ASAN Protests Autism Speaks in Washington DC on 31st

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ASAN and allies will be protesting the Autism Speaks walk for autism on
Saturday, October 31 at the National Mall, 7th Street NW at Madison Drive,
Washington, DC.

We will carry out our protest at the corner of Madison Drive and 7th street,
on the National Gallery West Building corner. Since the permit application
is pending, this location is subject to change. We will notify you of any
changes in location.

Since the Autism Speaks registration begins at 9 a.m. in the morning, we
will plan to be on site at this time. Organizers will be on site by 8:30
a.m. at the latest.

We have a core group of five people and are looking for additional
volunteers and fellow protesters. If you are in the DC Metro area and would
like to help out, please contact us at the addresses below.

Our protest has been sparked by, among other things, Autism Speaks' recent
PSA, titled "I Am Autism," which presents autistic individuals as kidnap
victims, burdens, and inhuman. In the video, autism is presented as a
soul-stealing entity that ruins marriages, causes bankruptcy, triggers
embarrassment, and erodes morality. Please join us (even if only for a short
while) as we speak back to Autism Speaks and the discrimination that such a
campaign perpetuates.

This latest example of using fear, pity and stigma to raise money is in line
with Autism Speaks past fundraising videos, which have presented being
Autistic as akin to being in a fatal car accident, being struck by lightning
and other situations resulting in death. In order to fund a mega-million
operation which includes annual salaries that go as high as $600,000 a year
for top executives, Autism Speaks does not give any consideration to the
damage their alarmist rhetoric causes. This is in addition to their
organizaton's support for eugenics and lack of representation of
self-advocates at any level in their organization. Please come help us send
a message that Autism Speaks Doesn't Speak For Us!

If you would like more information email Paula Durbin-Westby at
pdurbinwestby @ autisticadvocacy.org (remove spaces)

Nothing About Us Without Us!

Ok... So then you're against me and my honor society walking in it. I think some people need to learn that making assumptions about organizations is ridiculous because you never give people an opportunity to explain their position. I am just going ignore those protesters because I feel what is right in doing this walk in the first place.

Why should he not, if you support an organisation that spends an inordinate sum of money raised on its board - oh, sorry, on research into Autism so they can wipe us out? Or perhaps portraying Autism as worse than Cancer and AIDS?

I support awareness and maybe people should take their time to learn more facts before playing the blame game. I did the walk last year on a friend's team and this year i made a team for my honor society. I see no problems with Autism Speaks because the term "cure" has different meanings.

The "autism is worse than cancer" is what gets to me. Those people who say that should really try getting cancer sometime.

I have read on the internet that Autism Speaks uses 6% of their money for helping people with autism.

Does this mean that they spend more money asking for donations than they do on the purpose for creating the organization? Would love to see their end of the year financial report. Wonder how much $$ goes for salaries.

After I read about the 6% it made me wonder what kind of agenda they have. In a way I could almost see the word parasite used.

No, I am not trying to offend anyone with this message. I just want to be completely honest as to my feelings for this group.

irene

I am going to say this now. This protest makes those groups look like jerks because not caring for the awareness of the spectrum. Personally, this news made my friend Michelle mad at you because those advocacy groups just made themselves look bad by protesting the event and you made mad because you are not taking the time to understand the whole story when you should. Sorry but I will be glad if the D.C. police force arrest you for disturbing the peace and not having the correct permit to protest in D.C. (such permits do exist). You just became jerks basically and now make Alex look like a bad guy now literally.

Anyone else find it amusing that you need a permit to exercise first ammendment rights?

Could you, please, tell us the whole story?

Thanks. irene

worse yet, you have to pay a fee, and chances are that they wont okay it unless you are a major organization, and have it all planned out.

The good thing is that 5 or so people can protest without getting a permit, as long as your not blocking the flow of the public on sidewalks, and not causing trouble, there probably wont be anyone that will say anything about it, and the worst they will do is tell you to disassemble, meaning that you can still protest, but the 5 or so people cant do it in a group, but could each stand at a street corner or something.

Everything is gonna be alright, yeah.

Thats all I need to know. America has forsaken its founding principles for the sake of national security. That's just BS.

Everyone, continue with the protest. And if the cops tell you to stop, ignore them and keep protesting. If they arrest you, dont physically resist, but make sure everyone around you knows WHY you're being taken away. We need to spread the word no matter what the price.

