Opinion of Autism Speaks

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What is everyone's opinion of Autism Speaks?
I know that they give a negative image of autism.
I also know they do not distribute their money well (yes, that's an understatement.): https://autisticadvocacy.org/wp-content ... r_2017.pdf

On the flip side, I don't know of any organizations run by autistics who hold the same kind of events that Autism Speaks does. Does ASAN (Autistic Self-Advocacy Network) hold walks for fundraising and awareness? I feel bad telling others not to show their support at Autism Speaks events if there are no better options for them, other than simply donating. They argue that every organization has their down side and that they enjoy making the families happy when they go to support them.

Not this again.

Autism $peaks is terrible, through and through, and if it had its way no one would get vaccinated, pregnant mothers would be allowed abort their fetuses if they knew they would be autistic, it would be perfectly acceptable to murder your autistic children, and autistic adults would literally vanish from the earth. Their "charities" are fake, they take the money from gullible people and spend it on themselves only. Autism $peaks is evil. End of story.

Awareness, ok, an important question: precisely what kind of awareness has Autism Speaks dedicated itself to spreading, and with what goal?

Awareness is nuanced according to who is seeking to expand it, why they are doing so, what agendas they hold and what beliefs they have. It's not just a block of knowledge that is the same no matter who promotes it.

For example, there are homophobic organisations who are dedicated to raising awareness of the wrongness of homosexual people, and some of them are driven by self identification as the chosen in a religious sense. The awareness they seek to spread is stigmatising, and devalues gay people (they never call them gay?), portraying them as sinners who must change their "ways" or go to Hell.

The politics of autism are similar. Autism Speaks nailed its colours to the mast long ago. It sponsored the horrendous "I am autism" video which is the most stigmatising thing about AS people that I have EVER seen, and I am pretty well informed about various representations.

The founders of Autism Speaks were self-appointed nonprofessionals whose mission was to stigmatise autistic people to swell the organisation's coffers. They were very successful at both.

Suzanne Wright's grandstanding before Pope Francis, a couple of years ago, where she drew unfortunate parallels between autism and leprosy, (out of "the goodness of her heart", of course, she liked to present her mission as saintly and herself the patron saint of cure and eradication of autism) was an appalling piece of self promotion that made me shiver.

AS people have enough to cope with, without "supporters" like that spreading their "awareness". I would never trust that organisation, even though the late Suzanne Wright is no longer placing herself in the publicity limelight and her husband has handed over control to others.

Can you answer the question of what kind of events better organizations hold?
I have been against people I know participating in events with Autism Speaks but they are not going to simply stop their efforts unless they know there are better alternatives.

ASD people are very good at writing books on ASD, and blogs, and contributing pieces to groups such as The Autistic Women's Network and other groups.

I don't know of any who go marching. Marching doesn't seem to me personally to educate anyone about the intricacy of the AS Spectrum. It might raise visibility but not understanding/awareness in any meaningful way.

There are some wonderful Autism speakers with knowledge, insight and credibility who give presentations: Tony Attwood, who speaks at conferences every year all over the world (including the USA), John Elder Robison (USA), Temple Grandin (USA) and you can find Tony and Temple on YouTube also. You could direct people to them and any conferences they have planned. Tony Attwood posts a list of his appearances and dates etc on his website.

All of these people recognise (unlike Autism Speaks who maintains its "Light it up Blue" to represent autism as a condition experienced by male children - a false stereotype they seem to want to purvey. So I wouldn't suggest you recommend them to the people you want to guide to understanding).

I would also suggest you start extending your own education by reading the book "Neurotribes" which provides a compelling and comprehensive history and insight into the history of autism and how it has been (mis)represented.

http://www.tonyattwood.com.au/conferences

You should not feel bad in telling people not to donate to them. One reason ASAN and other self advocacy does not do as much as Autism Speaks is because they can not do as much is because they have a fraction of the money. Better to donate to a more worthy organization that needs the money.

Autism Speaks was founded by an incredibly rich couple when they found out their grandchild was autistic. It was a while ago and the decided that autism was a bad thing and they wanted to cure it.

As times changed, the concept of a cure became more and more horrific to the autism community. Unfortunately, Autism Speaks did not realise this and carried on trying to find a cure. ABA is a form of this cure.

The charity not only had vast amounts of money to spend but they also had excellent connections to the very wealthiest people. This means it was easy for them to secure their position as the leading advocates in the fight against autism which meant they could even secure more donations.

Rather than use their money wisely to help autistics, they have wasted vast sums trying to prove links to vaccines and other nonsense projects in an attempt to prove their ignorant stereotypes. In some cases it is their work to prove something is true that has actually proven that it is false.

While I think that they have done far more damage than good, I do not believe that they were corrupt or fraudulent just ignorant. It shows the damage that a dumb man with a fat wallet can do in our society.

However, I recently spoke to the autistic professor who recently joined their board. I was shocked as he has done a huge amount of good work for the autistic community. I resisted the urge to call him to treacherous, turncoat bastard but did ask if this meant Autism Speaks could now be trusted. He did not give the glowing response of someone who was there for the money.

My impression was that the charity has recognised there are problems and are looking at ways to address them. Hiring him was a small step in the right direction but they have a very long way to go and it remains to be seen how it all goes.

If they are to be trusted by the autistic community they will have to make serious changes however, if they can be transformed they will be an incredibly powerful ally.

They don't speak for me. I don't like their philosophy or the mission that they're on.

Hate group and nothing else but. Anyone seen their video with the dear mom who wanted to kill her autistic child, and didn't do it only because she had a "normal" child to take care of?

@rainbowunion https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7NTfZzS9b8

The very inflammatory "Call to Action" propaganda was another lousy episode in the history of Autism Speaks:

https://emmashopebook.com/tag/a-call-to-action/