Autism Awareness: Blaming Other Parents Won't Change Autism Realities

Kristina Chew is a mother of an autistic son and a well known and influential autism blogger whose views have been sought by prominent media institutions in the United States.  She has visited this site on occasion and left some kind words. Her writings about her own son are those of a mother who loves her son deeply. The pictures of her autistic son enjoying life with his parents are particularly moving.  When I see her son's pictures and read Ms Chew's comments about her Charlie it seems that in many ways he is very much like my son Conor.  

I have always disagreed though with Kristina Chew's  tendency to downplay the harsher realities of autism disorders. I am particularly saddened to see her recent writings about two incidents of parents taking the lives of their autistic children in which her point seems to be that we should not talk about the negative realities of autism disorders, we should emphasize the positive aspects of what are neurological disorders in order to prevent other parents from harming their autistic children. Ms Chew says that we should pretend that autism is a good thing to be embraced. We should ignore the fact that many with autistic disorder will live narrow restricted lives, many in residential care facilities, some in psychiatric hospitals.  We should ignore the basic fact that, as parents, we sought medical attention for our child before we knew he was autistic, because we knew something was seriously wrong with him. Before his diagnosis twelve years ago I did not know what autism was. Twelve years later I have a better understanding and I have no intention of embracing it.

I love my son and look forward to the time I spend with him.  I post many pictures on this blog site and on my Facebook page of Conor; the overwhelming majority of which are very positive.   But I do not lose sight of the realities of his autistic disorder.  I have done my humble best to improve my son's life and I have, along with other autism parents who refuse to wear rose colored glasses,  fought hard to help other autistic children obtain evidence based early intervention and education opportunities. I have also lobbied actively, admittedly without any success to date, for improvements to our province's residential care system for autistic adults. On this site I push hard for autism research which will be more oriented toward finding out what causes autism, finding cures and treatments.  I see no reason why my son should live forever with the deficits imposed by his neurological disorder if ways to help overcome those deficits can be found.

The fact is some people are overwhelmed by life and break down.  Some do horrible things and in some cases those persons do those things to their autistic children.  Some of the parents who commit these acts may have their own mental health issues independent of their child's autism. To suggest that other parents should stop talking about autism realities in order to prevent such tragedies is not based on evidence, logic or common sense.

The way to prevent such tragedies, to the extent they can be prevented,  is to  find help for the parents who need their own medical or psychiatric assistance, to speak honestly about the realities of autism disorders, to stop the almost exclusive focus on the genetic research obsession (it's gotta be genetic, Teresa Binstock, 1999) which has yielded nothing of value to help autistic children. The way to prevent such tragedies  is to conduct research to find the environmental triggers of autism, to find how autism works biologically, to find cures and treatments for autism disorders, to provide more and better early intervention, schooling and adult care.

The way to prevent such tragedies is to commit our selves as people, as parents, to helping our children overcome their neurological disorders.

I love my son and that is exactly why I will never put on the rose colored glasses and embrace his autistic disorder.

Autism Reality NB Reviews Alex Plank's "Autism" Reality Video

Alex Plank a young man with an Asperger's diagnosis, apparently a very, very mild version of Aspergers, has produced a video called "Autism Reality". The video can be accessed at Static Vox.

In the video, posted on a Facebook thread started by Lisa Jo Rudy on which I participated, Mr. Plank mentions the autism spectrum a few times. And he includes interviews of some nice young people agreeing with Mr. Plank that autism is a "good" thing.

I offered the following video review on the FB discussion thread:

"Autism Reality Alex?

With respect, the autistic children like the boy who died recently in Nova Scotia, like my son who went missing, walking through dangerous traffic, the many who are never found safe might disagree. The autistic children who injure themselves with dangerous head banging, severe biting, chewing on their cheeks or starving themselves because of extreme taste and food texture aversions might disagree. The non verbal autistics living in institutional care might have a different perspective. I am glad though that you paid lip service to the concept of a spectrum of autism in your production. And I hope you, Ms Chew and Ms Rudy don't mind me mentioning some of these other autism realities.

Other than that it is a nice video, lots of good communication, good social interaction, lots of high functioning skills like driving, attending busy, crowded events, good video production skills and no behavior challenges. And of course there are no cognitive impairment issues. Good idea not to confuse the viewing public with that whole "comorbidity" thing.

