John Elder Robison and Autism Speaks

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http://www.autismspeaks.org/press/john_ ... _board.php

This is awesome! Finally!

I thought so too. He's a good choice.

I hope this represent a real change in direction for Autism Speaks instead of him being appointed as a token Aspie. If this does represent a real change, then I must applaud this step.

Having only read his book, I was left with the impression that he was very much an egoist, and not very founded in science (other than stage FX).

I didn't know he was active in any form of advocacy.

Maybe he will fit into the Autism Speaks hierarchy.

I remain skeptical of the organization, however, I do hope that John Elder Robison can bring real change to the way they view us. I wish him the best of luck for all our sakes.

At last, the sun has decided to shine.

I know John Elder Robison personally (I'm dating his son) and this is very true. Though he's been improving over the years in terms of the ego thing (especially with the addition of a new ladyfriend), and he does genuinely care about the autistic community. His strong suit's not science, this is true, but I do think that him joining A.S. is a mostly positive thing. It'll do them good to have an aspie (especially such an "out and proud" aspie, so to speak).

He has a blog and he mentioned here that we were welcome to visit with our input.

My goal in joining the board is to advocate for research that can provide tangible benefit to today's autistic population. The autism spectrum encompasses people with very different needs. We have people who need help with speech, people with severe physical issues, and people who need help with social skills. We need tools for more effective diagnosis, and tools for better early intervention. We need to investigate the issues of adults on the spectrum, too.

I'm happy to talk about directions we should take in terms of science funding.

Agreed. Thank you very much for taking on such an important role.

I want my children to grow up in a world that understands them better than the world that didn't even know what to do with me when I was a child. Early intervention is so important because it lays down the foundation upon which children will grow both in maximizing their strengths and minimizing their weaknesses for success in a world that was not built to accomadate us. It's so much harder to figure it all out like I did when I was 23 years old (now 29) and learn to redirect my behaviors and thought patterns. Although, once I had a name to put to my neurological structure, I was able to put those pieces together much easier.