Demands to the President of the United States

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I am demanding that the civil rights of Autistic people has to be recognized.

I don't see any other way to do this. Civil rights isn't given when you ask for it. Civil rights has to be demanded.

Civil rights are not supposed to be earned. The constitution states that civil rights is guaranteed for everyone. When the United States Government doesn't obey it's own constitution by recognizing the civil rights of Autistic people, then civil rights have to be demanded.

Albert Einstein said, “Insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, but expecting different results.”

I would like to revise this. Insanity is doing the worst possible thing that generates the worst possible results. The insane person is content and satisfied with getting the worst possible results. Then they keep on doing over and over again the worst possible thing that continues to get the worst possible results.

It is hard to figure out what is going on inside of the head of an insane person. Does the insane person actually think they are doing the best possible thing that gets the best possible results. And so they continue to do the worst possible thing while they are under the delusion that they are getting the the best possible results.

The thing about an insane person is, you don't know if they are sane or insane. You don't know if they are sane and intentionally intend to get the worst possible results. Or if they are insane and actually think that they are doing the best possible thing that gets the best results.

If they actually have intentions of purposely doing the worst possible thing, then that person is a psychopath, because they don't care how their actions are affecting other people.

A psychotic person has superior acting abilities. A psychotic person puts on a very good act of acting sane.

There needs to be an Autism organization that is absolutely 100% about awareness of bullying and civil rights.

Autism Speaks is not a civil rights organization. They ignore this subject completely. Autism speaks is run by people that are not Autistic. Those people don't give one single thought about bullying and civil rights.

The 1st amendment guarantees freedom of speech. Every minority that has ever been oppressed has gotten together as a group and protested for their rights. No one has ever done it for them. The only people who care about an oppressed minority is the oppressed minority themselves.

It has been said that the 1st amendment is not a guarantee to be heard. But in the case of Autistic people, apparently what is needed is a guarantee to be heard. I don't know what it would take for Autistic people to get together and protest. This is what has to happen for an oppressed minority to have their civil rights recognized. There is a group of people who are being oppressed. There are some characteristics of a communications disability that makes it difficult to protest. There should be no discrimination and oppression of a group of people with a disability even if that disability makes it difficult for them to speak out about their rights. Do to the nature of the disabilities of Autistic people, it is not enough to simply have the right to speak. There has to be a precedent set that would actually guarantee a group of people to be heard. Autistic people are capable of speaking, but are discriminated based on their disability denial of their civil rights. There is a necessity for an amendment to the constitution that would absolutely guarantee Autistic people to be heard.

Stop playing politics. You have to listen to Autistic people because it is the right thing to do. You can't continue to listen to non-Autistic people who claim to represent Autistic people, who don't do anything to protect the civil rights of Autistic people. Autism speaks is an organization that profits off of children because of the way they market themselves to be an organization that claims to help children. The way to help children is to recognize that they will become adults and to address how Autistic adults are bullied in society. There has to be awareness of the problem of bullying, and then this problem has to be eliminated.

You have to listen to Autistic people themselves. It should
not be about going through a hierarchy in order to be allowed to report a civil rights problem to the President when every single other possible place to report civil rights violations has failed me.

I can't find any existence of group services for Autistic adults. This has to consist of a peer support group for Autistic adults. Autistic people have to get together as a group to vocalize the absence of recognizing their civil rights.

I can't find the existence of an Autism organization who's mission is to focus 100% only on bullying, civil rights, and acceptance.

For the past 12 years, I have asked the same questions over and over, and I just keep getting the run around. Nobody has the answers to the questions that I am asking. Everyone always says that it is somebody else's job. I have run into nothing but dead ends. I have run into so many dead ends trying to find a solution to this problem, I have run out of people to ask. There is no one left to ask so I have to address my questions to the President of the United States.

Autism Speaks claims to be helping children. They are doing so much damage compromising the civil rights of Autistic people that it is making it so much harder for the autistic child to be able to live an independent life as an adult. Autism speaks completely ignores the bullying Autistic people face when they simply try to live and exist in this world.

In the excution of their goal to raise money, they say that their mission is to fund biomedical research for a cure to Autism. Awareness of bullying, and acceptance, and civil rights, would be a conflict of interest that would compromise their fund raising efforts.