Two suggestions if you ever edit the video though. One, maybe you could mention the fact that the autism spectrum refers to a spectrum of "disorders". Two, maybe you could add the dates that Einstein and Van Gogh received their autism diagnoses.

Harold Doherty

AutismRealityNB

PS. I like the "autism reality" bit"

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Further Notes On Alan Griswold's Bizarre Autism Rant

I have to admit I was very startled reading Alan Griswold's bizarre rant about the Deborah Fein study being a "fictitious study" and the intervention involved not being ABA (yeah right 40 hours a week of intensive early behavioral intervention and it wasn't really ABA?) .

I also found it odd that AG would single me out for fame and misfortune in his blog post. (rant). His fellow Neurodiversity blogger Kristina Chew at the Change.org's Neurodiversity page, and with whom I usually disagree, concurred with my interpretation of the word "study" (it means "study" Alan) and IEBI as being ABA:

An ongoing study involving children on the autism spectrum aged nine to 18 is finding that "the range for children recovering from autism is 10 percent to 20 percent." As reported in yesterday's Telegraph, University of Connecticut psychology professor Deborah Fein is studying the effects of intensive behavior therapy---Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)---on children on the spectrum. The study is still in its preliminary stages and is funded by the NIMH:

Of course Ms Chew supports the Neurodiversity ideology Mr Griswold subscribes to so she wasn't on the receiving end of the AG rant. Where I have never drunk from the ND Kool-Aid I was singled out for Mr. G's weird little outburst.

I wonder if Alan Griswold is capable of admitting his errors?

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Change.org's Straw Man Attack On Autism Recovery

Change.org represents a progressive voice on many fronts but when it comes to children and adults with autism spectrum disorders it has chosen to embrace the regressive ideology of Neurodiversity (ND). The ND ideology is regressive on many fronts, it is inherently undemocratic in that adults with mild versions of autism disorders assert a right to speak on behalf of autistic children they do not know, some of whom are far more severely affected then they, by autism disorders. ND is also regressive in its opposition to cure or recovery from autism spectrum disorders, neurological disorders which impair the lives of many children and adults.

Change.org hired two ND bloggers, Dora Raymaker and Kristina Chew, both of whom subscribe to the "ND, autism can not and should not, be cured" manual. Ms Chew, although she is a parent who has recognized the serious deficits accompanying her own son's autism disorder by having him receive ABA therapy AND at least two autism targeting medications, frowns upon the notion of curing autism or recovery from autism. In "Recovery" from Autism: Fantasy and Reality Ms Chew again criticizes the idea of recovery from autism this time by a critique of The Horse Boy: A Father's Quest to Heal His Son, a recently published account of a father's apparent attempt to recover his son from autism by taking him to ride horses in Mongolia and visit with Shamans. Ms Chew justifiably critizes the bizarre notion that autism recovery could result from such activities. But she is not content to take a well deserved shot at Mongolian horse nonsense. She continues on with a rambling general attack on the concept of recovery from autism:

"I've yet to read The Horse Boy to see what its covers hold so, beyond expressing my reservations about talking about "healing" a child from autism---because focusing on "recovery" from autism twists discussions in endless circles about causes and treatments, rather than about lifelong needs and supports and services---I'll just say that life as some mixture of light and loss and goodness and dark----that has been what our journey with Charlie has been like. There've been many epic moments when I felt I was witnessing about the grandest thing the universe could provide---Charlie riding his bike on a street in a midsize north Jersey town, Jim pedaling proudly behind---and it's all been real, no fantasy, and the result not of magic but of hard work, of sweat, some tears, and love."

Kristina Chew has apparently abandoned the idea that her son with an autism disorder, who has received ABA, pharmaceutical and biomedical treatments for his disorder, will recover from his autism. I can understand the feelings that must bring about as he grows older, as my son is now 13, and realize that he will not be living an independent life. But I can not follow Ms Chew down the path of rejection of the concept of autism cure, treatment or recovery.

Cures might arrive with more research on causes of autism, a subject of which Ms Chew seems to be tired. If a safe effective cure or treatment can help my son in future I will want it for him. ABA was not generally available for Conor in his early years but has become available for him for several years because of determined advocacy by me and my fellow parents here in New Brunswick, Canada, because we had responsive , conscientious government leaders and because we had the assistance of some key academics and professionals who put together a unique program which has helped autistic children across New Brunswick. ABA does not mean recovery for Conor Doherty but it has meant acquisition of some important skills and in particular enhanced communication and reduced self injurious behavior. For some ABA might mean full recovery. For me Conor's gains, although not recovery, are enough to keep my spirits up and my hopes alive.

