Does anyone here feel they don't want to be a movement?

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If people want to help stop people from being bullied at schools for having autism- that is fine by me. But I just don't consider it a "civil rights" movement. I don't want any part of that. I would just rather say I have autism and leave it at that. I don't use my autism for political platforms, tirades , or any of that non sense. Is anyone else annoyed when this movement that calls autism a "gift" keeps pushing their agenda? I just don't see how it helps . I believe in promoting awareness, but that is as far as I go.

No. Without any movements nothing changes.

Autism awareness can mean 1. OMG there is a horrible epidemic of Autism going on 2. Acceptance of Autism(Autistics)

There already is a powerful well financed movement towered awareness view 1. They have set the agenda here in the US. Somebody needs to do something to try and counter them.

In all movements you have your A-holes, extremists etc. Opponents of movements usually try and define movements they don't like by it's extremists. Unfortunately those with awareness view one have successfully defined the "Autism Rights" movement as people who think of autism as only a gift and look down on or don't care about people who are more severely effected then themselves. In my reading of numerous posts by people sympathetic to "autism rights" I have found while while such people that look down on others etc exist they represent a small minority.

If you "say I have Autism and leave it at that," then you're going to be defined by people who don't know what Autism truly is. Or worse, you'll be defined by people who think Autism Speaks is the authority when they say Autism is a plague on our nation that needs to be cured.

Sorry, but you have to stand up for yourself or be bowled over by ignorance. This doesn't mean you have to be cheery and paint Autism as a gift. Far from it.

But to gain respect, you kind of have to be the one moving.

I'm surprised I don't hear more people saying this. I wouldn't want to be part of a movement about my personal business either.

I suspect that the autism acceptance AND the autism cure movements will both gain momentum, become much bigger, and then burn out and we won't hear much about either anymore. Maybe in 30 years or so.

it's hard to not be vocal about what is going on. and as for those of you who are politically conservative and think it is a liberal thing--I'm a moderate/centrist.

Autistic kids are receiving electric shocks multiple times each day at the Judge Rottenburg Center. some have been burned, become catatonic, and several have died. Autism Speaks supported them, denounced them, then lets them exhibit at their big DC event. the UN has called it torture and a violation of human rights. It's hard to stay silent.

Autism Speaks has partnered with Google to try to identify the genetic cause for autism. Next stop: an in vitro, fetal test. then we will be in the same fight against genocide that our downs syndrome brothers and sisters are facing. that's why the cure talk is so dangerous. it's hard to stay silent.

Autism speaks supports "behavioral therapies" that traumatize autistic children. kids are growing up hearing that they are burdens, comparable to cancer or natural disasters. that they are holding their parents hostage. that they are responsible for their parents' divorce (or strains on their marriage). these children are being shamed all over the internet. and then their whole family participates in walks to raise money for the group that demonizes them. it's hard to stay silent.

Maybe you don't want to be involved. that is okay... we can't all be activists for every cause. but this isn't just identity politics. and for me at least, now that I know... it's hard to stay silent. if not for yourself, then for nonverbals who don't have access to assistive technologies. for our physically, mentally, and emotionally abused brothers and sisters. for the future of our tribe, our very right to exist. for support services for those of us who have aged out of the system. for our right to be recognized as human.

it's not a political movement. it's a human rights movement.

I hear you about the identity politics movement OP. I couldn't have found a way to articulate this before. Look at the "black" movement for instance, anybody who doesn't want to be part of an identity is called "Uncle Tom". I feel like I'm the "Aspie Uncle Tom" because I don't want to be stereotyped as a movement. And as a result of the black civil rights movement, blacks (or gays/whatever) have created a separate "special" speech, manner and identity for themselves and it makes minorities worse off.

And no offense, but I don't see myself as a fellow "brother" of someone with Down Syndrome. I view myself as a "brother" of wide society.

um, pretty sure that if you consider yourself a brother of wide society, you should also consider yourself a brother to someone with downs syndrome. or are they excluded?

you don't have to be involved or agree on identity issues. just don't disparage the folks who do.

Do I want to be part of a "movement"? ...Depends what movement you mean.

If you mean the Autism acceptance movement: in most cases, yes. I want to use my time to make sure that the next generation of the Autistic community doesn't have to experience the ignorance that many of us have to now.

thanks

hoping to join a local chapter of ASAN soon. are there other organizations or ways you advocate for change, for our rights?

I don't claim to speak about schizophrenia, sociopathy/psychopathy, that's outside of my scope of knowledge. I'm also not sure about what should & shouldn't be included in the neurodiversity model. but I think there is a big difference between preventing a condition (or treating it) and doctors recommending that anyone with a genetic marker for one of those conditions be aborted. that's what i mean by genocide.

(it is worth noting that Hans Asperger first defined the neurological variance now bearing his name in an effort to protect autistic people from the Holocaust. Hitler & his leadership wanted to exterminate autistic people along with other disabled people, but Hans Asperger highlighted the many positive and socially useful traits that come along with our differences, saving many lives. so it's not hyperbole, the threat is real)

and the choice isn't no activism at all or totally supporting the neurodiversity movement as it is most broadly conceived. There is a lot in between! I consider myself a feminist because I believe that women should have all of the same rights and opportunities as men (and vice versa). I don't like the super radical feminism that attacks women who breastfeed (saying that it teaches the child gender roles) or that insists that marriage is always a form of slavery or that attacks women who want to be stay-at-home-moms/homemakers or that indiscriminately hates men. but that doesn't mean that I'm not a feminist! You can be an environmentalist without supporting ecoterrorism. You can be Muslim without supporting suicide bombings. You can advocate for yourself and your fellow autistic people without accepting every part of the neurodiversity movement.
***for the record, i am not calling any extreme neurodiversity advocates terrorists. I'm just saying that you don't have to agree with every member of the neurodiversity movement (or in the concept of neurodiversity itself) to believe that autistic people have a right to exist, to be treated as human, and to receive the support necessary for them to participate fully in society & share their gifts with the world. You don't have to be anti-cure to oppose the electric shocks, sleep & food deprivation, and other forms of torture at the JRC.