Autism speaks says they need money to cure Autism. The only thing needed to stop bullying is common sense. Autism Speaks has no common sense. I don't want any Autism organization lacking common sense to be representing Autistic people. The people running Autism speaks have a serious mental disorder. They are psychotic and they lack common sense.

There has to be an Autism organization that is absolutely 100% about bullying and civil rights. There has to be an Autism organization that accepts Autistic people just as they are before they can ever promote acceptance of Autistic people.

There is a major civil rights problem that is happening to Autistic people. There is no one in public service that has the job of addressing this problem.

When I can't find anyone to help me, YOU are the one I will be making my demands to.

I am going to keep making my demands to the president until there exists a proper functioning resource that will help me with my civil rights.

Where do Autistic adults go? Why can't I find any services for Autistic adults that actually has an existing group of Autistic adults so that I could have a peer support group. I need for there to be an assembled group of Autistics where we say in one united voice that we demand recognition of our civil rights.

Autistic people are an oppressed minority. Every oppressed minority throughout history has assembled and protested for their situation to change. Every oppressed minority throughout history has protested for their civil rights. They made their voice heard. They demanded their civil rights and they got their civil rights.

Autistic people have a communication disability. There are characteristics of the disabilities of Autism that have prevented Autistic people to form a strong enough protest to be heard. There are Autistic people who are clearly communicating. For the most part is seems we are still being ignored.

The 1st amendment of the constitution that guarantees freedom of speech is not a sufficient enough guarantee for Autistic people and other people with communications disabilities to be heard when the time comes to voice such concerns. The 1st amendment protects freedom of speech. It is not a guarantee to be heard.

It has been established that people with physical disabilities have the right to live in an accessible world. Laws were passed to make public places accessible to people with physical disabilities.

This world has to be accessible to people with communications disabilities. There has to be an amendment added to the constitution to guarantee that Autistic people will be heard. People that are Autistic need to have handicapped access that is specific to their communication disability. There has to be an amendment to the Constitution that will actually guarantee that Autistic people will be heard.

The only way to have a civilized conversation about civil rights is if such an amendment exists. Until that happens there is no other choice but to have to make demands to the president.

As if it is not already enough to be bullied, it is abusive to ignore someone when they are trying to express that they are being bullied. Then the victim has to respond by getting louder and more demanding, only to be blamed for having a behavioral problem. Never pointing out the behavioral problem of bullying when it involves ignoring a person until they get to the point of exasperation.

It makes sense to have an amendment guaranteeing Autistic people to have handicapped access to be heard. We are talking, but we are being ignored.

Autism speaks completely ignores civil rights. The propaganda they are spewing is only further regressing the civil rights of Autistic people. Their rhetoric is damaging and has to stop. There has to be a guarantee for Autistic people themselves to be heard.

It is impossible for an Autistic person to have a civilized conversation about addressing their civil rights when non Autistic people don't want to hear anything about it and they are brainwashed into thinking that Autistic people are not entitled to civil rights. We live in a barbaric uncivilized world where the civil rights of Autistic people has not been recognized. There is a huge void of recognizing the civil rights of Autistics and no one has the job of creating such services. Everyone has the job of perpetuating the same old f****d up system. This has to change.

I am reporting a serious civil rights problem. I am fed up with Autism organizations that are anti civil rights.

Autism Speaks claims to be an advocacy organization. The definition of advocacy is "the act or process of advocating or supporting a cause or proposal"

Autism Speaks advocates for their own agenda which is completely different from What Autistic people are saying that they need. Autism Speaks advocates for a cure for Autism. That is it. That is all they do.

Autism Speaks completely ignores bullying and civil rights. I hate pathological liars who play f*****g mind games by twisting everything around. They say the most insane nonsense and present it in a way that has the illusion of sanity.

Autism Speaks uses the word "advocacy" to trick people into thinking that they advocate for Autistic people the same way you would expect to have someone advocate for yourself.

When Autism Speaks uses the word "advocate", their definition is "cure". When Autism speaks uses the phrase "a better future for those with Autism", their definition is a world without Autism. There is nothing about their definition of a better future that has anything to do with a world where people who are Autistic are free to be themselves and not be bullied and have their civil rights recognized.