The studies and professional literature on autism interventions have been reviewed by such agencies as the American Academy of Pediatrics, the US Surgeon General, the NY State Department of Health, the Association for Science in Autism Treatment, the MADSEC (Maine) Autism Task Force and many others and these reviews of the literature indicate by means of various euphemisms, eg. "indistinguishable from chronological peers", that recovery is possible in some instances using ABA. These sources and the method they endorse, ABA, are much more informative than generalizations made from one person's experiences whether it be Kristina Chew's experiences with, and feelings about, attempts by her to recover her son from autism or my efforts with Conor which have resulted in some important gains for Conor, albeit far short of recovery. Because Conor is not near "recovery" though I do not attack the merits of others seeking recovery for their child from autism or the possibility that it occurs.

The Center for Autism and Related Disorders, Inc., which includes Doreen Granpeesheh Ph. D., who has had a formidable career actually helping autistic children recover from the negative realities of autism disorders, now has a blog site on which is posted articles and videos concerning recovery from autism. For examples of recovery, and informed balanced discussion of autism recovery, parents and the public would do well to skip past the anti-cure, ND pages of Change.org and visit the CARD blog site. The CARD people, unlike Change.org, are not ideologically opposed to autism treatment or cure. They have not given up on helping autistic children recover and they are backing up their ideas with action to actually help autistic children.

Recovery, according to some people actually dedicated to, and involved with, helping autistic children, is possible. Cures might be possible in future. Do not let a regressive ideology or one mother's fatigue and pessimism dissuade you from seeking to recover your child.

Avoid the horse and dolphin nonsense, for sure, but seek out credible, evidence based intervention and trained providers for your autistic child. And lobby your congressman or member of parliament to increase funding research into the causes of, and cures for, autism disorders.

Our children with autism disorders deserve our best, unfailing, and untiring efforts.

Do not, out of fatigue or fear, surrender to the ideology of defeat.

autism

Autism Murder Charges - Time To Pull Our Heads Out Of The Sand

In recent days and weeks two severely autistic young men have been implicated in homicides. In one case, a young man with autism has been implicated in the death of his mother who publicly professed her deep love for her son and the joy that he brought to her. In each case the legal process will unfold and determinations will probably have to be made about the competency of the young men charged. The evidence and facts will determine each case, not the opinions of internet bloggers and media editorialists.

In a general sense though both cases, regardless of the outcomes of the legal processes, point to the need to discuss autism honestly, to describe realistically the challenges faced by persons with autism disorders and family members and others who care for them. As the father of a boy with Autistic Disorder, assessed with profound developmental delay I have seen our beloved son injure himself with biting, and expose himself to greater risks by putting his hand through glass windows and wandering off onto busy streets oblivious to the dangers of automobile traffic. I have also watched with dismay the persistent attempts by some persons with high functioning autism and Aspergers Disorder, and some misguided parents of autistic children, to whitewash the unpleasant realities faced by some persons with autism disorders, their family members and caregivers.

The end result, whether it be court proceedings, where I have occasionally appeared on behalf of some persons with Aspergers Disorder, or lives spent in institutions, two of which I have visited here in New Brunswick, Canada, is not always pretty. We do no favors, no favors at all, to the autistic persons in our lives, if we ignore the negative realities faced by some with autism challenges because other persons with higher functioning autism or Aspergers will feel offended.

Jim Sinclair, Amanda Baggs, Ari Ne'eman, Michelle Dawson, Jypsy, Estee Klar, Kristina Chew, Dora Raymaker and other Neurodiversity ideologues take offense whenever someone discusses negative autism realities. They sign petitions, launch media petitions and attempt to suppress any negative imagery or description of the more severe autism challenges. Such suppression will only prevent the development of possible cures and treatments, or prevent the application of existing well substantiated interventions like ABA. In fact Neurodiversity ideologues openly oppose existing, effective ABA and the search for future cures and treatments. Searches for causes and cures of autism are opposed relentlessly and those seeking cures for their own autistic children are villified by Neurodiversity ideologues. Even the reference to autism disorders as medical disorders is verboten.

