"I resign my roles at Autism Speaks" John Robison

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Why would this be a subject for doubt? There are facts involved.

Example: on November 2 in DC, they featured a table from the Judge Rotenberg Center in their resource fair.

How bad is it??? [edited to add: don't watch this if you will be very upset by seeing an autistic person tortured with electricity]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAj9W0ntUMI[/youtube]

Just what is it that you doubt?



OK, they only spend a small amount of their money promoting institutions that torture and kill autistic people--most of it goes to fundraising and a little bit to eradicating autistic people.

Almost nothing goes to helping autistic people or their families.

In what way are they "not so bad" ???

It saddens me that the Wrights are so blinded by their own situation that they can't see they're overgeneralizing and speaking for many people who would patently disagree with their viewpoints. (Not in terms of additional support from the government, because that's CERTAINLY needed, but moreso the fear-mongering.)

Rather than have the standpoint of "Cure all of autism", it would be better if they simply approached their mission as "Relieve suffering where you can". As John said and we all know here, autism is a very mixed bag. Some of us have some pretty autism abilities that come with the condition and we don't want to lose them. But then we have various challenges too, and those we could use some help with.

I'm saddened by this. I can't say I'm surprised and felt like he was being used by that organization as a token from the beginning, but, at the same time, I had also really hoped I'd be proven wrong and he would somehow be able to change things.

The bottom line is that Autism Speaks is a business like any other and, for them, fear-mongering pays. It scares people into making donations. This organization will have no incentive to change their messaging or portrayals of autistic people in the media until it starts hitting them financially.

To hit Autism Speaks financially, I think advocates have to start doing a better job of getting the word out to people outside the community. We need to find ways to catch well-meaning people in the general population before they get out their checkbooks, so they understand they'd be supporting an organization whose messaging actually harms people living with ASD in tangible ways, whether it's causing them to face discrimination in the workplace and when seeking housing or just wind up with poor self-images from internalizing all the bile they spew out.

1.the JRC is nothing compared to the old massachusetts dept of mental hygine,places like;
belchertown stae school
metropoliton state hospital
northamton state hospital
gaebler childrens center

were houses of horror

2.autism speaks supports the JRC because they can handle hard cases no one can and the JRC must get permits tp perform shock treatments.

sadly enough without the JRC these kids would end up in jail or state hospitals.like violent autistic murderer John Odgren who was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in bridgewater state hospital with no chance of parole.now i bet a few shocks at the JRC would seem like summer camp.
bridgewater at one time housed the boston strangler,it is a place of hellish horrors.

as sad as it is shock treatmemts are the last hope of the most disturbed.college educated j.roboson or alex plank types dont end up at judge rothenburg.the JRC is the last hope for the sadest cases.

i knew kids growing up who spent years at the gaebler childrens center a place of hellish horors.the toughest caes will end up somewhere and at least we know what goes on at JRC.it took 40 years to uncover the events that took place at gaebler or the belchetown state school

And there you have it. Someone making excuses for and defending Judge Rotenberg Center. There's no point in arguing, because this guy already described actual torture as "the last hope of the most disturbed." Arguing with monsters or those who defend monsters is a waste of time.

"The last hope of the most disturbed." OMG. OMG. OMG. Those poor baby boys. the screaming from the pain and immediately passing out. That is what happens to my son, not nearly as often now, but still happens, and we have fought FOR YEARSto make it go away. We spent half a million dollars and are now near homeless living in a travel trailer and it is worth it if we were even able to eliminate ONE of those pains [LJ calls them the burns] I cannot believe this. OMG. I am sure that I would be under arrest right now if that place was anywhere near us, because I would go there and try to stop them. I never thought I would ever see anything like what my son goes through, and NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS that someone would deliberately inflict that torture on a human, especially a little kid. My sons neurologist described my sons pain, the same type of torture administered here, as the ;most excruciating pain humanly possible.
OMG OMG The neurologist also said that the kids with this disorder almost invarriably kill themselves. My baby boy must have begged me to help him die at least 10 thousand times. Are they trying to get these children to kill themselves to escape the torture? And laughing at this babys sufferring. OMG.

Please watch the tape and listen to the mother, then go look at the promotional literature for the JRC. They lied to her and they tortured this kid all day for not taking off his coat!! !

The evil man behind this toture is an acolyte of BF Skinner. They think that "conditoning" is the right way to educate a human being. This has nothing to do with the "last hope" scenario you describe.

Your theory is not congruent with reality and does not constitute a rational argument in favor of the hellish things they do at JRC or Autism Speaks for defending them.

Saying that what they do compares favorably with the nightmare institutions of the 19th century is the weakest praise I have ever heard. I think it's also wrong. JRC is, in fact, a lot like those places. They have no rational basis for any of these "treatments" they just have more sophisticated equipment for delivering pain.

Last edited by Adamantium on 14 Nov 2013, 10:39 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Adamantium,

You are correct, and I wanted to say those things too. But I realized that once someone has stooped to defending torture, they're probably not worth talking to.

I used to dissaprove of autism speaks. I figured they were wrong, but well -intentioned. after watching what happened to that little boy, I hATE HATE HATE HATE HATE autism speaks.

I'm sorry Vicky. Hate is an ugly and painful thing. In this case, though, I don't think it's inappropriate.

I feel it with you. The only way to stop hating them is to think about something else.

I have some more facts about the JRC in the form of a piece by Mother Jones refuting defense of the JRC's practices by it's director, the serial killer of autistic victims, Matthew Israel--again, like the video, reading this could be upsetting, so please don't read it if you are feeling vulnerable and think you might not be able to take it.

I think I am fairly hardened and thick skinned, but reading this brought tears to my eyes and made me feel like vomiting.

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/200 ... nds?page=4



You are wise in this. Sometimes I just can't seem to step away--and maybe if he can never get it, someone else will come to understand.

Now I am going to go hug my beautiful autistic family and enjoy our wonderful life together.

Oh, you're right. It does help to say something for other people to see the alternative.

I was just shocked that anyone would defend torturing children. Torturing anyone.

Reading this topic is nothing short of depressing. I wonder if any of us autistic folks really have a voice in the NT world since NT's can't relate to are pain and think that we are just making this stuff up.

Here is "one"by Metellica.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WM8bTdBs-cw[/youtube]

Sometimes I feel like the guy on the hospital bed. He is in pain and nobody around him even know it. He tries to scream but his voice is paralyzed. Nobody hears him.

I was also going to add my 2 Cents, but you've beat me to it. I also would have been wasting my time and I don't like debates in the form of conflicts. There's no use in me talking to people who support such practices.

In step with that, I wonder how NTs would be affected if they were given such shock treatments?

Sheesh. It's like hitting someone in the head with a hammer and noting it made them docile. You know what? I bet it did! THEY GOT HIT IN THE HEAD WITH A HAMMER!

Somehow I can't view this as a big revelation or breakthrough.

Nobody likes having autism, just like no one likes having cancer. Sure, maybe you learn to appreciate life more when you have 6 months to live, and there are analytical benefits to autism, but enough of this (insert affliction, sexual orientation or gender) pride. The world is divisive enough already without this show of solidarity. Getting rid of the bad symptoms of autism does not equate with losing the benefits. Many people without autism have these positive personality traits.

I am glad he took a stand