I guess it is ok to say that the talk was given at work, because you don't know where I work. But it's no big deal, just that it's a legal agreement.
Anyway, I went to the talk and it was not as bad as I expected. My impression is that Autism Speaks is working very hard to understand the scientific reasons for autism. For people who have trouble taking care of themselves this might be a good thing. I think that those of us who can take care of ourselves well enough or even extremely well, we like who we are. I know I do. And we don't want to lose the advantages of being on the spectrum.
I asked them 2 questions. Here's how they answered:
1. How much of the money that you collect do you give to people with Aspergers? The speaKER directed me to their literature, which summarizes that. (Haven't gotten a chance to look at it. I'm always overwhelmed with too much stuff to do!)
2. Do you have any people working for your organization who have Aspergers? She said she didn't know how many, but that she believed there were several and they work in their science research department.
I also made a comment that the video the speaker showed did not show any successful people with Aspergers. (It did, however, mention adult placement and help becoming independent.) The speaker was very polite and careful to mention later that there are many people, probably in my own company (I've seen people stimming, for sure) that have done wonderful things and "brought magic into our lives." I thought that was pretty cool. (I think by then she was catching on that I am on the spectrum.....specially since I volunteered to play the part in a little demo of what it's like to live in a world where you hear rain, have a scratchy sweater, and someone keeps correcting the task you're doing.....wish I had a video!)
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"Me voici donc seul sur la terre, n'ayant plus de frère de prochain d'ami de société que moi-même." Jean-Jacques Rousseau
"Do not think, 'I am alone.'" Sasaki Roshi
WonderWoman