Neurodiversity ideologues are unlikely to change. Their views are entrenched and tied to their own public careers as professional "autistics" or "enlightened" autism parents. The truth is that they discourage society from addressing the harsher realities of autism by effective therapy, treatment or cure. They help keep members of the public from understanding the full nature of autism, particularly as it affects the most severely autistic. Theirs is a movement whose aim is to keep everyone from facing autism reality. Theirs is a movement which wants society to keep our heads in the sand and ignore autism reality.

The murder charges against two young autistic men who may have had little control over their actions, who may have had no intent as the law, and society generally, understands that term should be a call that we all hear - a call to pull our heads out of the sand.

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Neurodiversity Bloggers Panic Over CNN Autism 911 Reporting

Two prominent and generally polite Neurodiversity autism bloggers have weighed in on CNN's excellent Autism 911 series. Predictably they tried to bury with diversions both the negative behaviors of some persons with autism disorders and the effectiveness ofABA as an autism intervention that the CNN reporting showed the world.

Lisa Rudy, at autism.about.com is a very polite and respectful Neurodiversity blogger. I read her views frequently and respect them although we differ, for her conscientiousness and civility. In her reaction to the CNN story, How much should autism therapy cost? Share your opinion, she focused not on the gains realized by the autistic girl, and her family, but on the reported costs of the effective treatment.

Kristina Chew is another generally polite Neurodiversity blogger, (although her standards have declined as she has enmeshed her views more deeply in rigid ND ideology, as seen in her frequent attacks on Jenny McCarthy). Ms Chew now blogs on the Change.org ASAN/Neurodiversity "autism" page.

In her reaction to the CNN coverage of the Bilson's and the benefits their daughter received from ABA intervention The Long Haul: On "Autism 911" Ms. Chew casts aspersions about the "troubled history" of ABA an allusion to the use of aversives, now no longer generally used in ABA therapy. While she acknowledges that her son has benefited from ABA she feels the need to emphasize the negative saying there is much to criticize about ABA, without offering any specifics. Ms. Chew had to make negative allusions to pander to the Neurodiversity readership that has followed her from Autism Vox to Change.org. But she is misleading parents of newly diagnosed autistic children looking for effective autism interventions with her selective, non-specific, negative commentary about ABA, .

My son will soon turn 13. He was assessed at age 2 so I have been in it for "the long haul" ; as long as Ms Chew. ABA was not widely available in this area when Conor was diagnosed. With other parents I fought for development of ABA training programs and provision of pre-school and school based ABA programs. Conor has benefited from ABA. And will continue to benefit from ABA.

I will not cast unspecified negative allusions about ABA to pander to a misguided Neurodiversity following. I can't do that because I am in it for the long haul, not for me, but for Conor.

autism

Neurodiversity Hate Video Extremism

Much of the autism advocacy in the past 10-20 years has been led by parents seeking to treat and cure their own autistic children, either by ABA therapy or by seeking cures. Parent advocates have come under attack from some high functioning autistic persons who have formed a loose coalition of bloggers who oppose the right of other peoples' autistic children to be treated or cured for their autistic disorders.

Most of the Neurodiversity commentary has been civil. Some has been silly, snide and sarcastic. Now some extremist ND bloggers are confessing their hatred of parent autism advocates openly on the internet as shown in this Christschool video promoted on Autism Street.

It will be interesting to see if ASAN and Neurodiversity leaders like Ari Ne'eman, Dora Raymaker and Kristina Chew, and Change.org, distance themselves from this hate video. Chew and Ne'eman once complained about offensive imagery about autistics. Will they now drink deep from the well of hypocrisy and embrace this blatant hate video message?

In the video CS literally demonizes autism (parent) advocates seeking to cure their own children. This video constitutes hate propaganda, contrary to the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of the Child. The video is also a direct and offensive attack on the rights of parents to advocate for their children, and the rights of children as declared by the United Nations to have their parents advocate on their behalf.

autism

Arkansas Parents Meet Governor To Advocate For Their Autistic Children

In Arkansas parents of autistic children met with Arkansas Governor Beebe on Friday to fight for their autistic children by asking the Governor to discuss possible legislation that would require insurance companies to cover Applied Behavioral Analysis. You won't see this story on the formerly progressive Change.org's "autism" page, operated as it is by Neurodiversity extremists Kristina Chew and Dora Raymaker, but you can find it, complete with video coverage, on line at Arkansas matters.com and at MSNBC.

