I choose not to get involved with autism advocacy.. I don’t even have a autism ribbon or puzzle piece sticker on my car
And maybe autism speaks is and was terribly misguided and wrong on many issues..but i think people need to be nuanced in how they look at people and organizations..this idea that we must cancel everything that falls or FELL short of our beliefs that day is insanity
The fact is Autism Speaks has done a ton of work promoting awareness of autism -which is huge cause the earlier you are aware there might be something going on the better - AND advocating for autistic people and their families
Really when my first kid was diagnosed they were the only player in town even pretending to give a shit
I have noticed HUGE resistance to them within the autism community..now the autism community is pretty divided... you got genius people that function great, artsy people like Anthony Hopkins or David Byrne, and people that can’t speak and really really struggle..I am talking about your worst nightmare..kids that scream all night.. kids like Nick Hornby’s son that they eventually realized they just had to institutionalize him...(Hornby has done good work on a micro level)..it’s a really broad spectrum...they say if you know one person on the autism spectrum you know one person on the autism spectrum
Like I said I am not involved and can’t speak to these polemics but I was comforted knowing at least somebody was lobbying Congress etc but I get it some people think they are satan
Again..nuance..gray
