Incidentally, I don't know if you realize this?

[conuly]

But if you, any of you, ever contribute money to Autism Speaks (I won't even buy products if some of the profits go in that direction) I will not forgive you. Because they're evil. They don't even send that money to help autistics and their families, so it's not like you're paying the Devil to mow your lawn or something.

Now, with that said, I need a form letter, something I can send to companies that ignorantly and innocently send profits to AS because they don't know any better. Hit me with your best efforts, would you?

Comments

[barnhengemama.livejournal.com]

No help on the letter, but do you have some links to what makes them evil? I'm curious and have friends that make and effort TO support Austism Speaks and would like to give them more info on that.

[conuly]

Off the top of my head? No, no I don't. I can tell you that they: only give about 3% of their income to services for families with autistic children; that they promoted a video they made in which one of their founding members said in front of her verbal autistic daughter, a girl who had previously in the video hugged her mother and asked "why are you crying" so you can't even argue that she "doesn't understand" that the only thing preventing her from killing herself and her autistic daughter (who was RIGHT FUCKING BESIDE HER) was thinking of her "normal" child... and then, when they rightfully got flak for this defended the words as what every parent of an autistic child actually thinks and that anybody who claims otherwise is lying*; that they refused to help in the Alex Barton case (kindergarten boy whose teacher bullied him, long story short) because it's "too political" which is just proof to me that they can't do anything right; that they've engaged in petty turf wars that ultimately took funds from other organizations that work to help autistics locally; that they recently made another video where they spread lies and misconceptions about autism (they're selling fear, not help); that they in the past attempted to shut down a parody site run by an autistic individual for using their name; that they don't have any autistics on their board which is pretty ironic given their name; and that they're evil.

*Less than a week after that video came out, Mother's Day weekend, three autistic children were killed by their parents. One of them killed herself as well, her community described her murder-suicide as an "act of love". One set of parents locked their son in his room and set the house on fire. They weren't convicted. And one was convicted... but there was a lot of media before her family started joining in against her (pretty unusual) that she was just "stressed out" and it wasn't really her fault that she drugged and smothered her helpless three-year-old. The fact of the matter is that disabled people are often killed by their caretakers and that very often these people literally get away with murder, and why? Because groups like this tell people that autism (or whatever other disability) is so bad that parents "can't help" wanting to kill their children, that it's normal and acceptable and fucking brave to want to murder your child, that all the stress absolves them of murder. Because groups like this tell people that being autistic (or just generally disabled) is so terrible that being murdered is preferable to living, and so their murderers aren't culpable. Every time they comment with approval on somebody's desire to kill their kid, every time they talk about how autism is so fucking stressful for them that it just ruins their perfect little lives (you'd think they'd push for better services for families with autistic children, then... but they don't), every time they talk about how horrible autism is they're creating the conditions in society that allow monsters like the DeGroots to get away with murder, to literally walk away from a murder charge.

People like to say it's "just words" or "it raises awareness, so that's okay", but their words, their awareness? It does actual, tangible harm. They mislead, they outright lie at times, they make life harder for families with autistic children (it's their sort of rhetoric, no doubt, that led to some people saying that Alex Barton's teacher was justified in leading the other students to exclude him because, if you listen to AS you'll believe he should never have been near a classroom), and they've yet to cop to any of this.

[barnhengemama.livejournal.com]

WTF? "just words"? Words are powerful. It's okay to get stressed out about your kids, especially ones with what the mainstream considers a disability - but is "yes, that is normal, here's how to cope" really so hard? Ugh.

Thank you - I'll dig a little more and pass it on.

[conuly]

If you click on the "autism" tag in my entries, I've listed a LOT of their shit as it comes up.

[conuly]

Incidentally, I thought of this after-the-fact - their first video? "Autism Every Day"? Yeah... that's so not true. Aside from editing, they deliberately told parents in the video not to "wash their hair or change their clothes" and they didn't call in the therapists and whatnot who would normally be there to help their kids cope with an unusual and stressful situation such as being filmed for a whole day. If the kids were upset, it's no wonder! You might as well take away a child's favorite toy and then claim they're always crying.

Follow the money

[ksol1460.livejournal.com]

They'll want to see facts and figures. Tell them where exactly the money goes.

How much of it goes into the pockets of the people who run AS for their ritzy lifestyles?

Whom do they serve and support?

More tenuous, but possibly helpful: Collect all the instances you can find where AS supports and promotes the sentiment that autistic children would be better off dead.

The sane side needs its own billboards, PSAs and promos. Would the appropriate organization be ANI?

Re: Follow the money

[gingembre.livejournal.com]

This is excellent advice overall.

The question of "what would the appropriate organization be?" is particularly good I think, because if these companies are supporting AS, they *do* want to help, and this saves them much trouble of finding another organization. And things that are easier, get done with much less resistance. (You will want to include the sames types of facts in support of your alternative organization(s) so that they know you are not just playing favorites.)

[ksol1460.livejournal.com]

It would be great if you could get a statement from parents that used to be involved with AS and then disbanded from it realizing what they had gotten into. A statement from a disaffected big name that used to work for or with them would be awesome. Sooner or later one of their big shots is going to quit and say "I can't stand the lying any more" and go public with what really goes on in there.

[brownkitty.livejournal.com]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXYN5kZrgyo

Does this help any at all? I know it's not a letter, but it may lead to some information with which you can beat people over the head.

[interactiveleaf.livejournal.com]

I couldn't find a totally appropriate post for this article (well, I didn't look very hard) but here's an article I think you'll find interesting: Toddlers develop individualized rules for grammar (http://www.physorg.com/news173979856.html).

Enjoy!