I AM CONDUCTING AN INTERVIEW WITH AUTISM SPEAKS

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One last time. I LIVE WITH MY PARENTS.

One last time. I LIVE WITH MY PARENTS. I am nothing and no one special. I'm just working hard and chasing a dream. Anyone who finds fault in that has my blessing.

I think that Zeraeph has given you some very good and well-intended advice.

I urge you to think about it carefully.

I for one think it is valuable to engage in dialogue and at times even debate an organization like Autism Speaks which has some really different viewpoints from those we tend to have. (Even if they're 80% mistaken, that still leaves us 20% to work with, right?)

Now, I complained about Dawson's $669,751 salary (a few years ago).

aghogday was unhappy about that. He assurred us that that particular year's salary for her included a one-time moving allowance for over $300,000.

I think he meant that to reassure us.

What the hell is an 'advocacy organization' paying over $300,000 to move someone?

The salaries at Autism Speaks are outrageous.

Some people say, "Well, they're not out of line given what other charities pay their top people."

I say that misbehavior by some people doesn't justify misbehavior by other people.

Regarding the $600,000 Salary, close to half of it was a one time expense allowance for moving. That's not uncommon, among large organizations to offer this type of one time benefit for moving expenses. The actual Salary is in the mid $300K range; for a qualified science division officer of a large organization that funds research it is in the normal range of what would be expected.

I wish that was true (and when I was 25 I might even have believed it) but I would be lying if I said I would ever believe that now.

I believe that playing along with an adversary just helps them to take you down more easily, better to spend the same energy away from them, working towards the things you need under your own flag and by your own ethics.

Autism Speaks have absolutely nothing to offer that we need. So why waste the time and energy?

I have higher expectations and higher standards than the Better Business Bureau when it comes to organizations that claim to exist to help others rather than help themselves.

I have higher expectations and higher standards than the Better Business Bureau when it comes to organizations that claim to exist to help others rather than help themselves.

Autism Speaks fails to meet my standards.

Aspergers Association of New England 2010

http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments// ... 3697-9.pdf

Dania Jekel, Executive Director $75,135.00 (+$2281.00 in "other compensation")
Nancy Schwartz President $950.00
Everyone Else $0.00

The similarity to the pay scales for equivalent positions with Autism Speaks are not immediately apparent.

Geraldine Dawson, Ph.D. (b. 1951, Cobleskill, New York, USA) is an American child clinical psychologist, specializing in autism. She has conducted extensive research on the early detection and treatment of autism spectrum disorders and collaborated on studies of brain development and function as well as genetic risk factors in autism.[1][2][3] Dawson is Research Professor of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Chief Science Officer for Autism Speaks, the world’s largest autism science and advocacy organization.[4] Dawson also holds the positions of Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University and Professor Emeritus of Psychology at University of Washington. She is a Fellow of the American Psychological Society, American Psychological Association, and the Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology.

EducationDawson received her Bachelor of Science degree in psychology from the University of Washington in 1974 and her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology and Child Clinical Psychology from the University of Washington in 1979. In 1980, she was a postdoctoral fellow and clinical intern at the Neuropsychiatric Institute at UCLA, where she specialized in neurodevelopmental disorders. She became a licensed practicing child clinical psychologist in 1980.

[edit] CareerDawson has had an active career as a scientist and practicing clinical psychologist focusing on autism spectrum disorders and child psychopathology. She has published extensively in peer-reviewed scientific journals on autism and the effects of early experience on the developing brain. She received continuous NIH funding for her research from 1980–2008 when she left her tenured faculty position at the University of Washington to become Autism Speaks’ first chief science officer.[5] At Autism Speaks, Dawson oversees $20–30 million in annual research funding, including funding for the Autism Treatment Network, the Autism Global Public Health Initiative, the Autism Genetic Resource Exchange, the Autism Genome Project, and the Autism Tissue Program.

