I Am Autism - The War On Autism

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Assuming these other anomalies besides autism (be it genetic or something different entirely) are confirmed by research to be like physical illnessess, then whe might or might not be talking about a cure - nothing is certain in this as of yet.

You are making one giant mistake in assuming autism is a disease - this is simply not been proven to be so as of yet.

I do understand that parents will put time, energy and money in basic research of physical diseases - but I do think the motivations are not solely in terms of selflessness but well-intended nonetheless.

I am not trying to give an opinion or judgement about anything you are saying. Generally when a person says ______ vs______ the subject that comes before "vs" is different than the subject that comes after it. In other words "1" vs. "2" makes since because you are comparing different things. Whereas "1" vs."1" does not make sense because they are the same things. How can you compare "Apples vs.Apples" when they are the same thing. How can you compare "Human Rights vs Human Rights" when they are the same subject? Just thought you might of intended to say something like "Autistic Rights vs. Human Rights" or something like that. In other words, I thought you might of typed it in by mistake. No need to reply to this post, if you don't want to. I was just trying to help you out.

Autism rights are human rights. No mistake intended. Two differing parties as in movements have equal human rights. Please anything further about this just private message me and I will spend as much time as needed for you to understand. I just don't want to distract from the natural order of the conversation.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuMlHdxiIZ8[/youtube]

Thanks, I understand what you mean now. When you say "Human Rights vs.Human Rights",
you mean 'Human' Rights vs. "Human Rights".

It is obviously a disease to anyone who hasn't bought into the pro-autism delusion.

Could you show proof of your convictions?

It is easy to call anything a delusion - but much harder to actually prove that delusion. If those of us who regard it as a neurological difference but not a disease are wrong, then expose our delusion, offering objective proof, not just empty statements. Until you do so, I will continue to regard you as deluded.

There are neurotypicals who will never live independently or hold a job. Does that mean we must demonise all of them, and insist they must be cured, to make the parents of those few happy?

For what it is worth, I am not overly positive. In my own life, I have experienced a lot of negatives. Even if society stopped imposing their prejudices right this minute, there would be aspects of AS that I'd consider negative. But every trait has good and bad sides. There was one psychologist who pointed out that happiness meets the criteria for a psychological disorder. The fact that no one else took him seriously does not change the fact that, in a sense, he was right. "Psychological disorders" are really defined by society. Years ago, being gay was a psychological disorder, requiring a cure, and there are still people who will insist it should be cured. And even a proud gay person would have to admit there are drawbacks - like having a smaller segment of the population to choose a potential mate from.

Finally, I think it is interesting that the parents who are the most hard line in insisting their children must be "normal" have kids who are the least functional on the spectrum. Could that possibly be precisely because they are trying to force their kids to be what they are not, and therefore causing much more damage to them in the process? Could those parents be so obsessed with their own status, their own success, their own image, that they demonise and abuse their children when they get in the way of those things? I think the answer is probably yes, although I'm trying to be intellectually honest enough to qualify that statement. I believe it to be so, but I can't offer objective proof.

Just to qualify my own statements, I am not suggesting that the members of Autism Speaks do not have the human right to say whatever they please. I support free speech, even for loathsome points of view. When I say they have "no right" to say such things, I am speaking of moral rights. Having the human right to be vicious and nasty does not make such choices morally right.

The only punishment or sanction I would urge against Autism Speaks would be the following: first, that every decent person should refuse to give them so much as a cent of funding; second, that every decent person should speak out, loudly and clearly, to oppose every such video, or any other type of propaganda which would demonise us.

And yes, I believe there are those in Autism Speaks who should be investigated for child abuse - such as the mother I saw in another video of theirs who said, right in front of her autistic daughter, that if she didn't have another "normal" daughter, she would put her daughter in her car and drive it off the George Washington bridge. The video also left me with the distinct impression that she had mistreated her daughter before the cameras went on, in order to guarantee she would be acting up as much as possible to create a bad impression. Other commenters on the blog where I saw this video (in 2006 or early 2007, I think) seemed to have the same impression. If such a parent is willing to go on camera and be publicly seen doing such things, I have to wonder just how guilty the parents who are supporters of Autism Speaks are of more clandestine abuse of their children.

Can you provide that video by means of YouTube on the forum here?

I can't find the original clip, but I did find another, shorter clip which shows part of the scene. Clip from Austism Speaks Video
Judging from the information with this clip, it was taken from Autism Everyday, but my connection is acting up right now, so I'm having trouble reviewing the entire movie to see if it is there, at least in the version now on YouTube. This is the link to the full movie, if you'd like to check it yourself. Autism Everyday

Sadly, I can't find the original blog post I recall, which included discussion with the director who shot this clip and other information. I'll keep looking - or anyone else is encouraged to try to dig it up, too, if you think this is important.

Edited to add: I still can't find the original post I was thinking of, but I did find two other blog posts which raise some of the issues I was thinking of. Note that despite the pretense this film was showing the "every day reality" of autism, there were deliberate deceptions used to portray a very one-sided view of it. Why Lie? Misplaced Compassion Also note the commentary by the parent of an autistic boy who does not feel this video is accurate, either. So it seems there are parents out there who do not feel Autism Speaks' agenda is beneficial to their children, either.

Actually, it isn't a disease. Disorder =! disease.

Autism is whatever you want to call it - disorder, disease etc.

If you think that Autism is a disorder, what gives you the right to shove that down the throats of other people?

It would depend on the analytical perspective. Pathology tends to by default view things as diseases. The mainstream culture would need to be revised to be like other cultures that simply see these kinds of things as differences to love and embrace and redefining commonly held beliefs with rigid alternative views don't happen over night. I have no quick solution for this and a direct confrontation on these conceptual matters may be poor strategy.

Because it IS a disorder. An Autistic Spectrum Disorder. whether you like it or not

So we just have to take the words of the "professionals"? I bet their ego's are enormous!