I would gladly spend a night in jail if the alternative was refusing to speak out against an organization that is wronging the very people it claims to be helping.

I wish I could participate in this - I'm actually going to be in the DC area November 1st, a day too late

Please note that the location of the protest has changed as stated in an updated announcement:

http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt110155.html

You see no problem with three of Autism Speaks' executive staff expressing the need to drown their autistic kids?

Attached please find some of the reasons autistics have touble with Autism Speaks...

Can't believe people do not know this stuff about Autism Speaks. Autistics HATE them.

One of the two Slatkins mentioned is a board member of Autism Speaks:

http://www.autismvox.com/autisms-angels ... k-thought/

Some remarks by Harry and Laura Slatkin, parents of David, who is
autistic, stood out to me:

"At times, the pain has become almost unbearable. In a documentary
entitled Autism: True Lives, Harry describes the very large pond
next to their house in the Hamptons. "We put locks on all the doors
leading outside because we didn't want David possibly going into the
pond. But there were times..." when he stops, then talks through his
tears... "you hoped he did, because you wouldn't want him to
suffer like this all his life."

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index ... KIX;_ylv=3\
?qid=20071214022610AA8cRUS

Has anyone out there had serious problems with an Autism Speaks
advocate?

I went to an IEP meeting and the advocate was horrible. Right off
the bat she appeared angry and hostile. She accused many people at
the table of doing things over which they had no control. It
appeared that her basic tactic was intimidation. The parent called
me after the meeting to apologize for the woman. She was a horror
story and bragged about how long the meetings that she was in took.
Apparently she was in one that extended over four days and 26 hours.
If she really cared about kids, why would she want to keep teachers
out of the classroom that long? I think she is in it for power and
attention.

http://autism.about.com/b/a/257851.htm

AUTISM SPEAKS' PROBLEMS GROW

In the aftermath of a public dispute with their daughter, Katie, the
Wrights of Autism Speaks have new troubles. And if Fox News is
picking up on autism issues, the news must be big. In fact, this
time the issue relates to the acclaimed documentary, "Autism Every
Day."

Here's what Fox News has to say: This week, the Wrights posted a
press release on the Autism Speaks Web site in effect disowning
daughter Katie's comments in a video interview she gave to a critic
of Autism Speaks. Katie Wright also appeared on the "Oprah" show in
April, where she talked about the split in philosophies with her
parents.

Even the press release issued by the Wrights itself caused a buzz
because it initially read: "Katie Wright is not a spokesperson for
Autism Speaks. Our daughter's personal views differ from ours and do
not represent or reflect the ongoing mission of Autism Speaks. ...
Her appearance with David Kirby was done without the knowledge or
consent of Autism Speaks." Ouch!

Only later, when the statement seemed too harsh, the Wrights changed
the release, adding of Katie: "She is our daughter and we love her
very much."

But the damage was done.

With the scandal quickly overtaking the cure of autism as a subject,
comes a new dilemma. Filmmaker Lauren Thierry is accusing the
Wrights of appropriating her award-winning film "Autism Every Day"
for their own purposes. Thierry made the film, which was shown at
Sundance this year and is in this month's Nantucket Film Festival,
after the Wrights saw an earlier, shorter version they liked.

Thierry says Suzanne Wright then commissioned a feature version, and
told her "money is no object." While the Wrights paid all the film's
costs, they never came to terms with Thierry, the director says.
They systematically cut her out of the promotion of the film, she
says, when the Wrights took it on the media rounds.

Not knowing a thing about the relationship between Katie and her
parents or Thierry and the Wrights, I have no light to shed on these
news items. What I can say, though, is that the autism community is
NOT united behind Autism Speaks. In fact, it is becoming
consistently clearer that Autism Speaks is speaking for only a very
specific group of people - and that that group does not include
individuals on the autism spectrum, parents concerned about the
possible impact of vaccines on their children, or many others with a
vested interest in autism action and advocacy.

With so much to offer the autism community, Autism Speaks still has
a tremendous opportunity to manage this situation for the better. By
acknowledging the importance of other perspectives, and
incorporating other voices and agendas into their message, the
Wrights really could develop an organization that "speaks" for
autism. Whether they choose to do so remains to be seen.


http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,278814,00.html

CELEBRITY AUTISM GROUP IN CIVIL WAR

Autism Speaks, the celebrity group founded by former NBC chairman
Bob Wright and his wife Suzanne, is in the middle of a family feud
and a dispute over whether they have swiped an award-winning film
from its director.

