Autistic writer John Elder Robison became Autism Speaks's first and only autistic board member after deciding to change their negativity about autism from within. When he realized they would not change, he resigned in disgust from Autism Speaks
Autism Speaks recruited the Pope (Pope Francis).
Autism Speaks included a table for the Judge Rotenberg Center (a torture school) at their solutions-for-autism fair.
Autism Friends Network came out with a long list of business to boycott because they support Autism Speaks.
Autism Women's Network was formed by Corina Becker, Lori Berkowitz, and Sharon daVanport to help autistic females and talk about the intersection of disability rights and feminism.
AutHaven is a yearly retreat that autistics go on together. Any autistic can sign up.
Autism Network International was founded by Jim Sinclair, Kathy Grant, and Donna Williams. They set up autistic pen pal lists and did other things together with the early internet. Jim Sinclair published an essay (on people that mourn for autistic people because they are autistic) called Don't Mourn For Us in the first Autistic newsletter, Our Voice. Their main activity these days is the Autreat conference, which happens yearly and is designed to be friendly to all kinds of autistics.
Autism Speaks (whose website is very negative about neurodiversity) sued a 14-year-old autistic girl for making a parody of their website. After gaining attention, they dropped the suit.
Autism Speaks threatened to sue Zachary Lassiter for selling t-shirts that say “Autism Speaks does not speak for me”. After Zach refused to stop selling the shirts (and he had the right to sell them thanks to fair use laws) Autism Speaks shut up. Then they started on him again years later for doing the same thing again. Again, he told them to go take a hike.
Alex Plank, founder of WrongPlanet.net, used to be a vocal opponent of Autism Speaks, until they offered him money to start his own show (“Autism Talk TV”) in return for advertisement on said show.
When Ivar Lovaas, psychologist and proponent of torture for autistics, died, members of WrongPlanet cheered his death.
At the Judge Rotenberg Center (a “special needs school” at which five students died and about which Jennifer Gonnerman wrote a fantastic expose in Mother Jones), autistic student Andre McCollins was given about 80 electric shocks to his skin as a punishment for refusing to take off his coat. He became catatonic for a while.
Jennifer Msumba left the Judge Rotenberg Center shortly around that time, and to this day writes in her "The Real Judge Rotenberg Center" blog. The center's founder/headmaster Matthew Israel was forced to resign as the principal of the school or face jail time over some of the school's controversies. He chose to retire. The school still runs to this day, committing most if not all of the same abuse they committed before.
At one point the media tried to get people to believe that autism causes violence (due to the shooters Adam Lanza and Cho Seung-Hui, both who were said to have been autistic). This caused many to cry out that it was a coincidence and that many of their victims were autistic too.
Allison Singer, a member of Autism Speaks and mother of an autistic child, said in one of Autism Speaks's official videos, Autism Every Day, that she wanted to kill her little autistic daughter and would if not for her neurotypical daughter. This sparked outrage from the autistic community. The video was taken down by Autism Speaks. Anti-autism movies and videos such as Sounding the Alarm and I Am Autism were also released by Autism Speaks. As of June 2015, these are still up.
Karen McCarron read tons of books on autism that all painted gruesome and bleak pictures. Then she killed her three-year-old autistic daughter Katie. Kelli Stapleton tried to kill her fourteen-year-old autistic daughter Issy and then herself. She failed at both killings. In outrage over the legal defence fund that people are donating to for Kelli, others have a Twitter campaign going called #IamNotKelliStapleton.
The Autistic Self-Advocacy Network was formed by Ari Ne'eman, who was appointed by President Barack Obama as a disability consultant. He works for Obama in Washington, D.C. The White House soon thereafter refused to screw in blue lightbulbs for Autism Speaks for Autism Awareness Month in April. ASAN was instrumental in getting rid of those awful Autism Speaks billboards depicting ransom notes signed “autism” and “Asperger's Syndrome”.
Aspies For Freedom was formed by Gareth and Amy Nelson, with various aims including the banning of eugenics and getting minority group status for autistics.
There were other forums too, including Alex Plank's WrongPlanet. There is Intensity^2/Intensity Squared, which has its own activism forum. Aspergia was formed way earlier; it was a place where autistics could talk and be a contributing part of the community with their obsessions and special interests. Aspergian Pride, Aspergian Island, Aspies Central/Aspergic, ZOMG Aspies, Autism Friends Network and other small Aspie forums were also formed. AspieWeb.com went up too, though it was a pro-neurodiversity resource site and not a forum.
Due to her autism, medical staff who thought it would be more humane to let her die refused to give autistic Amanda Baggs a feeding tube (needed due to a physical condition) and as a result she almost died. However, enough angry letters made it to the hospital to save her life. She now has the tube.
Yearly Day of Mourning vigils (for those who were murdered by people who thought they should be dead due to their disabilities) in many locations throughout the United States, Canada and maybe even other countries are gaining popularity.
Loud Hands: Autistic People Speaking was published.
Don't Pay Me, Play Me (an organization designed to help autistic actors get into the business) was formed.
Pro-autism movies have been formed: Vectors of Autism, Citizen Autistic, probably others.
Asperger's Are Us, a humorous band comrpised of autistic members trying to raise awareness, was also formed.
Wikipedia published a long list of about several hundred famous autistic people.
The UN finally warned the US that the Judge Rotenberg Center uses torture. Later, the UN published an autistic rights document.
And ASAN succeeded in making it possible in some states for in- and out-of-state “severe” autistics to receive organ transplants.
Now your turn; add to this list!
11 Sep 2015, 7:29 pm
