Nominee to Disability Council Is Lightning Rod for Dispute o

Post Reply New Topic

Nominee to Disability Council Is Lightning Rod for Dispute on Views of Autism
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/28/healt ... utism.html

I'm honestly really happy to see Ari get nominated. I think we really need a strong voice in representation. I may not be an American but it's about time we have more voices heard.

Autism Speaks are not even making sense on this. Nothing he will do in that position has anything to do with cures, medical treatment, or much of anything else AS is annoyed with him over. They're just pulling the "how to discredit self-advocates" crap and they'd say it no matter where on the spectrum he was, if he didn't agree with their views.

A little bit of a tangent, but I particularly liked this bit:

"But in previous interviews with The New York Times and other publications, he has argued that those most severely affected by autism are the ones who benefit least from the pursuit of a cure, which he suggests is unattainable anytime soon. Instead, he says, resources should be devoted to accommodations and services that could improve their quality of life."

It seems like too often I hear how people, even in the neurodiversity community, are willing to concede the entire "low functioning" population to the curebies. That mentality disgusts me, one because it's hypocritical (we can't oppose a "for your own good" mentality for ourselves and then wish it on others) and two because it's allowing the curebies to drive a wedge into the community and divide people by what can sometimes be, or so I understand, arbitrary distinctions that don't necessarily apply to people throughout their entire lives. I am glad that Ne'eman has actually come out and said he doesn't think a cure is the best goal for low as well as high functioning people. The fact that he's willing to say this, as a public figure no less, is a very good sign.