The charity is unusual because in a short time it has raised
millions of dollars and called upon such celebrity friends of the
Wrights like Jerry Seinfeld and Paul Simon.

The Wrights created Autism Speaks just three years ago when their
grandson, Christian, was diagnosed with the disorder. But since then
they have had such a severe falling out with their daughter Katie,
Christian's mother, that the Internet is now buzzing with a new
scandal.

This week, the Wrights posted a press release on the Autism Speaks
Web site in effect disowning daughter Katie's comments in a video
interview she gave to a critic of Autism Speaks.

Katie Wright also appeared on the "Oprah" show in April, where she
talked about the split with her parents.

Even the press release issued by the Wrights caused a buzz because
it initially read: "Katie Wright is not a spokesperson for Autism
Speaks. Our daughter's personal views differ from ours and do not
represent or reflect the ongoing mission of Autism Speaks. ... Her
appearance with David Kirby was done without the knowledge or
consent of Autism Speaks." Ouch!

Only later, when the statement seemed too harsh, the Wrights changed
the release, adding of Katie: "She is our daughter and we love her
very much."

But the damage was done.

With the scandal quickly overtaking the cure of autism as a subject
comes a new dilemma. Filmmaker Lauren Thierry is accusing the
Wrights of appropriating her award-winning film "Autism Every Day"
for their own purposes.

Thierry made the film, which was shown at Sundance this year and is
in this month's Nantucket Film Festival, after the Wrights saw an
earlier, shorter version they liked.

Thierry says Suzanne Wright then commissioned a feature version, and
told her "money is no object." While the Wrights paid all the film's
costs, they never came to terms with Thierry, the director says.
They systematically cut her out of the promotion of the film, she
says, when the Wrights took it on the media rounds.

This was odd, considering Thierry and husband Jim Watkins, an
anchorman for Channel 11 in New York, have a good PR hook of their
own: They are parents of an autistic son.

Thierry wants to be paid for making "Autism Every Day," but when the
Wrights sent her a contract, with a blank space for the fee, it also
included a proviso that Thierry could not do any publicity for it.
Thierry countered by sending a bill for $104,000, including $64,000
for labor and $40,000 for intellectual property. For that amount she
was willing to allow the Wrights buy her out. Ironically, Thierry
had already told the Wrights she would be splitting her fee with an
autism school in New York.

The Wrights countered, through their executive, Alison Singer, that
Thierry was paid $30,000 and that they have compensated her in full.
But Singer can't produce any evidence of this.

"Alison Singer sent me a check for $30,000. I never cashed it and
sent it back. There was never an agreement for a fee," Thierry said.
Singer, who at first told me about paying Thierry, is now playing
her cards close to the vest.

"Autism Speaks feels it inappropriate to publicly disclose its
details," Singer said.

The chaos surrounding Autism Speaks is not surprising. In short
order, the new group has shut down or subsumed a number of other,
older organizations that used to do the same work, but without the
resources of the Wrights.

Sources at the longstanding Nordoff-Robbins Foundation, for example,
have complained recently that their fundraising sources have dried
up since Autism Speaks came on the scene.

In her video interview, Katie Wright criticizes not only Autism
Speaks but also a group they took over, the National Alliance for
Autism Research, which has organized marches and vigils for 20
years.

Katie Wright now believes that vaccinations and the environment may
be responsible for autism - a controversial theory among others who
say it is a genetic disorder.

Whichever side turns out to be correct, the split in the Wright
family cannot be good for the cause of autism.

"The whole reason for Autism Speaks was because of Christian," one
critic said. "And now the Wrights are dissing his mother, their own
daughter."

Singer says none of that is true.

"The Wrights started Autism Speaks for all families, not just their
own," she said.

She agreed, however, that the couple would not have known about
autism at all had their own family not become involved in it.
Meanwhile, Thierry says she remains unpaid and that, despite the
Wrights' assertions, she is paying her own expenses. When she goes
to the Nantucket Film Festival later this month, it's the festival
that's picking up her travel and accommodation expenses.

http://autism.about.com/b/2008/01/15/au ... questioned\
.htm

Autism Speaks' Funding Priorities Questioned

Katie Wright is the daughter of Bob and Suzanna Wright, founders of
the mega foundation Autism Speaks. Katie's son Christian is the
child whose autism diagnosis launched the creation of the
foundation. About a year ago, Katie and her parents disagreed
publically over the probably causes of autism and about priorities
in research and funding. This week, Katie spoke out again - this
time on Dan Olmsted's Age of Autism E-magazine.