I say the word "advocate". Now think about how this would apply to you when you need help sticking up for your rights. To say that Autistic people don't deserve the same exact application of the word advocate, that is exactly what is going on in the minds of the people who run Autism Speaks. Autism speaks mission is to cure Autism. That is not advocacy.

Acceptance can happen right now. It doesn't require raising money. It is simply promoting awareness of equality of all people.

There has to be an Autistic organization that is 100% all about saying that Autisic people have the right to exist in this world without being bullied by anyone because of being different. Their civil rights has to be recognized.

I am tired of getting the run around. I am tired of the dead ends of only finding Autism organizations that completely ignore civil rights, and instead they do everything to suppress civil rights. There has to be an Autism organization that genuinely has the only single mission of promoting the literal dictionary definition of advocacy by focusing only on the civil rights of Autistic people.

Why does there have to be a conflict of interest between cure and civil rights. Why do politicians listen only to parents who want to cure their child, and ignore Autistic people themselves when when they report civil rights violations are being committed. Politicians think it is better for their careers to listen to parents of young children. Why should it continue to be accepted as perfectly normal that politicians ignore the civil rights of Autistics?

Every parent group I have ever seen consists only of parents of young children. The only people advocating for Autistic adults is Autistic adults. I keep fighting parents of young children who think that their child's needs take priority. When Autistic children become adults, they discover how this world treats them. And there's no where to turn to for a solution to this problem.

Is there an Autistic organization that focuses 100% ONLY on bullying and civil rights? Is there an Autistic organization that actually carries out the dictionary definition of advocacy, and does not have a twisted backwards definition of Advocacy?

Why don't Autistic children's' services not do anything to address the next step as soon as the Autistic children become too old for the children's' services. Why does it have to be so hard for an Autistic adult to find the existence of other Autistic adults in the local community that they live in?

Where are there Autistic adult services in my own local community where there actually is an existing group of Autistic adults? I have only found dead end after dead end after dead end. No one has the answers to the questions that I am asking.

I am not going to be intimidated by the thought police and the United States Government because of the choice of my career which is to demand that the civil rights of Autistics be recognized. This is my job. This is the last frontier of human rights. I have to keep complaining until this is solved.

I have a lot of civil rights issues that I have to send to the president because of the nonexistence of any other place that will listen to my issues. The president is the last resort. That is the only person left to where I must send my inquiries.

Demands get swept under the rug, and complainers get ignored.

Besides, it's not the President's function to enact laws; he can only receive them from congress and either sign them into law or veto them.

Why not take your issues directly to your congressional representatives, and see what laws they intend to enact on your behalf?

I mean, it would certainly beat posting a multi-paragraph rant on a social website dedicated to perceptual and developmental disorders like AS or ASD.

The President can overrule the will of Congress?! That's not, erm, very democratic now is it?

LOL! You are demanding something from the President? Hey, go all out and fly to DC, take a tour of the White House and stop in the middle of it and demand to see him to tell him this.

I'm sure he will be sufficiently intimidated by your demands and will comply.

::turning on CNN to wait::

This is a very limited and unrealistic view of the effective functional capacity of the person in the office of President--his/her role, is, in actuality far more extensive than this.

1) He is the effective leader of one of the 2 major political parties in the country and essentially.
2) He effectively sets the agenda for his party in congress, and moreover has quite a bit of power to influence what Congress takes up.
3) HE DECLARES WAR, at this point unilaterally and with no regard for congress, essentially committing exorbitant resources at a level of little more accountability than a dictator might.
4) He has the power to negotiate trade deals which corporatist corruption inevitably routs through congress with no chance for opposition.
5) He essentially controls the Justice department and all executive agencies.
6) He has the bully pulpit in a way that is unique and which no other political public figure can compete with.
7) He essentially dictates U.S. foreign policy, which has implications for the country in terms of terrorism, international conflicts, expenditure of U.S. treasury resources, etc, etc, etc.

And the list goes on extensively. Oversimplifying these things serves no productive purpose.

Essentially the president can do a lot more in his capacity of interacting with congress besides "veto or sign legislation". There's far more to it, and it's a lot more nuanced and complex than that.

