Autism Speaks To Leave Canada

[Judge]

Interesting news. "Highlighting a shift in the way people think about autism."

Let's see if this gains traction across the border.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/autism-speaks-leaving-canada-1.7424503

 

[Gerontius]

GOOD.

Is Canada taking applications for citizenship, by the way?

 

[WhitewaterWoman]

I completely understand why so many self-advocates detest Autism Speaks. I agree.

And while the despicable ad was despicable, it did describe the reality of autism for many parents and siblings, given the lack of knowledge and services available. So many of us are born with severe comorbids; intellectual disability and incontinence are not the worst, by any means.

Most marriages do not survive - although that is sadly true across all disabilities in my experience. Siblings are neglected and feel rejected by the parents. And even this is not the worst.

The worst are the violent and extremely dangerous behaviors engaged in. One example: I had a child who would beat their head against a wall - hard- more than 40 times per minute. Continuously. It pains me to consider the hell that child lived in which would make head banging preferable.

We do not know how to treat this child, to make their life more livable. Between a very strong Disability Rights advocate and me, we got this kid looked at, assessed and treated by the best people in the state and then in the nation.

This is just one example. The existence and pain these people endure should not be ignored just because these are comorbids. There are so many people with autism and this plethora of co-morbids we cannot continue to ignore them. These parents do not see the co-morbids separate from the autism.

This is why parents want autism cured. Why they want an identifying gene to provide the option of aborting the fetus. This is why ABA is used on so many children because no one knows what else to do.

Just my 2c