ABA is the one evidence based intervention shown by decades of research to help autistic children make real gains and parents were in Little Rock fighting to obtain it for their children. But you would never know it by reading the Change.org Neurodiversity maskquerading as Autism page. At Change.org you will find attacks on Jerry Lewis for his disabilities advocacy over several decades but no mention of ABA or the good parents of Arkansas.

For that matter you wouldn't know anything about evidence backed ABA or the parents struggle in Arkansas by reading the Age of Autism either. That site devotes more coverage to the ACE Pathway Investigational Study of Dr. John Martin and Rev. BJ McKelvie then it does to parents' struggles to obtain evidence based ABA treatment for their children.

There are many people pretending to help autistic children. Some are actually doing so, like the parents who met the Governor in Little Rock, Arkansas. From Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, this autism dad salutes you. Keep up the good fight.

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Autism Rising - UC Davis Mind Institute Study Points To Environmental Factors

Although Classics Professor Kristina Chew, ASAN co-founder Dora Raymaker, and the once progressive Change.org have decreed that autism is most likely entirely genetic, with no environmental contributing factors, recent research says otherwise. The UC Davis MIND Institute has published a news release of a study indicating that the dramatic rise in California autism cases probably arises from environmental factors. The news release also calls for an autism research paradigm shift from simplistic focus on genetic causes of autism to an examination of both genetic and environmental factors. ... with the funding necessary to fully implement the shift. In fact UC Davis Mind Institute has already been a leader in this autism research paradigm shift with its CHARGE program, a major epidemiological study investigating environmental factors and gene-environment interactions in autism disorders.

January 7, 2009 (SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — A study by researchers at the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute has found that the seven- to eight-fold increase in the number children born in California with autism since 1990 cannot be explained by either changes in how the condition is diagnosed or counted — and the trend shows no sign of abating.

Published in the January 2009 issue of the journal Epidemiology, results from the study also suggest that research should shift from genetics to the host of chemicals and infectious microbes in the environment that are likely at the root of changes in the neurodevelopment of California’s children.

“It’s time to start looking for the environmental culprits responsible for the remarkable increase in the rate of autism in California,” said UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute researcher Irva Hertz-Picciotto, a professor of environmental and occupational health and epidemiology and an internationally respected autism researcher. .... Hertz-Picciotto said that the study is a clarion call to researchers and policy makers who have focused attention and money on understanding the genetic components of autism. She said that the rise in cases of autism in California cannot be attributed to the state’s increasingly diverse population because the disorder affects ethnic groups at fairly similar rates.

...

“Right now, about 10 to 20 times more research dollars are spent on studies of the genetic causes of autism than on environmental ones. We need to even out the funding,” Hertz-Picciotto said.

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Change.org Opposes Human Rights of Autistic Children

A quick browse of the topics listed on the current front page of the Change.org web site paints a clear picture of a politically progressive organization; one that is supportive of human rights and the natural environment in which we all must live and exercise those rights. The web site shows compelling campaigns against the genocide in Darfur, for humanitarian relief in the Congo and Gaza, demanding an end to plastics killing marine life and arguing for increased health care spending. And yet, despite this generally strong commitment to human rights and the environment, Change.org has decided to oppose the human rights of autistic children, specifically the rights of autistic children, rights enjoyed by all children, to treatment and cure of their medical conditions, to become fully functioning members of society and to have their voices heard through their parents. This regressive, anti-human rights move by Change.org was implemented recently by hiring two bloggers, Kristina Chew and Dora Raymaker, who are leaders of an extremist movement which opposes these human rights of autistic children.

Human Rights of Autistic Children

The United Nations has pronounced on several occasions on the subject of the human rights of children. 2009 marks the 50th anniversary of the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of the Child Proclaimed by General Assembly resolution 1386(XIV) of 20 November 1959 but international bodies have long called for recognition and action to protect the human rights of children as indicated in the preamble to the 1959 declaration which references the 1924 Geneva Declaration of the Rights of the Child and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as predecessor statements affirming the human rights of children. The preamble calls upon governments and others to recognize and act on the rights of children:

Whereas mankind owes to the child the best it has to give,

Now therefore,

The General Assembly

Proclaims this Declaration of the Rights of the Child to the end that he may have a happy childhood and enjoy for his own good and for the good of society the rights and freedoms herein set forth, and calls upon parents, upon men and women as individuals, and upon voluntary organizations, local authorities and national Governments to recognize these rights and strive for their observance by legislative and other measures progressively taken in accordance with the following principles

Principle 2

The child shall enjoy special protection, and shall be given opportunities and facilities, by law and by other means, to enable him to develop physically, mentally, morally, spiritually and socially in a healthy and normal manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity. In the enactment of laws for this purpose, the best interests of the child shall be the paramount consideration.

