Don't support AUTISM SPEAKS: Let Autistics Speak for Themselves!

Five Things Autism Speaks Must Do Before I'll Support Them 

(Like that'll ever happen.)

1. Stop referring to Autism as a "horrible burden". Okay, we get it, you're mostly made up of pissed-off parents. Stop giving 'em what they want to hear and start telling them "Okay, so your kids are Autistic. Are you going to help them become all they can be regardless of whatever difficulties they have, or are you going to sit here and whine about it?"
2. Drop the 'Cure or Nothing' Attitude. Among Autistics, there is a special name for this -- a curebie -- that is basically a slur against folk who think that you can magically "remove" the Autism and find a healthy, normal person underneath. It doesn't work that way. The autism spectrum is a behavorial and sensory amalgamation of traits and quirks, and to remove those and replace them with "Non-Autistic" traits and quirks just isn't going to happen. And even if it could, it would basically be brainwashing on the most horrific scale you could think of.
3. Recognize that Autistics who are articulate, verbal, and intelligent need help too. Autism Speaks defines a very narrow band of autism; namely, the one where a child seems to have been replaced by a "little demon" who can't speak, can't function, and is doomed to life sweeping floors for a living. Yes, there is a name for the smart, savvy kind of Autistic; it's called Asperger's Syndrome. That doesn't mean they have it any easier, and it certainly doesn't mean they're the 'cured' kind of Autistic.
4. Start supporting Autistics that need the funding. In today's health care crisis, Autism is not funded by any major insurance companies. All treatments at this point are untested, unfounded, and costing hundreds of thousands of dollars to provide one-on-one learning, personal assistants, equipment that can stand up to abuse, not to mention whatever various medications these parents are testing out. If the money Autism Speaks spent on research and dissecting dead brain tissue -- to try and find a neonatal test they could apply in order to "filter out" Autistic fetuses -- were spent cushioning the costs of all these treatments and expenses, families would be a whole lot better off for it.
5. Quit threatening lawsuits against everyone who so much uses the name "Autism Speaks" to criticize you! Okay, really now: threatening legal action against Autistic people who you KNOW aren't as socially (let alone legally) savvy enough to stand up to you otherwise? What's up with that? The only other group I know of that reacts even close to the same way when their name is brought up is the Church of Scientology. Now who wants to be associated with a money-grubbing, closely-guarded organization who refuses to listen to Psychiatrists and allows Autistics to rot on the vine without any treatment? ... Wait, which group was I talking about again?