I was having a pretty damn good day, then Autism Speaks had to go and piss me off. Watch how they did it.
Autism Speaks came out with a new advertising campaign, a new video about 3 minutes long that in a very terrifying tone declares me the enemy or marriages, communities, and happiness.
I have to say this is some pretty good fear mongering done by Autism Speaks. Apparently I destroy people, destroy marriages, destroy communities. This tone of this video in the beginning reminds me a lot of the tone of a video released about a year ago:
I have to admit. I am scared of Autism Speaks, I am pissed at Autism Speaks. Is this okay?
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It is OK! I’m pissed too! I’m tired of that organization spreading lies, exaggerations, half-truths, using pity and misery and hopelessness when it comes to autism!
Heh, I’m glad to see that I’m not the only one who was immediately reminded of “we are anonymous”.
Of course it’s okay for you to be pissed at them — you ought to be. That was one icky video. (What was it supposed to be, a trailer for Autism: The Spooky Horror Movie? That’s just wrong.) I had always heard that Autism Speaks was bad, but I had no idea how scary they really were. I am not going to watch that video again or I might have nightmares. (That’s not really a joke. The ad was that disturbing and creepy.)
My son is not “Autism.” He is Autistic. (More specifically, he’s an Aspie.) And more than that, my son is…my son. Though an earlier diagnosis might have helped everyone a lot, in some ways I am grateful enough that he was not diagnosed until he was 9. By that time, we had had time enough to know that he is just who he is. The diagnosis helped us all immensely in that it gave us the information we needed in order to begin to communicate with him better. (Just because he’s been speaking in paragraphs since he was three or four doesn’t mean that the *right* information was being communicated. It didn’t mean that he was always communicating what he intended or needed to communicate to us or that we were communicating what we thought we were to him.) If he had been diagnosed during his preschool years, I think we might have been much more likely to have run into something like Autism Speaks. I hope we would not have listened.
So, yes, you should be very pissed. However, you have too many other very important things to worry about right now to let yourself get distracted by this. So my personal advice (based on my own life and tolerance — or lack thereof — for emotional overload) is that you’ve put that video up there so that other people can see it. They need to see it. But now you can allow yourself to put the video out of your mind (at least for the time being) and continue work on becoming a firefighter, a husband, and a father.
(I’m so sorry if I sound awfully bossy giving you all this advice the first time I’ve commented on your blog. — and when I only discovered your blog a couple of days ago — Take my advice for whatever you think it is worth. If I’m welcome here, I’ll introduce myself properly sometime when I’m not up well past my bedtime and developing a migraine. Short intro would be mother of 3, suffer from a major mental illness and several other minor neuro-psychiatric conditions as well as a couple chronic physical illness like the migraines. I’ve got a great husband who’s stuck with me. It’s made a lot difference.)
I will be praying for you and Kate and the baby — and for everyone else involved.
Autism Speaks are the ones destroying lives. When they shut the fuck up, autistic people will have safer lives than we do now.
This video is disturbing and offensive.
Yes.. the video is actually offensive. They don’t seem to realise that.
In all fairness, they do make one reasonable point.
Sometimes autism is a downer but we need to fight it all the time – and not give in.
The message itself is ok but the way it’s been presented is awful. Substitute autism for blindness, colour, religion or sexual preference in the video and it become obvious why it’s offensive.
The biggest problem I have with the video is that it doesn’t make it clear that people on the spectrum are fighting the condition too. That we need assistance but also need to do things ourselves. The tone of the video is “autism destroys lives and only non-autistic people can fight back”. That’s the tone I dislike.
It’s okay, yeah. I’m incensed. I’d been hearing about it for weeks but had not seen it. I finally found it on your page. It’s downright rude. They make it seem like every autistic is necessarily the extreme case of a child who screams all day. That this is what the diagnosis is which is growing and happening more often. In point of fact most of the new cases are the “weirdos” like me, perfectly wonderful people who have to try harder to grow up and get along. All just to get money. It’s infuriating.
Hi Zach, haven’t been on in a long while, but when this came across my desk at work, I came very close to meltdown! I happen to be one of those who believe that there is not a d*^& thing wrong with me!
I am different, that is all, and so is my well beloved significant other! Both of us are AS, and proud of it! We get advantages that no one ever talks about, or even mentions in passing in mainstream! And let me tell you, the benefits have by far outweighed the negatives when it comes to me.
I have been through hell, have stared into the eyes of the devil and lived to tell the tale, I am strong, I am smart, I have impeccable judgement due to my AS allowing me to be objectionable instead of making decisions based off emotions.
Most importantly, my AS is a part of me, something that I highly value and view as a gift of the Almighty that I thank Him for daily. And NOONE tells me who I am, especially not a self righteous, bigoted, close minded group by the name of AUTISM SPEAKS!!
Because autism does indeed speak, through those who have it, and they sure as hell aren’t listening!
Rant now over!
Do forgive me for going a little overboard, but I won’t allow anyone to tell me who they think I should be!
Now I must read my bible a little to calm myself! lol.
I think that video is down right ignorant as autistic people can have a life my son is autistic and he is one of five children and the other kids support him when he needs it as do i but we also give him his sense of independence when he wants it and we encourage him to try things even if he thinks he cant do it autism isnt about destruction of things its about teaching a special child how to live in a way that is different so if that is destruction i feel sorry for people who think so I SEE MY SON AS A SPECIAL GIFT FROM HEAVEN AND I WILL ENCOURAGE AND ENABLE HIM IN EVERY STEP OF HIS LIFE THROUGH SCHOOL,LOVE,MARRIAGE,HIS CHILDREN WHEN THAT TIME COMES AUTISM ISNT ABOUT DESTRUCTION IT IS ABOUT LEARNING DIFFERENTLY