Principle 4

The child shall enjoy the benefits of social security. He shall be entitled to grow and develop in health; to this end, special care and protection shall be provided both to him and to his mother, including adequate pre-natal and post-natal care. The child shall have the right to adequate nutrition, housing, recreation and medical services.

Principle 5

The child who is physically, mentally or socially handicapped shall be given the special treatment, education and care required by his particular condition

The UN Declaration of the Rights of the Child calls not just upon governments but also upon all voluntary organizations, parents, men and women to respect the rights therein set out. Change.org and its bloggers are directed by the Declaration to recognize those principles. It is a direction with which they refuse to comply.

Change.org has endorsed the views of an organization and individuals, and given them a platform, who refuse to recognize a child's right to be given the opportunity to develop mentally and socially in a normal and healthy manner, as set out in principle 2, to grow and develop in health with adequate medical services as set out in principle 4. Change.org does not recognize the right of autistic children, as children with mental handicaps to be given the special treatment, care, and education required by their autistic condition as set out in principle 5.

Change.org, and its staff bloggers, Dora Raymaker and Kristina Chew, also refuse to recognize important elements of Principles 6 and 7, those elements which give primary responsibility for the care of autistic children to their parents, not to adult strangers who share some aspects of their autistic disorders but their parents, including parents seeking treatment for their own children and their medical conditions.

Change.org Refusal to Recognize UN Declared Human Rights of Autistic Children

It is not necessary to go to the voluminous writings of Kristina Chew, or ASAN which was cofounded by Dora Raymaker, to find evidence of Change.org's opposition to the human rights of autistic children. These two Change.org bloggers have wasted no time dumping their opinions on the internet via their new Change.org platform. Put simply, but accurately, these two bloggers do not recognize the right of autistic children to be treated for, and cured of, their autistic disorders.

Nor do they recognize that the responsibility for the best interests of these children rests with their parents .... not with strangers like Ms Chew or Ms Raymaker or their colleagues in ASAN. In particular they do not recognize the responsibility of parents to represent their childrens' best interests, when that representation seeks to obtain cures for their childrens' medical conditions, their neurological disorders, their autism disorders.

10 Autism Controversies

On December 31, 2008 Change.org published an article by Chew and Raymaker called 10 Autism Controversies. The article sets out the Chew/Raymaker/Neurodiversity position on various autism matters. The article is simplistic, unfair to the views of parents who do not share their views, and totally one sided.

It clearly states though the position of Change.org on the right of autistic children, more properly the lack of a right of autistic children, to treatment for, and cure of, their autism disorders:

2. Recovery from autism.

Autism is a lifelong disability that is most likely genetic in origin. Nonetheless, claims that children have been "cured" from autism and have lost their diagnosis have been reported and are often given excessive attention in the media. But focusing on recovery distracts from attending to the needs of autistic individuals in the here and now. Parents may put all their energy and resources into so-called "cures" for autism, instead of focusing on the individual in front of them, and on the educational needs of that individual. Recovery from autism is neither possible, nor desirable.

3. Support vs. cure.

The idea of "cure" is tied to the medical model of disability which holds that a person with a disability is "sick" and needs to be "cured;" some internal flaw has "caused" the disability. This is the perspective still taken by popular culture and many autism organizations.

In contrast, the socio-ecological model of disability holds that there are problems instead in the relationship between the disabled individual and their environment; disability is "caused" by a poor person-to-environment match. This perspective rejects the idea of "cure" as nonsensical (and in some ways offensive) as it does not view disability as a flaw that resides solely within an individual. Instead, this perspective asks, what needs to be done to bring the individual and their environment into better alignment?

