Autistic Against Autism Speaks

I once posted how I wasn't proud of my mental disorders, and that people shouldn't be. I still stand by that, but I also stand by the other message; you can be proud of who you are and what you've grown to be. I'm not proud to have been abused but I can see why I could have pride in the me it resulted in. 

Recently I've been diagnosed - off the books - with autism.

Now I've been against Autism Speaks since the first autistic person came to me and stabbed me in the chest with their finger and said HEY, MOTHERFUCKER, LISTEN UP.

So HEY, MOTHERFUCKERS, LISTEN UP.

Autism Speaks and other awareness groups like it - in fact, most "awareness" groups in general - are horrible, despicable, downright awful organizations. They turn problems into profits by squashing the real voices of affected persons and turning them into a product, outright villainizing and dehumanizing them.

Now I know a cure for mental disorders is important, but it's also troublesome for many reasons...

Autism Speaks helps autistic people like King Candy helps Vanellope von Schweets.
By trying to delete them.

They ignore autistic people, paint us as inhuman unsympathetic monsters, and targets us for erasure. They put the focus on the relatives and caretakers of autistic people rather than those who have autism themselves. They say we suffer, they say we don't deserve life saving procedures, they say we need to be cured, they say we ruin lives, that we're out to get people and don't care about anyone but ourselves. If you don't believe me, take a look at some of their advertising. They are by proxy responsible for the deaths and murders of numerous autistic children, especially when they include in their videos parents talking about how they wanted to kill their autistic children "because it's so hard to care for them".

Here's the facts about Autism Speaks, provided by an actual autism advocacy group. Many of its issues are not uncommon of awareness campaigns at all. Very little if any money at all actually goes towards breast cancer research when you buy your pink gear, and many people with breast cancer are against the Pink Initiatives or have been harmed by their dehumanizing tactics (putting focus on saving breasts instead of saving lives, for example). And so it goes that very little if any money at all actually goes towards helping autistic people and families, and in fact most of it does the opposite. If Autism Speaks had its way, they would encourage people to abort autistic fetuses. 

If you don't believe me that harm comes to autistic people, then realize this: IQ and neurological development are criteria used for determining whether someone will or should receive an organ transplant. In fact, nearly half of medical programs agree that giving lifesaving treatment to people with neurological disorders or low IQs is more harmful than good. We are deemed unworthy of being saved. We are deemed too stupid and useless to live. I shit you not. consumer.healthday.com/general… autisticadvocacy.org/policy/to… www.oregonlive.com/opinion/ind… www.change.org/p/help-my-autis…  
Autistic people and others with neurological developmental disorders are routinely discriminated against and harmed on a significant basis, especially by medical professionals, teachers, and law enforcement. They are at higher risk for sexual and domestic abuse. www.courthousenews.com/brutal-… www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/… www.cnn.com/2011/12/26/us/kent… dread-pirate-mumbles.tumblr.co… www.rawstory.com/2012/04/video… thinkprogress.org/nh-gop-senat…
And don't forget to remember that we use being autistic as an insult, as an equivalent of worthless douchebag, unintelligent shitstain, ignorant fuck. Being autistic is considered the same thing. this is an actual disorder being used as an insult referring to bad people or things people consider morally bad. It's as offensive as saying someone is "so bipolar" for engaging in domestic violence.

Awareness campaigns are fucking awful and Autism Speaks is one of the worst. It's because of them that autism is considered an epidemic (even though most diagnosed people can function fine) and backed with all the "prevention" funding, instead of more common, more harmful disorders, which we even have leads on the causes on. But people are fighting AGAINST bullying and domestic abuse prevention, the lead causes of many mood disorders, while simultaneously fighting AGAINST autistic people who do not want to be cured, who do not need to be taken care of, and who are not hollow shellthings to be ignored. Autism Speaks, speaks for itself, and not autistic persons.

Further reading:
-- Autistics Speak for Themselves
-- Eugenics and Cure
-- Casual Ableism
-- Why I Am Against Autism Speaks And You Should Be Too
-- Autism Speaks Facebook Comments
-- Yes, That Too's Autism Awareness Tag
-- Why Autism Speaks Hurts Us