In her fairly long article, Katie attempts to disconnect
the "creative team, the administrative staff, the incredibly hard
working special event and Walk staffers" of Autism Speaks from its
scientific advisors. In essence, she says that those in charge
(including her parents) are terrific people - but those involved
with funding decisions... aren't:

It is Autism Speaks' scientific advisors that I find myself at great
pains to understand.

It appears as if they are wedded to the past and are non-responsive
to what parents want and the immediate needs of our children. By any
measure, autism is worse than ever and traditional research has
yielded few breakthroughs for children living today. So many ASD
children are living with horrible GI disease, seizures, serious
immune deficiencies, pain induced self-abusive behavior…

Meanwhile AS has funded eye gazing research on fruit flies, a study
on the olfactory senses in worms, endless gene research, yet nothing
relevant to the pain my child lives with on a daily basis. Parents
have waited for three years in hopes of seeing real biomedical
research. Of course there is a place for gene and brain research in
autism, but not at the expense of toxicology, immunology,
regression, gastrointestinal and vaccine safety research.

Preservatives in children's vaccines such as: aluminum, ammonia,
formaldehyde, mercury and human embryos have never been adequately
researched or proven to be safe, nor has the CDC's extremely
aggressive vaccination schedule. Everyday infants are injected with
these preservatives, combination vaccines and live viruses. There is
no more time to waste. We are in the midst of a catastrophe and must
be unafraid in pursuit of answers.

It appears as if AS grants are selected less as a result of the
significance of a research proposal but more as a consequence of the
financial resources of academic institutions to put forth in
producing most professional and conservative grant applications.

Instead of funding impactful, breakthrough science, millions of
dollars are spent on researching the same safe subjects over and
over again. Numerous exciting, innovative and progressive biomedical
grants on GI disease, methylation pathways and toxicity, vaccinated
and unvaccinated siblings have been repeatedly rejected due to
ignorance and fear. It is past time for the scientific advisory
boards to think outside the box and pursue the bold research parents
want and our children desperately need.

After reading Katie's piece, I decided it was about time I really
dug into Autism Speaks' actual mission. After all, if their stated
intention is to research causes of autism - period - then she has
nothing to complain about. But - distressingly - here are their
stated goals:

We are dedicated to funding global biomedical research into the
causes, prevention, treatments, and cure for autism; to raising
public awareness about autism and its effects on individuals,
families, and society; and to bringing hope to all who deal with the
hardships of this disorder. We are committed to raising the funds
necessary to support these goals.

Autism Speaks aims to bring the autism community together as one
strong voice to urge the government and private sector to listen to
our concerns and take action to address this urgent global health
crisis. It is our firm belief that, working together, we will find
the missing pieces of the puzzle.

Oh, dear.

It seems that Autism Speaks really does intend to provide a voice
for the unheard. To explore "biomedical" treatments. To "bring hope"
to all. And in these areas, it really does appear to be falling
short.

One of the biggest concerns about Autism Speaks is that it rarely,
if ever, solicits input from people with autism. It's also true that
Autism Speaks' funding for actual hands-on treatment, support and
education of people with autism is a drop in the bucket compared
with funding for genetic and chemical research. And while it's
terrific to create "autism awareness," such efforts are hardly on a
par with actually serving the needs of people with autism.

If Autism Speaks really intends to draw together the autism
community, so that such a large and disparate group can speak with
one voice, it is doing so in a top-down manner that excludes the
vast majority of people impacted by autism. And it's pretty tough to
blame scientific advisors for that.

In short, whatever one's views on vaccines and autism, Katie might
just have a point. On the other hand, it's pretty tough to
separate - as Katie does - the "good" administrative leadership from
the "not so good" scientific leadership. After all, the scientists
are taking their direction from someone - and in the case of Autism
Speaks it's pretty clear that that direction comes directly from the
top.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kim-stagl ... ht-speaks-
do_b_61202.html

Kim Stagliano

Suzanne Wright Speaks. Does Autism Speaks Listen?

Posted August 20, 2007 | 06:23 PM (EST)

On May 1, 2006, Suzanne Wright, founder of Autism Speaks promised me
that Autism Speaks would study whether mercury and vaccines are part
of the cause of the autism epidemic. Here's the video [Quicktime
required].

