First off,a hospital trying to raise more money used autism lumped together with cancer and AIDS in one group as a "can you imagine" pity party to try to guilt a parent into giving more. And the parent in question has an autistic kid. (I like the original post, btw, which is actually why I'm not linking it, strange as that might sound (OK, it's because she also supports Autism Speaks and I don't want the fact that she wrote a good post to be the reason she gets stuff about the Autism Speaks thing. If she's gonna get stuff about it, it should be for things that are actually related to her supporting that group. I know. I'm a softie sometimes.))
The root? Well, I can't be sure they were the first to do it, but the first statistic that puts autism in the same group as cancer and AIDS that I can find is on the Autism Speaks website, the one that says autism is more common than these but gets less funding. Which, you know, it makes sense that it gets less funding since autism doesn't kill people. (Epilepsy, which a lot of autistic people have, can kill, but epilepsy is still not autism, and curing epilepsy would seriously be way better than curing autism since epileptic folk tend to actively want the seizures to go away and autistic people tend to want to be accepted for who they are.)
Mainstream autism charities are the reason people make those comparisons. They're the ones who put up comparisons to having been shot or having been in a car accident to finding out your kid is autistic. If you think that kind of comparison is horrible and you support Autism Speaks, you have some explaining to do, because that's right on their main pages. That's right in their every information packet. That's how they raise their money. They compare autism to AIDS, cancer, and muscular dystrophy, and that's what they call awareness.
"Can you image if your child had Cancer, AIDS or AUTISM!” My heart stops. Did she just lump Autism into the same group as Cancer and AIDS? Perhaps I did not hear right. Yes that is it I was not hearing right.That's her reaction.I totally get not wanting to believe it. I've just seen so much that I don't doubt my eyes or ears anymore, because people do it all the time.
The root? Well, I can't be sure they were the first to do it, but the first statistic that puts autism in the same group as cancer and AIDS that I can find is on the Autism Speaks website, the one that says autism is more common than these but gets less funding. Which, you know, it makes sense that it gets less funding since autism doesn't kill people. (Epilepsy, which a lot of autistic people have, can kill, but epilepsy is still not autism, and curing epilepsy would seriously be way better than curing autism since epileptic folk tend to actively want the seizures to go away and autistic people tend to want to be accepted for who they are.)
Mainstream autism charities are the reason people make those comparisons. They're the ones who put up comparisons to having been shot or having been in a car accident to finding out your kid is autistic. If you think that kind of comparison is horrible and you support Autism Speaks, you have some explaining to do, because that's right on their main pages. That's right in their every information packet. That's how they raise their money. They compare autism to AIDS, cancer, and muscular dystrophy, and that's what they call awareness.
When my son was first diagnosed... a therapist recommended I red up on autism speaks... and I was sort of horrified. I still am. I think I have learned more in the last 45 minutes or so reading your blog then I did over months reading their site. I'm so glad I found your site! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteCan you imagine if your child liked blue, like purple, or was a PICKLE?
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