What is not being expressly stated in the Change.org comments opposing cures, and research to find cures, for autism disorders, is that the criticisms are directed at the many parents who seek to cure their childrens' autism disorders, medical conditions defined by the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association. If governments, particularly the US federal government, are now discussing investmentng funds for research into the environmental causes of autism, and cures for autism, research that has heretofore been discouraged by public health authorities, it is because of the activism of parents. These parents in seeking cures for their childrens' autism disorders are fulfilling their responsibilities pursuant to the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of the Child. It is they whose views are dismissed with contempt and presumed omniscience by Change.org and their "autism" bloggers.

It is the parents who seek cures for their childrens' autistic disorders who recognize the human rights of their children. It is unfortunate that Change.org has embraced an ideological movement which rejects and refuses to recognize those rights.

autism

Change.org Blows It BIG TIME Putting Neurodiversity Ideologues in Charge of Alleged Autism Blog

Change.org is a positive contribution to public life; in the United States and around the world.

One of its most unfortunate decisions made of late though was to start an alleged "Autism" blog site and then stack it with two blogger representatives of the anti-cure, anti-treatment Neurodiversity movement. One of the bloggers is Dora Raymaker a very high functioning person with an autism spectrum disorder and prominent member of ASAN and Dr. Kristina Chew, a parent of an autistic child, blogger, and professor of Greek and Latin classics. Both are adherents to the Neurodiversity Ideology which does not view autism spectrum disorders as medical conditions, opposes cures for autism, objects to autism distinctions based on functioning levels despite common sense and their use by expert autism researchers and medical professionals, declares not only that there is no cure for autism now but that there never can be such a cure and tries with every breath to discourage research into possible environmental causes of autism.

The latter effort is becoming ever more desperate as research now has begun on many fronts based a new paradigm of autism research one that works on the basis that there is an interaction between the genetic and the environmental causes of autism. Another jolt to the omniscience of the Neurodiversity movement came in 2008 with comments made by no less an authority than Dr. Bernardine Healy that necessary clinical research into possible environmental causes of autism has not been done and has in fact been discouraged for reasons of public policy, principally the potential impact on public vaccination programs.

The Neurodiversity movement has some parent adherents, of which Ms Chew is possibly the best known, but most parents are too sensible to subscribe to an ideology which dictates that efforts to cure their children of their neurological disorders are wrong and should not continue. The ND movement is offensive and a violation of the human rights of autistic children whose parents represent their interests not strangers with little in common. But the ND adherents serve a useful purpose for media outlets looking for a new angle and for pubic administrations that do not want to spend monies on treatment and research into autism cures.

The Change.org Neurodiversity blog has come out with guns blazing by listing 10 Autism Controversies and then putting a blatantly one sided Neurodiversity spin on all 10 of those controversies. To the full credit of Ms Raymaker and Dr. Chew they did not try to create any illusion of balance or objectivity. Every controversy is described and resolved from a Neurodiversity perspective.

What the two ND ideologues did not do was canvass ALL of the autism controversies particularly those created most directly by Neurodiversity ideologues like Ms Raymaker and Dr. Chew. What they did not do was discuss the controversy over the legal, moral or common sense basis on which these people tell OTHER people how they should raise, care for and protect THEIR autistic children.

The greatest autism controversy arises from the unmitigated gall, audacity and arrogance which sees ND ideologues tell parents of autistic children who can barely understand language or the world that they have no right to speak on their children's behalf. Instead Neurodiversity advocates assert that THEY , high functioning, highly articulate, strangers, with little in common with severely autistic children, should speak on behalf of those children in place of their actual parents. The fraud and hypocrisy arising from this incredible arrogance are part of a reprehensible misrepresentation taking place in world autism discussions. It is a fraud which seeks to deprive autistic children of the protection of their parents and violates their human rights.

Change.org has waded into the autism wars by appointing one party to those wars as the official Change.org blogging voices. In doing so Change.org has sided with an irrational movement which in fact seeks to prevent treatment and cure of autistic children and even prevent open, honest discussion of autism realities.

With this decision by Change.org the autism wars have just been taken to a new level of hostility and confrontation.

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autism's gadfly, A Name Well Chosen, A Blog Worth Visiting

If you want to read a good "autism" blog check out autism's gadfly hosted by Jonathan Mitchell. He is truly a straight shooter who calls it the way he sees it. And doesn't mind, or maybe enjoys, challenging anyone's autism beliefs and opinions. Although Jonathan is an adult with autism he is not anti-cure and does not embrace the Neurodiversity/Autism Rights ideologies - the full title of his blog is "autism's gadfly I don't need no stinkin' neurodiversity"

I enjoy reading Jonathon's comments even though we disagree on many points, particularly ABA. As he puts it on his web site Jonathon is pro-cure, anti-neurodiversity, anti-special ed, anti-ABA. Not being a fan of the Neurodiversity/alleged Autism Rights Movement I enjoy the shots he takes at the leaders of those "movements" although I wince when he calls parents well intentioned but misguided for advocating for specific treatments, including ABA.

