Thursday, November 19, 2009

Recommended reading

Here is a post by Susan Senator that anyone with opinions about Autism Speaks as an organization should read.

I've been disturbed by some of the awareness campaigns put out by Autism Speaks, as well as by the backlash from people on the spectrum -- generally high-functioning -- who dismiss Autism Speaks and what the organization stands for and tries to accomplish, often with the catchphrase, "Autism Speaks doesn't speak for me."

Susan has written a terrific essay. What do you think about the subject?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Susan articulates an interesting and relevant point: that a spectrum by definition has extremes, and that neither extreme can speak for the other with any degree of authority. I can see how families for whom the care of autism is more than a full-time job would feel like their concerns are the *most* relevant. And yet, the challenges are different and no less valid for families affected by Asperger's.

I speak from total ignorance when I ask: what does the middle of the autism spectrum look like?

A side note: I met Billy Mann, who made the most recent AS video, at my cousin's wedding; he and my cousin are close friends. Apropos of nothing.

Julie said...

Good question, Naomi! I don't know what the middle of the autism spectrum looks like! Perhaps someone who was nonverbal as a child who learns to speak as he or she grows older? Someone who used to demonstrate self-injurious behavior, who doesn't any more, but is still socially impaired?

I'd be interested in knowing what others think the "middle" of the spectrum looks like.

Kathleen Billette-Saul said...

The middle of the spectrum is a child in transition. That child is my son Patrick. He began on the low-functioning side of things and has moved, over the course of 8 years, thanks to intense, early intervention, to the high-functioning side of things. However, he is still very much the epitome of "autism" and not "asperger's" in my opinion.