Thanks to... oh, I forget.

[conuly]

Article on the Autistic Liberation Front.

Which I always thought was a non-real organization....

1. The movement is causing anxiety, however, among British parents concerned by their children's unpredictable, often aggressive behaviour. They believe that intensive behavioural therapy is the best way to ensure that children with autism can make a contribution to society and lead lives that are as fulfilling as possible. In recent years, there have been an increasing number of attempts to use dramatic medical interventions for people with autism.

One such treatment involves injecting them with secretin, a hormone obtained from pigs' intestines. When the treatment first became available in the late 1990s, scientists believed that they had discovered a cure but doctors now caution against the use of secretin, which researchers at the University of North Carolina have concluded "may be no more effective than salt water".

2. Mrs Moore disagreed, however, with the front's suggestion that autistic people should be left to their own devices. "There are therapies and interventions that can help to alleviate symptoms that are distressing to autistic people and their families or carers."

3. He added, however, that there were "a hell of a lot of people out there who do have serious types of autism and really do need help".

4. Many British parents are unconvinced. Faced with the difficulties of raising autistic children, such as their shifting moods and sometimes violent outbursts, they say the idea of "freedom" for all autistic people is "pie-in-the-sky".

5. Samantha Hilton, from Crowborough, East Sussex, who has three autistic sons, aged five, seven and 11, said that it was absurd to say that all autistic people should be left alone. "It all depends on the level of autism," she said. "The people who organise demonstrations and such like must be very high-functioning autistics and so could probably cope by themselves. But their autism is making them insensitive to the many autistics who are not so high-functioning and would find it very difficult to be 'liberated' in this way."

6. Mrs Hilton said it was inaccurate to compare freedom for autistic people with gay liberation. "Being gay does not stop you having a job and getting on with daily life. Autistic people don't have a choice."

I'll add commentary later, if I feel like it. Really, it's nothing you haven't heard/said before, so you can just kinda fill in the blanks.

Comments

[wakasplat.livejournal.com]

It is a non-real organization. Whoever did the reporting was really, really sloppy in more ways than one.

[conuly]

Thanks, that's what I thought.

[staircase-wit.livejournal.com]

The fact that a non-real organization is organizing rallies makes me really want to sit down with Samantha "three's the charm" Hilton and explain to her Some Important Things.

[wakasplat.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, and that rally they talk about is actually something organized by parents. One autistic guy went out there and sat there with a sign and got yelled at and cussed out by a bunch of the parents. I suspect they lifted that straight from the NY Times article without bothering to read carefully. (I'm really, really disturbed when I'm technically the one with the reading-comprehension impairment and I seem to be able to read better than professional reporters.)

[staircase-wit.livejournal.com]

When and if I find Samantha Hilton, I'll let her know that fact as well. It *might* change her story. I can easily imagine an individual having the skills to turn the logos on autistics.org into full signs and attenting a counter-protest, but lacking certain other important life-skills. (I can also imagine someone organizing a rally and lacking those skills, but I have a strong imagination).

I know it's an accident, but I still admire that one guy who got shouted at by angry parents for his uncanny ability to turn their rally into his event. It's sort of like Michael Moore crashing the Republican Convention, getting kicked out within the first five minutes, and the UK press reporting it as a meeting of left-wing political radicals under the direction of Michael Moore. Reminds me a bit of the game Othello.

[celticess.livejournal.com]

I wondered if they actually talked to Laura or you. I wrote the editor and said something to that effect. I also pointed out that none of us say leave your kids to run wild. As well as mentioned some parents contempt for how they perceive any functional autistics yet they claim to want their kids to be like us. I pointed out the irony there. I also pointed out people belong to autistics.org from all over the world not just US and UK. I always thought Laura did up those buttons as a spoof to poke fun at NT's and also as a statment of who autistics are.

[wakasplat.livejournal.com]

They never talked to us, no. (Or to the other person who runs autistics.org for that matter.) I think they just skimmed the front page — badly skimmed it — and then believed what everyone else said about us.

[celticess.livejournal.com]

Thats what I figured. :( They figured no doubt people would presumed they actually had talked to all of you or to people from neurodiversity. Thats why I got mad and hunted down their contact info. Their page isn't very logical that way as there are 3 different spots of contact info and only one was applicable.(you can find it under site map and it's the weekly telegraph editor one)