Good Morning America should do their viewers a favor and grant Jonathan the equal time he requested as an autistic person who does not share the Neurodiversity views advocated on their show by alleged Autism Rights advocate Ari Ne'eman. (Mr. Ne'eman was also accompanied by autism parent Kristina Chew who has embraced the sweet surrender of the anti-cure Neurodiversity movement.)

Not all autistic persons, even those who are high functioning, share Mr. Ne'eman's views. And not all agree with the heated rhetoric of Michelle Dawson. autism's gadfly is one that does not. His unique perspective is well worth reading.

autism

Offensive Autism Language at "Aspies for Freedom"

On December 29 I commented on the offensive language and hypocrisy demonstrated by neurodiversity blogger Do'C at Autism Street in Offensive Language On Autism Street where he referred to Donald Trump and Jenny McCarthy as "celebrity idiots". Now another neurodiversity blogger fresh off the suppression of the Ransom Notes campaign is insulting Autism Speaks with the following caption: autism speaks are retarded.

The blogger MATTHE was quick to receive chuckles from his fellow "Aspies for Freedom":


autism speaks are retarded Author Message matthe


Posts: 37
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Post: #1 autism speaks are retarded
any comments? Today 01:14 PM Lestat


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Post: #2 RE: autism speaks are retarded
No need for comment, you are preaching to the choir here mate The light blinds
So behold darkness as our new light
In our darkness we can see
So with others blindness
We take flight. Today 03:28 PM flardox


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Post: #3 RE: autism speaks are retarded
Lestat Wrote:No need for comment, you are preaching to the choir here mate


I like the comment!


short and simple yet profound
I'm watching always watching..... Today 08:03 PM shamshir1218

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Post: #4 RE: autism speaks are retarded
*chuckles at the thread*

It is funny because it is true!!! This person's views are not representative (Gareth)
Please do not remove this notice
The way of the warrior is my path.Apparently mocking those with intellectual disabilities, by using terms used to describe them in the past as insults, is OK with the neurodiversity blogging crowd. Don't hold your breath waiting for Ari Ne'eman , Estee Klar-Wolfond, and Kristina Chew, all of whom condemned the Ransom Notes language, to express their outrage at their fellow neurodiversity bloggers derogatory mocking of the intellectually impaired. Pomposity they can do. Sincerity, genuine concern for the intellectually disabled; even those who are autistic? Not so good.

autism

Autism Crisis - Australia

ABC is reporting on an Australian study which indicates that autism is costing Australia [ Population 20,823,333, May 14 07, Australian Bureau of Statistics] up to $7 billion a year; a reflection of a 10 fold increase in rates of Autism and Aspergers. Dr. James Morton of Autism Early Intervention Outcomes Unit says the problem has caught government unawares. Apparently the Australian government is as oblivious to the realities of autism as the Canadian government. Maybe Roy Grinker, Kristina Chew and others can offer some soothing anthropological perspective and some new literary metaphors to assist the Australian families who are struggling to help their autistic children acquire basic language and life skills.

http://tinyurl.com/38l6b

<span style="font-weight:bold;">Autism costing Aust up to $7b: report

A new report has found the treatment of autism and related conditions such as Asperger syndrome are costing the Australian economy up to $7 billion a year.

It was commissioned by Dr James Morton, one of the founders of the Autism Early Intervention Outcomes Unit.

Dr Morton says the report's release in Brisbane today has been timed to mark the start of Autism Awareness Week.

"It's really gone under the radar. It's exploded in the last 10 years. Some of the studies suggests that the incidence has increased 10-fold in the last decade," he said.

"I think that is why it's caught government unawares. It wasn't anywhere near the problem it is now 10 years ago."

Dr Morton says the official response to the rising incidence of autism has been too little, too late.

"I hope that this study brings [autism] to the community's attention and leads to funding for early detection and early intervention, which makes an enormous difference and is very under-funded in this country," he said.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200705/s1921975.htm