Autism Speaks: Advocacy or Silencing?
As a part of American culture, Autism Speaks has wriggled its way into the homes and mouths of families across the country, throwing massive amounts of money into fundraising, advocacy, research, and advertising every year. They are one of the most well-known, easily recognized organizations that advocates and raises awareness for the growing community of Autistic people in America. However, can the American people really be sure that Autism Speaks is going about it in the right way? With better, faster diagnoses, disability services, and more qualified specialists, why is Autism Speaks focusing tightly on researching connections and causes and cures, rather than channeling that money into assisting families of autistic children and adults? Why do some of the salaries of their board members exceed six figures, if they truly are a “non-profit” organization? Why do some of their ads treat autism like a man in an alleyway waiting to rob someone of their happiness, their money, and their “happy marriage?” (I am Autism). While millions of Americans believe that Autism Speaks is a worthy non-profit organization, the truth is that their spending is reckless and their treatment of autistic
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Autism Speaks is disrespecting the autistic community, through advertisements that paint autism in a dark, ugly light, while organizations like the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network (ASAN), the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI), and the Autism Science Foundation (ASF) give autism and
Let’s say you have a box of crayons. It represents ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder), now inside the box you have different colors of crayons. Each color/crayon is a different disorder. The color we want to talk about today is teal, the official color for autism. Stuart Duncan once said, “Autism, like a rainbow, has a bright side and a dark side and even though it can mean rough waters it can be beautiful.” Autism isn’t a label, it’s a diagnoses. People with autism can be just as successful as neurotypical people. People with autism have been the subject of stereotypes and neglect for decades. Only in the last 150 years or so have things started to change. We don’t know what causes autism, but thanks to increased research and awareness we’re making more progress than ever. People with autism face many challenges everyday, autism is a spectrum. It’s not the same for everyone. Due to it being a spectrum it can be hard for people without autism to understand the challenges autistic people face, and how to go about interacting with autistic people. There are lots of autistic people worldwide, it’s time we start making them feel more like people.
According to Mihaela Grasu, “autism is a complex developmental disorder with a neurobiological character, characterized by problems of communication and relating to others as well as interests, activities and behaviors that are restricted, repetitive and stereotypical” (2015, p. 87). The target population pertained to pre-school children to adolescents with ASD symptoms that residing in Jonesboro or the surrounding cities. The participants and parents at this event are advocates for the children and adolescents who have the disability. The event was conducted by several organizations advocating in support of those with this disability. There was a direct and noticeable impact on the community members who helped provide a healthy activity for the children in the community. This event represented a powerful message and demonstrated the dedication and passion that participants and volunteers alike hold for this unique and special population.
As someone who works with individuals with autism and other disabilities, it is disheartening seeing the mistreatment that they must endure in all aspects of their lives. The stereotypes and stigmas that surround these individuals are often incorrect and misguided. There are plenty of individuals with disabilities that are capable of living productive lives and it is important for them to be included in
Autism across a lifespan is a topic that affects many people, both individuals with autism and individuals without. The prevalence and diagnosis of autism and other similar autism spectrum disorder’s is increasing due to autism being more know about now and therefore it is getting diagnosed more often, and the incidence of autism is also increasing in amount. Even if you as an individual are not diagnosed as being autistic, it is very likely that you know someone who is or who knows someone who is as well. Autism and other ASD’s have always been prevalent in people’s lives and our history. One policy that was created to benefit people with disabilities, including autism, is the Americans with Disabilities Act (also known as the ADA). The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 was created to prohibit discrimination to people with disabilities and provides
Autism Society is an organization that was found in 1965 that serves as resource to people who deal directly and indirectly with autism through its website, http://www.autism-society.org/. “Founded in 1965 by Dr. Bernard Rimland, Dr. Ruth Sullivan and many other parents of children with autism, the Autism Society is the leading source of trusted and reliable information about autism” (Autism Society). This website is a valuable tool that gives the definition of autism, living with autism, how to get involved and direct contact information that allows you to speak with someone if necessary. A highlight that is seen is an opportunity for people to gather together at a conference called Autism 50th Annual National Conference that takes place
What is autism? What are the symptoms of autism? There are so many questions about autism, especially there are many children that suffer from different types of autism which are autism disorder, Asperger's syndrome, pervasive development disorder. This essay is going to explain different steps on how to help your child cope with the world or at home. My brother has autism, he was diagnosed when he was two years old which was very interesting and shocking at the same time.growing up with an autistic brother wasn't easy, there were so many things to learn through these eight years, but me and my mom took these steps providing a soothing environment, taking him to therapy, ensure safety around the home, understanding stimming/communication verbal, understanding special interest.