Congressional representatives don't give a s**t. They will not engage in a conflict of interest. They listen to Autism Speaks that lobbies for funding to finance research for a cure. Then there is us that want acceptance the way we are. We want our civil rights to be accepted in this world the way we are. There is a conflict of interest. It is because of all the dead ends that the president is the only one left to make my demands to. Who is above the President. It is supposed to be the citizens that employ him/her. The other possible people above the president is the shadow government.

I have been on a white house tour with my parents when I was a kid. The FBI notices when I send letters and demands to the president. The FBI notices even if you just talk about Autistic civil rights because there are government conspiracies to suppress the civil rights of Autistics. If I was to request another tour of the white house, it is because of my speaking out on this subject that I will be rejected.

Among any large ways to undermine rights for autistics, making such absurd tirades on behalf of autistics is one of them. Nobody is going to take seriously anyone who says that unless they're part of the agenda implied in such tirades. Even if those in high power positions wanted to comply with such demands, they likely wouldn't even understand them as they don't make sense. Autism Speaks is a private charity and has private funding. I'm worried that anti-cure public members of the IACC will try to undermine government research.

The president may veto a bill he does not agree with. Congress may over ride his veto by a 2/3rds vote in each house. This is actually very democratic, as it only takes 60 votes to end debate on a bill, and 51 to pass it. To over ride a veto needs 67 votes. In almost every case, this involves getting votes from the other party.

The Queen of England technically has the power as well, although it's never used. She can refuse royal assent to a bill. It's almost never done, but the power exists, and unlike the American veto system, there is no way to over ride the Queen.

Check out the Autism Self Advocacy Network, ASAN, at the site below, they have chapters across the country and advocate for disability rights. Autism is one of many disabilities identified by the government as consistently as an inherent disability. There is the potential of advancements in disability rights, but no potential of rights afforded to one group of individuals with a disorder/disability over all of the other individuals with disorders/disabilities.

Other organizations like Autism Speaks and the Autism Society of America advocate for legislative efforts for insurance reform, as well as other efforts associated with the needs of individuals on the spectrum.

But, if you want to be involved with an organization that is mostly comprised of individuals on the spectrum ASAN, is really the only recognized national autism advocacy organization with a majority of individuals on the Spectrum. The President of that organization has been appointed to an agency associated with disability rights, by president Obama. If you seek change, it's not going to be done by demanding something from the President; you'll have to go through the same process and tedious, labor intensive effort that the ASAN organization and others are currently undertaking.

That organization has just recently joined efforts with other organizations to provide a stronger voice for their concerns. One voice or even one organization is not usually enough of a voice to make the significant changes one hopes to see. A greater emphasis on disability rights is possible, but recognized rights to Autism specifically over all the other disabilities, is neither fair or has realistic potential in the US.

And finally, the issue with bullying is far from an autism specific issue, in fact through research, some subgroups of children on the spectrum are not only identified as the victims of bullying at a greater level that the general population, but also are reported as bullying others at a greater level than the general population. This is an issue specific to bullying that is separate from disability rights, as bullying impacts many individuals without diagnosed disorders/disabilities.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070517100417.htm



http://autisticadvocacy.org/

I suspect Autistic children are unskilled overt Bullies and ADD/ADHD just exacerbates the situation. They are not skilled on the social niceties of overt and covert Bullying THAT non-Autisic children are skilled at.

Basically, I suspect Autistic Children with ADD and ADHD simply get caught.... Bullying more..

TheSunAlsoRises

I agree, while the linked peer reviewed research in my previous post did not look closer at that aspect of the issue, more recent preliminary research linked below that has not yet met the peer review process, more specifically identifies that some children on the spectrum are not as likely aware that their behavior is being perceived by others as bullying behavior and not intended as such, as well the potential that they are perceiving behavior not intended as bullying, and potentially responding as if they are bullied when they are not intentionally being bullied.

So even if it was possible to convince all children off the spectrum not to intentionally bully children on the spectrum, there is still the potential that some children on the spectrum might perceive behavior from children off the spectrum as bullying that was not intended as such, and react in a defensive manner that might be perceived as bullying by the children off the spectrum, that then result in a defensive manner that could then be perceived as bullying by the child on the spectrum.