Mrs. Wright made this promise at the Children Making Strides/Doug
Flutie Jr. Foundation event in Waltham, Massachusetts, where she and
David Kirby were the keynote speakers. Mr. Kirby is the author of
Evidence of Harm, the book that discusses the mercury and autism
connection. Both Mrs. Wright and Mr. Kirby were well received. And
here's the Autism Speaks webpage showing Mrs. Wright with Doug
Flutie.

I'd like to know why, in fifteen months and with tens of millions of
research dollars, numerous "Walks" and fundraisers, I can see no
progress toward answering my question. I mean Mrs. Wright no ill
will. But if you're going to wear the crown of the founder, you have
to expect the serfs to pick up a pitch fork every so often when
their hunger (in my case, for answers) becomes overwhelming. I have
three daughters with autism. Call me crazy, but I'd like some
answers for my children.

If you've ever seen Mrs. Wright on Larry King or The Today Show or
in person, I think you'll you agree with me that her passion to help
her grandson Christian and my girls and the thousands of kids with
an autism diagnosis is genuine. As is her grief. If she's acting,
someone had better tell Meryl Streep that she's got some serious
competition.

I'd like to know who (if anyone) is stopping Suzanne Wright from
making good on her word. Is it Alison Singer? Is it Dr. Eric London?
Is it pressure from pharmaceutical lobbyists? Is it the
pharmaceutical companies themselves who've spent a fortune
advertising on Bob Wright's NBC? (I realize he is no longer in that
position.) Is it the US government who mandated the vaccines in the
first place? What about The American Academy of Pediatrics who have
steadfastly denied any link, even as they added a flu vaccine with
25 micrograms of mercury to the childhood schedule?

I suppose that I sound like I'm writing an X-Files episode. Well, it
feels that way sometimes. "The truth is out there." was the show's
motto after all.

Did Mrs. Wright suddenly change her mind? I don't think so. She is
media savvy. She could have easily hemmed and hawed and said just
enough to keep me from foaming at the mouth without making the firm
promises you'll hear on this clip. I think she spoke from her heart
and gut. I'll let you be the judge.

The clip is only two and half minutes long. I'm the shaky voiced gal
who asks the second question. You'll hear Mrs. Wright say, "My new
friend, Kim." Although that ship might have sailed after this post.

I'd like to thank these folks at Autism Media for providing the
technical work for me.

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/FA ... ssage/8199

I just listened to the ABC coverage/showing of the movie Autism
Speaks put out. It made my blood boil. My son is 11 and is
an "Aspie". We don't see this as something that needs to be "cured".
We have made every effort to show our son that having Aspergers is a
positive thing. It's really cool to him that his "hero" Albert
Einstein may have had Aspergers, according to forensic
psychologists. This movie, and Autism Speaks, gives people who know
nothing about the autism spectrum a very negative view of our
children. We have a "typical" older child that made scenes in stores
and had behavior we just couldn't figure out. For any parent, it's
all part of being a parent.

Growing up is just plain hard, regardless of if you have something
"wrong" with you or not. I can't help but wonder about the parents
that participated in the making of this movie.

Katrina

http://www.autism-hub.co.uk/autism-spea ... /index.php

On May 9th 2006, Autism Speaks launched a film entitled 'Autism
Every Day'.

This film was alleged to depict the realities of autism, described
by the film's Producer Lauren Thierry as:

"At this point we need to be showing the world what the vast reality
truly is. [Lauren says]…that reality includes images of kids not
sleeping through the night, banging their heads against the wall or
running into traffic – not images of kids setting basketball records
or passionately playing the violin."

It later transpired that the film had been 'set up' and that Thierry
had purposefully attempted to display the worst possible view to the
world:

"Thierry told her subjects not to do their hair, vacuum or bring in
the therapists. She showed up with her crew at their homes sight
unseen and kept the cameras rolling as a mom literally wrestled with
her son to get him to brush his teeth, as a 9-year-old had a public
meltdown, as a 5-year-old had his diaper changed. And, as moms
revealed dark and uncomfortable truths about living with autism. The
result is a window into an exhausting world of interminable work."
The film itself contained a segment where one of the mothers
interviewed said that:

"I remember that was a scary moment for me when I realized I had sat
in the car for about 15 minutes and actually contemplated putting
Jody in the car and driving off the George Washington Bridge. That
would be preferable to having to put her in one of these schools."
The mother in question made this statement whilst her autistic
daughter was in the room with her. She further added that the only
reason she didn't kill her autistic child and herself was the
thought of her non-disabled daughter.