Autism cannot be cured since it is not a disease, nor is it a condition, it's a developmental disorder. Once I realized that this organization wasn't doing the good that I was hoping to be a part of, I had a choice to make. I could either tell my family, friends, and others about the failings in the organization that we all support, or I could continue to support them in hopes that one day their organization will be helpful and will become better. I chose to tell my family, friends, and others considering what they were doing was not right in my mind, and I could not be a part of helping and supporting an organization that was not even set up to help and support those who it is supposed to. I then realized that if I did want to be a part of a large scale organization, like Autism Speaks, it would be necessary to do hefty research to ensure that what they were doing and what I was aiding in was for the right reasons and was to actually give people the help they need. So instead of joining organizations, I decided that I should stick to volunteering at a local level and help local organizations due to the of the lack of efficiency and support in larger scale
Autism has been treated as a curse and a bad thing to have, but there are actually many benefits to having autism. As society treats autism like a curse, it is not that. In fact, it is more of a struggle. The Autistic Spectrum Disorder, universally known as Autism, is a disease that causes a child to face mental, physical, and emotional challenges. Things such as giving a speech in front of a classroom, hugging a friends after a rough day, or changing around your normal day to day routine is a child with autism's nightmare. As they go throughout the day, they are almost trapped inside. Day after day these children, and even adults, are fighting to be like the other kids but just can’t. Interesting enough autism is not just something that
Genius Hour Research Proposal Guidelines: BROAD Topic: Autism Motivation: I chose to do my project on Autism for the fact that it is very interesting to me and I have a lot of experience dealing with a child who is affected by Autism. In fact I have decided in the future I want to work with children with disabilities and especially children with Autism. There is so much that medical professionals do not know about Autism therefore we do not have the resources that a child with Autism would need. My goal in the future is to research the cause and effect of Autism to provide more knowledge and resources to teachers and caretakers of these children. My interest in Autism has increased due to having a cousin who is eight years old with Autism.
There is a problem in this world surrounding autism, and if I could fix it, I would. It is not entirely problems in the way the child is affected, it is the stigma surrounding the disorder itself. When I was in the sixth grade, I made my fourth move to a new home and I found myself living next to a young boy who changed my life forever. Michael is autistic, and like many others who are on the spectrum, he has trouble communicating with others. While it is some-what difficult for him to make friends, this hasn’t stopped him from challenging me to a round of his favorite board game, or asking to play badminton outside.
Now, these disorders are classified under what is called the autistic spectrum disorder. Before more discoveries were made about autistic children, most parents did not know what to do with their child and how to react to a myriad of behavioral issues. In school, children are viewed as either strange or disruptive to the learning environment. What seems interesting is that even though this phenomenon has been widely known for the past decade or so there is still much confusion about the subject and the truths about autism are often blurred with stigma. Society can fight against stigma against those with autism, whatever form it may be in, by spreading accurate research filled with empirical knowledge, and encouraging people to be involved, whether at home or at school. It is the duty of American citizens to help others in the nation to be respected, not
Temple Grandin once explained, “If I could snap my fingers and be non autistic, I would not. Autism is a part of what I am” (Grandin, YEAR, I am not quite sure when/where she said this… I have tried to look it up, but haven’t found anything yet.you also need page number here, kiddo). Through this quote, Grandin not only communicates the importance of autism to herself [did you want me to add this? Or is this just your annotation?](personal development) , but offers the argument that everyone should be content with who, how, and what they are. Through advertisements, the media tries to convince people that they need to be prettier, they need to be stronger, or they need to be smarter. The necessity of change has become so ingrained in their
Autism is a complex neuro-developmental disorder related to the brain. Now, it is also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as well. The common characterization includes impairments in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication and repetitive behaviours. This could be in varying extremities for different people. However, the most obvious signs and symptoms of autism tend to emerge between 2-3 years of age.
Bob and Suzanne Wright, founded Autism Speaks in 2005 after their grandson was diagnosed with autism. At that time there was little known about autism, so it was difficult for them to find information and support. Bob and Suzanne decided to change that. Bob Wright was CEO of NBC Television at the time and had a great deal of influance in the media, over the years Autism Speaks has used that influence to gain popularity and momentum in their campaign against autism. Autism Speaks has made it quite clear that they believe that autism is an epidemic and it must be stopped. Autism Speaks has grown to be the largest organization in autism, as well as the most controversial. Autism Speaks promises to provide advocacy, awareness and research to find a ways to prevent and eventually cure for autism. Autism Speaks offers adult and family services, linkage to resources and research.
As a campus I feel as if we can all come together to make it better for people with Autism. Simply as learning the simple rules to let them be how they are without interrupting them and simply not get frustrated with them. I feel as if we were to have a simple class class teaching us on the education of autism, it would improve the way we think of them. I believe that people with autism should get an assessment test to know their strengths and weaknesses so we can know how to react to the certain reactions they are going to have. Generally, us people should be advocates. Not being demanding and strict when they are throwing tantrums would help majorly to keep them from going into distress about how they feel. Moreover, I feel as if they already feel like a burden that they would not like to try and be in a room with a lot of “normal” people. Most of the time, they are oblivious as to what people around them is happening. As a campus, I feel as if we should have a weekly meeting or at least once a month in honor of people with autism to make them feel as if they belong or feel more welcomed, maybe something with low sounds and low lights since they are very sensitive to either. Although some can get over the sound or the bright light, others do not.