Of course children, and young adolescents, are not mature in the social sense and this is already part of the general issue of bullying, in hormonally active adolescents, that can be very confusing for individuals off and on the spectrum, in learning what is or what is not appropriate in ever changing social norms.

And becoming a much larger issue now, with the new avenue of cyberspace bullying, where females are now being reported as the dominant bullying force among a general demographic that was once thought to belong in greater frequency among males, in the actual school environment.

Teachers and administrators have some control in the school environment, but parents, teachers, and administrators have little control in cyberspace, a new uncharted territory for bullying, that provides opportunities that did not exist for children to be bullied by potential offenders that there was no potential exposure to in the past.

Perhaps one of the hardest parts though, is convincing someone that they are not intentionally being bullied when they believe that intention is there, when it is a matter of unique perception.



http://www.iancommunity.org/cs/ian_research_reports/ian_research_report_bullying

I see the bullying issue getting worse not better, as people are becoming more disconnected from face to face interaction and the greater sense of empathy for others provided by that full human experience.

I can remember a brutal incident on an extremely popular internet site, where a young girl provided a picture of her receiving a religious item that she was given at Christmas that she did not agree with, in a militant atheist area of that site, and she was virtually raped by the others anonymous guests on the site, simply because she was an attractive girl.

It appears to be at least, in part, fueled by pornography, freely, openly used and accepted in that avenue on the internet as a form of peer communication, in some areas of that specific site, where a young girl can no longer expect to be viewed as a human being, if she provides an innocent visual image of herself, in that avenue provided, no matter how well spoken and on topic her communication might be.

Of course the moderators addressed the issue, but the virtual assault in a matter of seconds was incredible, without any element of humanity, or immediate opposition to the communication by those participating. The fact that she was probably 14 or 15 years old, and there were many adults in the discussion, was particularly disturbing. I won't mention the name of the site, but it is one of the most popular sites for discussion that exists on the internet, geared towards young adult males.

There was no reason to believe that any of the individuals involved were part of the spectrum. The incident most disturbingly appeared to be a potential reflection of a new shared accepted norm, that is not normally verbally provided in real life, instead found exposed in an internet avenue of anonymity, in a virtual stadium of onlookers.

And again per the topic article, evidence that this bullying thing, at this point, is well above the control of the government or the President, as there is effectively little protection from it on the internet.

There is an old saying floating about THAT goes something like, "People drive like they feel." In other words, people get behind the wheel of a car and it becomes an extension of their emotional state of mind. IF they feel reckless, they drive reckless. IF they feel depressed, they drive slow and linger about, etc. It all depends on how an individual's emotional state is affected by external stimuli.

I suspect the same thing applies in Social media, E-mail, Written Chats, tweets, etc. People tend to make responses on these mediums based on their own personal state of mind. Once, an individual enters these online social arenas (based on the written word); they are formally introduced to mind blindness. Ironically, the non-Autistic's Theory of Mind is technologically disrupted. Now, He or she must rely on emotional and cognitive perspectives without the benefit of visual social cues to aid them.

The result: Responses and actions based on "aut" perspectives. The cognitive and emotional state that they are presently IN will determine their responses to others.

TheSunAlsoRises

There will never be a means to define autism, or to have any idea who is behind an internet post, or what their true thoughts and feelings, and intent, are.

Some think it a place where English Majors should rule with language skills, but words keep showing other powers.

The very act of discussion which has been used in debate, and for building consensus, does not work on the internet.

It is an Autistic medium.

I like it, for it matches my thinking, and destroys the methods and programs that have dominated thought and expressing it before.

My advice to The President, ignor it. Why? Because Autism does not have an identity. ASAN has made it clear that they are an organization that wants to use Autism, much like some defense lawyers do.

Many want to be in charge, but none can define it.

Even rdos, who first noticed a different version of mental patterns, and developed a test to find them, has not come up with an Arch Autistic, but with a diverse pattern that differs from the other diverse pattern.

The Autistic Pattern seems to have more diversity than the Neurotypical pattern. Since they are around 1%, the space between them is going to be much greater than the space between the other 99%.

Other minorities have some overriding feature that unites them, skin color, religion, sex practices, but there is nothing like that for Autism.

There is no common view from within or without.

It is an undefinable problem.