Early in her career, Dawson was an assistant professor of child clinical psychology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and affiliate of the TEACCH (Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communication-handicapped Children) program from 1980–1985. In 1985, she returned to her alma mater to join the psychology department faculty, where she directed the University of Washington Child Clinical Psychology Program (1985–1991; 1999–2004). From 1996-2008, Dawson was Founding Director of the University of Washington Autism Center, which worked with Microsoft Corporation to set a precedent for companies to provide insurance coverage for autism early intervention.[6] At the UW Autism Center, she was director of three NIH Autism Center of Excellence Awards, which provided funding for a multi-million dollar multi-disciplinary autism research program focusing on genetics, neuroimaging, early diagnosis, and treatment.[7] At the Autism Center, Dawson also oversaw an endowed treatment center for children and adolescents with autism, which provided multi-disciplinary diagnostic and treatment services for children with autism from infancy through late adolescence. Dawson has served as Associate Editor for three scientific journals: Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders (1996–2000), Development and Psychopathology (1999–present), and Psychophysiology (1999–2000), and serves on the editorial boards for Autism Research and the Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders. Dawson’s work has been featured frequently in the media, including programs such as the Jim Lehrer Newshour, PBS Scientific American Frontiers with Alan Alda, The New York Times, among many others.[8] In 2008, Dawson was featured in the journal, Science, when she began her new role at Autism Speaks.[9]

Dawson’s research has focused on early detection and intervention, brain dysfunction (using electrophysiology and functional magnetic resonance imaging), and genetic studies. Her key scientific discoveries include demonstrating that maternal depression can influence early brain activity and stress responses of infants and children, the detection of autism symptoms in infants, empirical validation of autistic regression, and elucidation of the nature of early brain dysfunction in autism. In addition, in collaboration with Dr. Sally Rogers, Dawson developed and empirically-validated the Early Start Denver Model, the first comprehensive early intervention program for very young children with autism.[10] Dawson pioneered the use of home videotapes to study early symptoms of autism and the use of electrophysiological techniques to study brain function in very young children with autism.

Dawson has testified before the United States Senate to advocate for individuals with autism and their families: in 1999 in support of the Child Health Act of 2000, in 2002 on behalf of the Federation of Behavioral, Psychological, and Cognitive Sciences, and in 2009 at the request of the Senate to provide an update on the current state of autism science.[11]

[edit] Honors, Awards and AppointmentsDawson’s honors and awards included the Association for Psychological Science James McKeen Cattell Lifetime Achievement Award (2012), Geoffrey Beene Rock Star of Science Award (2010), Autism Hero Award from the Cure Autism Now Foundation (2006), Autism Society of America Award for Research Contributions to the Autism Community (2004), Autism Society of Washington Medical Professional of the Year (2004), Washington Autism Society Achievement Award for Outstanding Service (1996), Autism Society of America Award for Valuable Service (1989) and the Gatzert Child Welfare Award (1977). Dawson has been an advisor to the National Institutes of Health since 1989.

She currently is a member of the National Institutes of Health Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee, a federal advisory committee that coordinates all efforts within the Department of Health and Human Services concerning Autism Spectrum Disorders.u From 1998-1999, she served on the NIH Committee on Practice Parameters for Screening and Diagnosis of Autism. From 2001-2, she was a member of the NIH Committee on Practice Parameters for Treatment of Autism. From 2003-7, she was a member of the NIH Scientific Advisory Panel to establish a 10 year road map for autism research. In 2008, she chaired the NIH Scientific Advisory Panel’s subcommittee on Autism Treatment Research. Dawson also served on the NIH Consensus Panel on Phenylketonuria and as a panelist for the National Vaccine Advisory Committee Vaccine Safety Working Group. Dawson has served on the NIH Child Psychopathology and Treatment Grant Review Committee, the NIMH Grant Review Biological and Neurological Subcommittee, and the NIMH Grant Review Committee for Behavioral Science. She also served on the steering committees for the NIH Collaborative Program of Excellence in Autism and the NIH Studies to Accelerate Autism Research and Treatment Program.