Autism advocacy groups misrepresent aspies

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Im going on a 3 month bicycle tour in two months. So I wanted to maybe use this trip as a fund-raising and advocacy for autism. So I contacted the much hated autism speaks. They sent me a bunch of fliers. In them there saying autism is a disease that must be cured. The way they write it almost sounds like cancer or aids... It is all geared tward the high autistic kids that cant barley speak. It really made me feel that aspies are on their own and this kind of wording doesn't exactly help us. I want people to know there is a problem but I don't want them to think I am diseased or something. What do you guys think.

there are other organizaions you can call that are better

can you give me some names

Autism Self Advocacy Network.

Autism Society of America (ASA)
http://www.autism-society.org/

Autism is technically a disease and even though I don't like that word I respect that science utilizes that verbiage with no intent of an insult. It's simply part of the conceptual frameworks of how science organizes and understands substantial differences that warrant the need for help. If I wanted to be a smart butt I'd call the human condition a disease as well but really the human condition is profoundly imperfect or said perfectly disordered to begin with.

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

It's to bad and I'd suspect that's because of the total butt-heads that make mountains out of mole hills because of words like cure, disease, disorder and so on. I feel kind of stuck in-between. I am disabled, receive help which otherwise I'd be isolated like before and yet I'd like cures for sensory overload and therapeutic based inclusion supports to be enhanced along with relating PR for instance but Autism Speaks being open minded to cognitively higher functioning individuals may risk the advocacy for more substantially disabled people.

The ego thing can be great for determination but this other mal-constructive bull crap has been a royal pain in the buttox in advocacy. To think over silly words people get bent out of shape and to the point they would attempt to destroy organizations wielding such social influence. It's an art of theirs to create extreme interpretations, inventing into ideas and refusing to try to think of the matters a bit differently all due to being "offended" when others with autism are not.

The people that think like the folks in the posted video need a good swift kick in the bum metaphorically. Quit making big deals out of small matters. Some folks need to learn to rationalize and understand the job of finding a cure means being creative to get support. This is not a damn tea party where someones foo foo drink is sipped like some rich luxury. It's real life with real people who need help and don't want to wait for the political correctness bull to finally agree when it will never but get the publics attention to create improvement and change.

Psychological Pathology

I've seen it called a disease in official ways. Again no problems with it. Not that I want to sit here and call myself a disease. It's not that big of a deal.

I like this one:

Academic Autistic Spectrum Partnership in Research and Education: http://www.aaspire.org/

Depends on the professional and maybe specialty / profession. However as an issue people finding insult over the matter to me is counter productive. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) covers autism. The point is it's just a word and there are more important things in life. The more people try to say autism is just a difference the more the public and so on will not try to help people with autism because they don't take it seriously. While this may not be important to people that have very few problems if any as some claim it to be simply evolutionary and a gift it's important to take note of the problems that may come should these social sensitivity politics continue to get in the way. I am sure some special interest would love not to take autism seriously for fiscal reasons.

there is no way to understand corectly autism as a disability or personality type.for now its best to see it as both.i would say its not a disease.cancer,the flu and measles are diseases.blindness,deafness and autism are disabilities

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

Video - Individual with ASD singing a song and acting.

My personality is diverse. Sometimes I like to mimic actors I've seen on T.V then add my own bits. My personality is my own and autism is just something that is part of my collective way of being per say just as all self-perceived positive and negatives. If someone was born with blond hair and does not like it they can dye it. Yet no one peer pressures these folks to have pride in blond hair and blue eyes for instance unlike with autism where peer pressure tries to dictate a cure is something to be ashamed of to support.

The only thing I know about autism for sure is the what is and what has been. I like myself but just like everyone has negative and positives whether aspects of personality and so on we can choose to attempt to change aspects to improve ourselves. No one can take the right away to these kinds of choices no matter how much name calling cause I got my own names, my own media contacts and my own personality to assert that. I don't need pride due to insecurity with who I am but I do know for a fact that if someone tries to take my rights to treatment, research and so on away they are biting off a little more then they can chew and it will be their asses politically.

After having been in contact with so many fellow autistics both here at the WrongPlanet and where I live, I have come to a conclusion. I cannot begin to advocate the needs of the autistic community because I do not understand your needs and what you want. Some of us are anti-cure, others pro-cure, and some in between. Some of us believe vaccines do not cause autism, and some of you do. Some of us are happy with our lives, and some of you are unhappy. Some of us work, and some of you don't. If a cure were to be available, I would not take it, but others of you would.

I advocate in my own way---by explaining autism in my own life---but not necessarily the lives of others. I believe each of us has the right to advocate in this manner. We are so different. The expression, "You've met one person with autism---you've met one person with autism," holds true.

I believe this is how the media comes to misrepresent us. Any representation cannot match the representation of all of us. No matter anyone's opinion on how we should be represented will end up satisfying only some. So I will advocate for myself and allow those interested to hear my story. But it is not the story of others.

If there is anything that I believe we all have in common, it is this---that we are all human individuals with vastly different needs, and we all need to be respected and better understood by the world.