool, but we don't have the money to do it. Really? Hey, that sounds neat, my organisation can stump up some funds to pay for that, let's all go for it.

But if talking to someone about it, and an offer of funding comes along, isn't that the time to sit down and take a time out, and if you hadn't thought very strategically about it before, to start thinking along those lines now?

And working out is this a "want" or a "need"? If this is a "need", how does it fit in with the rest of what we do, how can work out a strategy, a timeline, put together a business plan for it, work out how much money we need, when we need it by... and accept that if we can't raise the funds from untainted* sources, then we'll just have to delay the project.

My connection's a wobbly so I'm going to submit this bit for now. continued/....

No matter how suspicious of Autism Speaks any of us might be, none of us have anything to say about where or how Alex might get any kind of help or support for his TV project.

So, going back to the scenario whereby WrongPlanet.net wants to add an Autism TV function, and having decided and justified the whole want/need question...

Again, I'm just applying Aspie logic and wondering how did that:

(1) WrongPlanet wants to do a TV project but doesn't have the money to fund it
+
(1) Autism Speaks has some money and is prepared to fund it
=
(2) Yay! Go go go!

Without any apparent due diligence or taking a time out to say, hang on, we want some money, we know what we get out of this, what's in it for Autism Speaks? Do they want to buy WrongPlanet's credibility? Because that's what they lack in the autistic community.

And why not figure out other sources of funding? There are sources of funding available.

Alex, you could have crowd sourced this. Yeah, lots of Aspies are unemployed, they don't necessarily have money to give themselves. But what a lot of them do have is the time and inclination and a whole of passion to find information about other funding sources:

There's quite a few seed fund type websites or organisations out there. Here's one that I randomly came across earlier, I wasn't even looking for sources of funding for films.

http://www.kickstarter.com/

What, did WrongPlanet turn into a hive mind since I last visited? No one has an opinion on anything?

You might not have any to say about it, you might not have any opinion, but I do have an opinion and erm... what's that thing you guys have over there in the US, oh, yeah, a constitution, something about the amendments, something about free speech...