President Donald J. Trump Proclaims April 2, 2017 as World Autism Awareness Day - White House blog
WORLD AUTISM AWARENESS DAY, 2017
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BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
On World Autism Awareness Day, we highlight the importance of addressing the causes and improving the treatments for autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). We also recognize the importance of identifying ASDs early in a child's life and of understanding the obstacles faced by people living on the autism spectrum. Together, we celebrate the many ways individuals with ASDs enhance our daily lives and make priceless contributions to our schools, workplaces, and communities.
Autism spectrum disorders affect an estimated one out of every 68 children in America. Individuals and families living with autism come from diverse backgrounds. These families face enormous challenges in assisting their loved ones over the course of their lifetimes. As those with ASDs reach early adulthood, families are often faced with even greater obstacles than during childhood, including planning for the successful transition into adulthood and independent life.
We are hopeful that our Nation's efforts will result in significant advancements related to autism diagnosis and treatments in the months and years ahead. Ongoing efforts to scan the human genome carry significant potential to better manage the disorder and, ultimately, find a cure, My Administration will continue to work with the Congress to implement the 21st Century Cures Act and help to clear the way for breakthroughs in medical science. Together, we will turn scientific discoveries into real solutions for people with complex health issues like autism.
Cutting edge therapies and lifelong treatments can impose enormous burdens and expenses on the families of people with autism spectrum disorders. I applaud the efforts by Members of Congress to enact tax-free savings vehicles for families of people with disabilities and ASDs. I also encourage the ongoing public-private efforts to develop new technologies to prevent wandering and keep individuals with ASDs safe.
For generations, men and women living on the autism spectrum have made extraordinary contributions in the fields of science, technology, art, literature, business, politics, and many other professions. Yet the world still has a great deal to learn about ASDs. We must continue our research to improve early identification and intervention, strengthen our comprehension of the disorder, and open opportunities for every member of our society to live independently and live the American Dream. My Administration is committed to promoting greater knowledge of ASDs and encouraging innovation that will lead to new treatments and cures for autism.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Donald J. Trump, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim Sunday, April 2, 2017, as World Autism Awareness Day. I invite all Americans to Light it Up Blue, which Melania and I will do at the White House. I call upon all Americans to learn more about the signs of autism to improve early diagnosis, understand the challenges faced by those with autism spectrum disorders, and to do what they can to support individuals with autism spectrum disorders and their families.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
thirty-first day of March, in the year of our Lord two thousand seventeen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-first.
DONALD J. TRUMP[/quote]
Bolding is mine.
The President is now officially "pro cure" a position Autism Speaks does not take officially anymore.
He proclaims we have been making wonderful contributions "for generations" yet he told a principle of a special education school a few weeks ago the "tremendous increase" in autism is a "horrible thing to watch" and wants a cure. Incompatable.
White House to shine a blue light on Trump’s anti-vaxxer beliefs The President’s World Autism Day commemoration has suspicious roots.
Quote:
Spicer also noted that the idea to observe World Autism Day came from Bob Wright, a “long-time friend of the president.” Wright, and his late wife Suzanne, founded the organization Autism Speaks, which has become one of the largest advocacy organizations for autism. Unfortunately, Autism Speaks has also contributed to the myth that vaccines are a cause of autism.
In 2009, Autism Speaks’ executive vice president of communications and awareness, Alison Singer, resigned in protest of the organization’s openness to the belief that vaccines could cause autism and that “more studies should be done.” She went on to found the Autism Science Foundation, which prominently proclaims the safety and importance of vaccines.
Wright himself continues to prop up this myth. He wrote in his 2016 book that he tried to convince the Bush and Obama administrations to invest more in vaccine safety. In an interview with Today after the book came out, Wright said that “there is no definitive answer” to whether vaccines cause autism. “We have not been able to determine that autism is caused by vaccines,” he said. “However, there are lots of issues having to do with the vaccine safety program that I got into very deeply, with no agenda, early on in autism.”
It’s unclear if Wright is the source of Trump’s belief in the myth.
There is some evidence that Trump has helped reinvigorate the anti-vaxxer movement. On Friday, those who reject the science behind vaccines held a “revolution for truth” in Washington, D.C., a march and rally that includes Kennedy, Trump’s anti-vaxxer in residence, as a speaker.
Thinking we are some sort of vaccine caused mutants is also incompatible with us making wonderful contributions for generations.
"For generations, men and women living on the autism spectrum have made extraordinary contributions in the fields of science, technology, art, literature, business, politics, and many other professions.". This is the most egregious example of a
left handed compliment I have heard in my life.
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Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity
“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman
01 Apr 2017, 2:34 am
