@nekobakaz / nekobakaz.tumblr.com
[“Autism Speaks gives people hope.” Do they? Who taught you that your child is “missing”? Who taught you that your child was of no value to society? Who taught you that an increase in diagnosis meant a “rising epidemic”? Who taught you “1 in 68″…then taught you to ignore 1 in 68 adults? Did Autism Speaks give you hope? Or did they steal your hope and then sell it back to you? 1 in 68 people boycott Autism $peaks.]
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#REDInstead
Not a tragedy, not a burden, not a stereotype. We need no cure, we need care and acceptance.
Autismspeaks uses shock and pity to raise funds for “research”. It doesn’t give autism a voice, it harms and fuels stereotypes.
[Various Autism Speaks symbols crossed off behind red circles with slashes through them to symbolize “NO”. #BoycottAutismSpeaks #RedInstead #AcceptanceNotAwareness]
[Keep calm and accept autism.]
I know people want to help autistic people. Their hearts are in the right place. They throw money to the biggest, most prominent autism charity they see because big charities are good, right?
Ah, sorry, that’s not true. Autism Speaks sounds good on the surface. Unfortunately, it’s just a mask that hides the years of harm they’ve done and are still doing to autistic people and the perception of autism.
This speech happened many years ago. This is part of the transcript. Click the link above to get the whole speech.
I know what you’re thinking, and no, I am not putting implications into the speech that aren’t there. I’m going to tell you the cold, hard truth of how ableism gets implanted through flowery language that includes some and excludes others.
This how Autism Speaks is so insidious with its dehumanization of autistic people.
Here’s Suzanne Wright using religious language that insults autistic people to appeal to the Pope. You’re witnessing a prime example of how Autism Speaks insults and dismisses the community it claims to stand for while using language that appeals to everyone except autistic people themselves. It’s like we’re invisible.
She compared autistic people to “a Lent* without Easter”, “trapped in our bodies” and “lepers”.
Lent is a time of reflection and renewal. There is sadness because of Christ’s Crucifixion, but the joy at the end is Easter. Easter symbolizes hope.
The implication is autistic people can’t see God and are hopeless creatures who need salvation from this “demon” of autism.
The implication of “trapped in our bodies” makes it sound like there is a neurotypical person hidden somewhere inside all the autism symptoms.
Nope, sorry, autism is not a shell wrapped around us, it IS us. It shapes our brains, shapes how we experience our lives and shapes our personalities. Removing autism is removing a person.
Leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae or Mycobacterium lepromatosis. In biblical times, people with HD were seen as the filthiest people of society. They were the people nobody wanted to be around or take care of.
This woman is saying autistic people are filthy and diseased and nobody wants us around.
Just…what?! WHAT!?
She totally dismissed the fact that even nonverbal autistic people who need lots of daily help and can’t make their communications understood are still communicating even if it’s not understandable. They can live full, happy, comfortable lives with the right care and accommodations.
Then she contradicts herself all over the place when she paints autism as if autistic people cannot experience joy unless it’s given to them by someone who isn’t autistic. As if our happiness, wants and desires don’t count unless we experience it in a neurotypical way.
As an autistic woman who is also Catholic, I’m disgusted.
I know this woman has since passed on to Heaven and I’m sure God is still giving her a long lecture about what she did wrong. It’s like she had a good idea, but executed it in totally the wrong way and it has had lasting negative effects on how people view autism.
Yes, she made the world aware of autism, but in every possible wrong way, and it has done damage rather than heal.
The sad thing is the caregivers who support Autism Speaks can’t see the harm because they’re not autistic and not the ones being constantly insulted, dismissed, dehumanized and silenced. Autism Speaks taught them to dismiss autistic voices and frown on autistic people who protest Autism Speaks as if we’re ignorant or misguided.
Would fellow religious people want to be spoken for by Atheists?
Would Atheists want to be spoken for by religious people?
So why do you think autistic people want to be spoken for by an organization that has zero autistic leadership?
*For non-Catholics, Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Easter. It is the time of year that celebrates Jesus going into the desert for forty days to be tested by the Devil. It’s a time where Catholics turn inward, do penance by giving up something or doing something extra to cleanse themselves of the spiritual junk they collected during the year. We face the commemoration of Communion being instituted at the Last Supper (Holy Thursday) and the sadness of Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross (Good Friday). Then, almost overnight, all that grief explodes into joy for the renewal that is His Resurrection on Easter. Lent is all about death and renewal and hope. Lent is a reminder of how much God loves us.
Penance = Give up something (self-denial) between Ash Wednesday and Easter. It can be as simple as not drinking soda pop or as drastic as avoiding TV or the internet. It can also be doing something extra like volunteering at a homeless shelter or setting time aside to pray on all the mysteries of the Rosary (which is time-consuming). We also don’t eat meat on Fridays during Lent, though fish is okay because it’s not a warm blooded animal.
I can just think of wishing to become a Saiyan or having the abilities similar to a Saiyan. :)
What about you? _____________________________________ #shenlong #sunday #shenron #dbz #questions #dbzweek #dragonballz #dragon #ball #colorful #instacool #20likes #goku #vegeta #gohan #goten #trunks #green #redeyes #magical #magic
I would wish for Autism Speaks to disappear forever. I would wish for all autistic people everywhere to have the right support for their needs. And then I would wish for my mom to get a new car that won’t turn into junk two years later.
somewhat similar, though I'd also wish for better support systems, universal income, and a minimum wage that actually adjusts to inflation and the cost of living.
