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Seeing as you were only diagnosed last year and you are already well on your way to presenting yourself as some kind of ambassador for Autism with special expertise, and hustling for "Autism Speaks", I think you are already in the best possible place from everybody's point iof view.



Er...no...they don't have to listen to us, hire us, respect us or care about us to need us for credibility - and hustle us, do they?

Absolutely, "Autism Speaks" needs us because the biggest remaining market gaps to expand into are low maintenance adult care/support with a very seductive low cost/high yield potential. In the area of low maintenance controlled accomodation with inhouse supported employment that is the next best thing to a licence to print money in a property slump, as long as you don't have any problems with HFs spend the rest of their lives in heavily disguised open prisons, all you have to do is get them in there, and the fear of change would keep most of them trapped in Guatanamo Bay once they became acclimatised.

On the other hand, despite "Autism Speaks" best efforts, true awareness of Autistics as equal human being IS growing, and they are beginning to lose credibility with the general public because of the absence of Autistic endorsement and growing public opposition.

So they try to find ways to hustle a few token, high profile Autistics on Board to change that and give credence as the move into the lucrative area of "supported independent living" for Adults.



A lot of Autistic people would not work for or with "Autism Speaks" as a matter of principle whatever they offered...but that's a red herring because the fact that "Autism Speaks" has never hired Autistics is not the problem, it is just one, tiny symptrom, among many of the problem.



I don't think it is very good manners to discuss Alex on his own board, so I am not going to, but he lost a great deal of credibility by his affiliation with "Autism Speaks". I only posted here because I had to make a widespread request for information for someone else, then I saw this thread. But usually I would not post or read here at all since that "partnership" was formed.



Doesn't make any sense to me either, which is why that has never been my viewpoint. I oppose "Autism Speaks" because they damage our potential, and obstruct our access to the resources they monopolise by exploiting us as a cash crop for profit and gain.

The only "positive change" I would like to see in "Autism Speaks" is that they change direction, leave us alone, and go save the rain forests - but, on the other hand, what have the rain forests ever done to hurt me?

Last edited by Zeraeph on 16 May 2011, 6:51 am, edited 1 time in total.

So yet again, when directly asked for a substantive contribution to this conversation you respond with snarkiness. WTF? Yet you expect to be taken seriously?

Your statements in this thread are full of accusations, innuendo, and speculative personal opinions. All useless crap - in fact more useless to the autism community than Autism Speaks. Your responses tend towards insulting, and imply that anyone that doesn't accept your point of view has already succumbed to the Autism Speaks P.R. machine and is now permanently brainwashed. You are just as insulting to me as the worst of Autism Speaks heavy handed fund raising tactics - Autism Speaks won't listen? So what? YOU don't listen either, and worse, you won't back up what you believe with anything of substance. You think because you are on the spectrum you have an automatic "in" with others that are also autistic? Because you are autistic I have to give your ideas special consideration?

Get over yourself. It is bad enough when non-autistics refuse to understand. It is worse when someone on the spectrum is just as self righteous and uses that holy fury as a cudgel against the very people they purport to want to help.

Just as an afterthought, (apart from finding this wordform chillingly reminiscent of childhood trauma), something else is bugging me. Do you you really believe Autistic people do not (or should not) prefer do their own thinking based on their own life experience and ethics rather than defer to anyone with a high profile? It is healthy, and *normal*, for anyone to have far more faith in their own judgement, and just as many Autistics recognise and act on that as anyone else.

Oh, I see you were at Sunday Charm School...keep it up, and one day it will pay off, I promise.

(I honestly cannot think of any other answer to this "twist facts and rant" approach, but if it gets something out of his system, it doesn't bother me.)

1. Autism Speaks should change it's name so that it isn't claiming to be speaking for all of us and presenting itself as if it had our support.

2. Autism Speaks should not use promotional material that includes parents saying they have considered killing themselves and their children, or endorse feelings of violence towards autistic children and should publically apologize to the autistic community for that.

3. They should stop funding genetic research that leads to pre-natal screening of autistic children

4. They should not endorse therapies for social behaviour for children who are unable to consent to it.

5. They should research the efficacy of anti-depressants and psychological therapies on autistic people, given that there is such a high rater of depression/anxiety among autistic people.

6. They should not pursue employment routes that result in people with autism doing work for which they are not paid. In cash.

7. They should advocate for autistic children to receive help to cope with things they need to cope with (like their academic schoolwork) rather than things they don't need to do (like making eye contact and being obedient.)

From what I have seen, those are the things that need to change. You seem to be doing a good job on 7. Karla, at least.

Seriously? And you wonder why I think you are trolling and not taking your rants seriously? There is no way in hell that you are doing anything effective anywhere for autistic people with the way you present yourself here. Hopefully if you are a real advocate that you actually have better skills wherever else it is that you are doing whatever it is that you are doing.

Last edited by kfisherx on 16 May 2011, 10:41 am, edited 2 times in total.

Further evidence of your inability to engage.

...and you obviously did *NOT* find the time to make it to Sunday Charm School.

So you define "skill" as a synonym of "Karla-pleasing"...that is an innovative idea, don't see it catching on though.

You and I are never going to have one iota of time or use for each other, so why pretend?

...and why ask the question in the first place?

...oh and I think you will find it is wavefreak58 who is wondering why *I* think he is trolling and not taking his rants seriously...I haven't noticed you doing that at all...but then I really don't pay much attention to your attitude to me...so I might have missed it?

"You are a sad, sad little man"

- Woody - Toy Story

I should hope so too..."engaging" with a bully is an idiotic choice for anyone to make.

...and you, in turn, are a...WHOOPS!! ! This is a family site...better not spell that out...

Answer the question and enable us to make a difference for ourselves as self-advocates. Obviously I am new to this and trying to learn. If you are not a troll and actually have answers than share them with your people.

The thing is, this isn't funny in the least because you take yourself so seriously. Too bad. You seem to be a smart person. It would be far more interesting to trade information than insults.

I *have* answered the question as honestly and politely as I can, the fact that you did not like the answer does not oblige me to synthesise a dishonest answer that you *do* like.

As a self-advocate you are obviously getting as much of everything you want out of your life for yourself as anyone can reasonably expect...so far be it from me to suggest anything at all.



???Why who died and made me Moses? I do not even think in terms of that kind of arrogance...

Let me be very serious with you now, I do not want to trade anything with you, ever, and you have no choice but accept that, one way or another.