Producer Thierry called this section 'gutsy and courageous' and
added that:

"If most mothers of autistic children…look hard enough within
themselves they will find that they have played out a similar
scenario in their minds. If this is not your reality, then God bless
you."

..........................................................

Alison Tepper Singer, Senior Vice President of Communications and
Awareness for AUTISM SPEAKS said previously in the 2006 AUTISM
SPEAKS "Autism Every Day" video that she "[quote] actually
contemplated putting Jody [her autistic daughter] in the car and
driving off the George Washington bridge [end quote]." Her only
reason for not doing so was because she also has a neuro-typical
daughter, Lauren.

She repeated this in an interview with ABC's "Good Morning America."

Bill Shea, National Director of Creative Services is responsible
for this latest video filled with misinformation and errorism.

........................................................
http://www.autism-hub.co.uk/autism-spea ... /index.php

Autism Speaks: Don't Speak For Me

We, the undersigned:

Utterly repudiate the notion of murder being an acceptable response
to disability

Vehemently deny that most parents of autistic — or otherwise
disabled — children harbour thoughts of murder

Testify that the false 'reality' concocted by Autism Speaks
film 'Autism Every Day' is not a true reflection of the reality of
parenting an autistic child

Call for a public apology from Lauren Thierry for increasing
ignorance regarding autism

http://www.newscientist.com/channel/hea ... tism-silen\
ced-by-charity.html

VOICES OF AUTISM 'SILENCED' BY CHARITY
02 February 2008

AN EXTRAORDINARY dispute has broken out between people with autism
and a charity that aims to help them. At stake is how such people
are perceived by the general public.

Like many people with autism, an autistic blogger who goes by the
screen name "Abscout" is angry about the way the condition is
portrayed by some charities. To try and paint a different picture,
Abscout set up a spoof website called NTSpeaks.org, a parody of the
site of the New York-based charity Autism Speaks. The NT stands for
neurotypical, a term sometimes used by people with autism to
describe the rest of the population.

Last week, however, in response to demands from Autism Speaks,
Abscout took the site down. Autism Speaks claims the site infringed
its copyright, and that it could have confused people looking for
information about autism. That in turn has outraged Abscout's
supporters, who say that Autism Speaks is suppressing the views of
the very people it is supposed to represent and help.

"If we do speak, we're only allowed a voice if it agrees exactly
with the people who say they're speaking for us," says Amanda Baggs,
another blogger with autism based in Burlington, Vermont. "That
keeps people believing the same thing Autism Speaks wants people to
believe, including every negative stereotype of autism out there."

Autism Speaks says its aim is "to change the future for all who
struggle with autism spectrum disorders". One of its stated goals is
to "cure" autism - an aim some people with autism find
offensive. "The autism spectrum is something that is intrinsic to
our personalities," says Ari Ne'eman, president of the Autism Self
Advocacy Network in Baltimore, Maryland. "We can no more separate
the autistic part of ourselves than we could our gender or race."

Particularly galling for people with autism, he says, is a video on
the charity's site called Autism Everyday, in which mothers of
children with autism talk about the emotional and financial impact
the condition has had on their lives. "Autism Speaks puts out a very
fear-based message," says Ne'eman.

NTSpeaks.org carried a much more assertive message. Under the
slogan "Learn the signs of NTism", it listed "dislike for people who
are different", "refusal to accept that there is a problem"
and "conforming attitude". Another one of its headlines read, "NTs
destroying AS/Auties pride and joy".

Autism Speaks says that people could have confused NTSpeaks.org with
its own site, as it carried a similar logo. "If an improper use of
our name or logo creates confusion among those we serve about the
source of information, it is a disservice to all," a charity
spokesman says.

Baggs insists there is a need for people with autism to publicise
their own messages. She says the charities "change a lot about how
autistic people are treated and understood by other people and by
professionals".

Gareth Nelson, who founded the autism rights group Aspies For
Freedom is doing his bit. In protest at Autism Speaks's actions, he
has secured the NTSpeaks.net and NTSpeaks.com domains and posted new
parodies of Autism Speaks there. "It is important to do this in
order to stop Autism Speaks from simply silencing their critics and
to show them that we are not going to sit back while they intimidate
people," he says.

Watch this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhnsEJRJgeA

I plan on being there! Autism Speaks does NOT speak for me!