asperger's and autism speaks

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does autism speaks treat asperger's people just like people w/ low functioning autism? are we the same in their eyes? what is our relationship with them?

We are on a terrible relationship with them. Not only do they not understand Aspergers to be high functioning, they look at Autism in general as this terrible curse and basically refer to parents and family members as the victims of it... It's really terrible. And what's even worse is that they are called "Autism Speaks" yet there is literally not one member in their entire damn company with Autism or anything similar. It's disgusting, and I'm still shocked that Alex chose to partner WP with them...

i have a question for you. have you ever dealt with someone who has extremely low functioning autism?

Yes I have, I've actually worked in a classroom as a Teachers Assistant for those kids in order to help (as well as the fact that it would look good on my transcripts) and while they are hard to deal with at times, Autism Speaks completely demonizes these poor children who can't control what they are doing. Sure it may be hard at times but all it takes is a little patience and to be just a good person to parent those kids. And all Autism Speaks does is scare those parents with severely autistic kids into believing their song will straight up ruin their life and makes it hard before they can really even try by already filling those thoughts in their head .

but don't you think a cure would help them? maybe autism speaks isn't the one to do it, but do you really think that these severely autistic kids are happy the way they are?

They are demonizing the disease, not the children.

Severely Autistic Kids? Yes I actually believe they are very happy the way they are. I believe an OPTIONAL cure might be good for those with High Functioning Autism like Aspergers, but if you've met a kid with Severe Autism they are usually always happy kids that are usually too sucked into their own worlds to really care about other things that are going on around them, therefore not giving them the depression we high functioning autistics have to deal with such as issues in social situations, understanding social behavior, as well as other things. And to cure them simply could destroy their entire life, I mean think of the movie The Matrix. How Morpheus said they never awaken somebody who is over the age of 13 I think because it would destroy their mind to find out their entire life was a lie, or wasn't the way they thought. How do you think someone who was severely autistic would deal with that?

Last edited by Xenu on 26 Dec 2010, 3:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.

It doesn't matter if the low functioning children are happy or not. The parents have a RIGHT to fund research and seek cures so that their children will be able to live normal lives instead of living in an institution.

Parental rights trump the opinions of high functioning, pro-autism militants.

Maybe if their was something they could give to the fetus while still in the womb, but I oppose an after birth given cure mainly due to how it would affect the child's psyche.

They'll either say we don't exist or group us with the low functioning autistics. Admitting that there are autistic people out there who can live somewhat normal lives and look after themselves would ruin their scam entirely.

what exactly does autism speaks do that is so horrendous? details and specifics please

All is explained here.

I don't think all low-functioning autistic people are happy. That's a serious misconception. There is a case of one girl who is non-verbal, but learnt to type her thoughts and feelings onto a computer. She hates being the way she is. The autistic adults who used to live next door were constantly wailing, crying and attacking staff. Even though they had the correct staff support, they were really unhappy. I am still not sure about my feelings on autism speaks, but I am starting to agree with their 'find a cure' thing. Not every person is happy to be autistic, but some are. I think those who aren't happy should be offered a cure if one comes. (I doubt it will be in my lifetime though).

In my opinion, curing autism for those who want such a cure is a noble goal. However, at this time it is not a realistic one. A cure is decades away if it ever comes. I believe that a portion of what they are doing is selling false hope to parents of autistic children. I wonder if there isn't an element of taking monetary advantage of families' difficulties. Providing services and therapy for living people with autism would be a more constructive use of money.

I question the tactics that Autism Speaks uses. Some of the videos I've seen are textbook propaganda techniques used to pull at emotions rather than appeal to reason. I really don't believe in using such tactics regardless of how worthy the cause. If something is worthwhile, it should be justifiable without resorting to sophistry and theatrics.

Further, there is a possibility that the "search for a cure" is really a smokescreen for a campaign to find genetic markers that could be found in prenatal genetic testing so that parents could abort autistic fetuses. Whoever developed such a test would stand to make a great deal of money. Whether we are pro-choice or pro-life, I think we can at least say that this goal is less noble than curing autism. I can't say if this is actually a part of their agenda, but some posters here have raised that possibility, and there is sufficient reason to believe the possibility exists.

i think i agree. what most people on WP don't understand is that this issue isn't black and white. most low functioning autistic kids would be mch happier if there was a cure. most people trying to find a cure for autism are just parents trying to make their kids happy. i've dealt with a lot of autistic kids, and they really aren't happy. i agree with autism speaks on the goal, just not how they are trying to reach the goal. and i'm sure most of you, if given the choice, would LOVE to cure your asperger's. i know i would. sorry, but it has gotten in my way most of my life.

I believe that this is where we will find the issues. It's a great idea, an optional 'cure', but we have to face reality: It won't be optional. Not by individuals. Autism in general will be labeled a disease. The 'cure' would be forced upon us. If not forced upon US, then upon pre-natal fetuses that are suspected of having it. Our world just isn't rational enough, in my opinion, to see something so profound become "optional". And THAT is what scares us Aspies when we think of the negatives of a 'cure'.