Offer from Autism Speaks, please give your opinion

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Newportbeachdude, while your tagline is your choice, I have to admit I've found it an odd one. I think it would be nice to change it, and not use that opportunity to highlight another member's statement.

OK...back to the original post....


I am trying to think as an advertiser/psychologist.

What is the goal...We have a message,several in fact ,that we would like to get to a larger audiance.

Why? To assist in the better care,respect for our humanity and services needed for some of us to function optimaly, whatever that means for each individual.

How to you reach people who are responding with emotional over-load and (some)with a limited ability to use logic?


With our humanity. That seems to be what Grey would like to do. If AS refuses to post the information, he can present them elsewhere with the prologue..."this is what AS did not want you to know".

If AS tried to present the submissions as "proof" that the community condones the current practices and goals of autism speaks...it can be refuted. That is called publicity...for the message.


When you address someone as the "enemy",you have already lost them in hearing anything else you have to say. Some of these people will never be able to be reached,I think it would be a disservice to our community to write them "all" off as cruel,ignorant,stuipid,selfish. If approached with understanding for their difficulties and concerns,we are more likely to get them to hear our message. It is just human nature. My granny called it.."attracting more flys with honey then viniger". I thought(why in Gods name do I WANT to attract flys!! !!)Well, because these flys are making policy that effects me and people I care about.

Whats the message???? I have my own....."There are currently adults with and without a DX of As who need services not currently available that would allow them to have more fulfilling lives and as importantly "give back" something worth while to society. Please quit writing us off as a "lost cause" of the past an help us help current children with As achieve their full potentials.


What message would you like policy makers to understand?(Beyond ...please don't kill, drug,institutionilize us for being different )

Krex, great post (too long to quote).

I love your message, about support.

And I like the idea, as I've said before, of including scenes that let people know that what an NT might see as pathetic, like staring at a wall, can actually be sheer joy to someone on the spectrum. And to us NT's, once we allow ourselves to see what they see

krex, I like your post, too.

We need to approach them with understanding before we can expect them to approach us with understanding.

Nicholas:

I watched the video & I've read the thread.

Your question set forth a challenge to autism groups. Autism Speaks answered the challenge. If you don't accept their offer, will it look like we're all walking away? Can they then say, "We offered to let them portray some positive stories but they said no. I guess they don't have any really." I don't want to hand AS a weapon against people with ASDs.

They have a very visible platform right now. Let's borrow it. Videos on a website doesn't mean we all shut up and become part of the machine. But it's like Martin Luther King's approach versus Malcom X. Both were leaders for the same cause, but one approach gained wider acceptance in American society than the other. We who have ASDs are not to the point of armed insurrection. I hope we never are*. So let's use every platform we can to spread a message of hope and ability.

Fear is a fabulous and terrible motivator. Parents feel like they must do everything for their child, especially if they have a 'disorder'. There is incredible pressure from grandparents, friends, and society to try everything, to pity, and to 'fix' children. My friend's daughter developed a mild stammer at age 2.5 yrs. Only a stammer, something that is common in toddlers. The grandparents, aunts and uncles were extremely vocal that my friends needed to aggressively treat the stammer or the child would be broken, unable to speak, and stigmatized for life. This was just a stammer. The parents suffered the grief, but trusted their instincts and did nothing. She's been growing out of it over a few months, as most kids do. She's fine.

As others said earlier, the scared parents need us. They need to know that they aren't alone with their 'disordered' child. They need to be able to redefine what a successful life may be. It's like dreaming your kid will be a world-saving doctor and finding out that they are a mediocre plumber who's is a terrific parent. The plumber isn't a failure just because he isn't a doctor.

On the parents forum this week, a mother posted about how her kid called her 'mom' this week for the first time in years (maybe ever?). That's a success. It's small but it's a very bright light in the dark. Show families and the general public that there is hope, regardless of whether their kid is LFA or AS; that their kid may communicate with them through some means at some point; that their kid may know friendship and love; that their kid may even grow up, get a career and a family.

A diagnosis of an ASD is not a road of pain and depression, for the family or the child. You've found one fabulous story. You have access to tons more. Show the public the whole spectrum. If you (and us) don't show it - who will?

-Anne

(*Imagine the sensory overload from firearms, really - loud, smelly, bright flashes - we'd be the worst guerrillas ever.)