One can overcome their disability, and do well in the world, another will never speak or leave the house, and another will not notice, except to think that everyone else is strange but predictable, and will make a fortune selling them some product.

I agree, and think it is in part, a causal factor of what is becoming a more pervasive online presence of those finding themselves either diagnosed or suspecting a diagnosis on the spectrum as the social communication aspect of text communication provides an adaptation away from verbal and non-verbal social communication skills, and the internet itself provides many avenues for restricted, repetitive behavior that can interfere with life functioning away from cyberspace.

I suppose it might be the ultimate "unintentional revenge of the nerds", the informal description provided by society for decades that might fit Gates and Zuckerburg, in if one doesn't join the crowd, they can provide a potentially addictive more limited social communication experience, that more people can participate in, determined more by their rules than majority rules.

A widespread process of unintentional partial brainwashing or more scientifically described by the process of neuroplasticity similar to evolution, as neither process cares if the human intentions are good or bad, the details of the process are clearly understood, or the results of the process are perceived as positive or negative. As we all continue to be subject to the ever evolving Matrix of Culture and it's byproducts.

It is pretty amazing how much power of individual influence the IT revolution has provided, for those that hit the buttons that worked at just the right time to change the world as we know it.

Who knows it might not have happened if it were not for the natural adversity of bullying that also is capable of creating change, good or bad, depending on the individual and how one responds to the adversity. It's all part of the larger competition with patterns that flow in an analog rather than the digital manner started by fingers and toes, mankind's first computer/abacus device, preceding abstract rules that eventually led to the potential to overshadow patterns for a greater illusion of control.

The patterns of classical evolution though, never fully go away, always lurking in the background, whether recognized or not, often more easily observed in adolescents hitting puberty when hormones fight for control.

Life was pretty tough in public schools, but I'm personally glad, I was neither home schooled or enrolled in a private school, for more than a year, with a greater opportunity and fortunate to have enough potential to mix and adapt to the larger gene pool and survive. And particularly fortunate in that the bullying inspired me to become more than less; it took me much longer to recognize that some of the messages my perceived bullies were providing was feedback that might effectively eventually save my life. Other people gain additional experience in challenges of will in organized sports and the military and other challenges; that was beyond my functioning capacity, but I was capable of watching others overcome those challenges.

Everyone has their potentials and limits, some find more of one than the other, a part of the general pattern.

That pretty much sums it up as a descriptive narrative describing behavioral impairments in a copyrighted manual vs.each person's unique reality and experience associated with what is described as Autism.

I recently saw a criticism of the National Autistic Society's (UK) portrayal of individuals on the spectrum as not meeting personal criteria of expectation for facial expression, specifically among those diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome.

I don't want to repeat the specific pejorative description, as I understand how it feels to be described as such, devoid of facial expression, in deep thought. That was an autism I could relate to, but apparently an autism that the individual that made that statement could not relate to. And a part of what is described by the criteria from the copyrighted manual.

But, also an expression potentially common to any individual that is not focused on social communication.

I almost wanted to respond tongue in cheek with you didn't build that autism, they did, in reference to individual expression. But, would have more likely responded with a less potentially antagonistic response like Autism doesn't have an identity, and will try to remember that for the next similar opportunity for a response.

This is part of the reason, I don't personally agree with the Autistic specific civil rights movement, as compared to rights for those with disabilities, as accommodations/supports are uniquely specific to each individual's needs for support. And additionally, society in general does not usually identify people on the spectrum for specific spectrum discrimination, unless a diagnosis is provided, or the need for accommodation is described, such as potential issues with environmental stimulus, that is specific to each individual.

A case by case basis is the only reasonable avenue for accommodation in the workplace, unless the employment is specific to those on the spectrum, which is rare.

And, that potential already exists, with the American's with Disabilities act, that virtually everyone on the spectrum is covered by; it is possible that the Op is not aware of that benefit that already exists in the workplace environment, as many people do not realize that by law those diagnosed with Spectrum Disorders including Aspergers Syndrome are disorders that will virtually always be assessed as disability under the ADA definition of disability, with the rights afforded by that act.

Perhaps, but then Congress can over-ride the president's veto. It's part of our system of "Checks & Balances", wherein no single branch of the government has absolute authority.