Good Ol' Boys

This town's for normal folks, see. You know, the good folks that look and sound and act just like the rest of us. Them others what ain't normal, or got kids what ain't normal, well—they don't none of 'em belong in this town. Let 'em keep to their own kind. And one thing's for sure, they ain't got no business putting their brats in our schools, right next to proper-acting kids. Fact is, them what ain't normal just need a good beatin' to teach 'em their place.

'Course, we know they ain't never gonna be normal, however much we beat tar outta 'em. See, they ain't really human like us. But we just like to whup on 'em anyway, 'cause it's fun, and maybe if we do it enough we'll finally beat some sense into their thick ree-tard skulls and run 'em outta town.

Just now heard tell there's some agitatin' in Congress about seclusion and restraint in the schools. Seems we got us some damn fools who think it's cruel to lock ree-tards in broom closets or duct tape 'em to chairs. They even set up a National Call-In Day to do more agitatin' about it. Hoo-ee, ain't they ever gonna stop yappin' about civil rights and interferin' with the way regular folks do things? It was bad enough when we had to let the Nee-groes into our schools, and of course they started gettin' too friendly with our daughters, and now we got us a moo-latto in the White House. Country's goin' to hell in a handbasket, I tell you. Ain't no wonder we got troublemakers as want to be nice to ree-tards.

Don't let 'em fool you with all their agitatin' about civil rights. You know, that's just a code word for the Satan-worshiping commie Illuminati conspiracy to set up a world government, take away all our guns, and burn all our Bibles. Well, I got plenty guns in the cellar, and even a Bible down there somewhere under all the ammo, and anyone fool enough to come for my guns is gonna be pure-dee daid. Got me a rope for any ree-tard what tries to get too friendly with my daughter, too, and a big ol' tree picked out to hang him from.

Now, if any good normal folks want to find me before the Klan meetin' tonight, I'll be out on the lake fishin' with a bottle of Jim Beam…

Our Big Fat Intolerant Society

An article in Newsweek addresses the issue of why there is so much prejudice against heavy people in the United States, even though most of the population is either overweight or obese. The authors observe that weight gain is generally seen as a consequence of personal failings such as gluttony and lack of willpower, even though a modern sedentary lifestyle makes weight management quite difficult and many people have a genetic predisposition toward obesity. Some of the hostility toward the obese, they suggest, could be misplaced anger arising from the frustration that many people feel as a result of struggling to lose weight. People tend to attribute their own failings to their circumstances, while blaming others for having made bad choices. And there's also a bit of general mob mentality thrown in, the authors conclude:


What is it about fat people that makes us so mad? As it turns out, we kind of like it. "People actually enjoy feeling angry," says Ryan Martin, associate professor of psychology at the University of Wisconsin, Green Bay, who cites studies done on people's emotions. "It makes them feel powerful, it makes them feel greater control, and they appreciate it for that reason." And with fat people designated as acceptable targets of rage—and with the prevalence of fat people in our lives, both in the malls and on the news—it's easy to find a target for some soul-clearing, ego-boosting ranting.


The authors also point out that public statements and articles describing obesity as a burden to the health care system have contributed to a widespread perception that the obese are consuming more than their fair share of resources. At the end of the article, health policy expert Deborah Levine is quoted as stating that although the goal of efforts to raise awareness about obesity as a medical problem has been to fight obesity and not obese people, "it's very hard for many people to disentangle the two."

When I read this article, I was struck by how closely it parallels what autistic rights activists have been writing about the "war on autism" rhetoric and the use of cost statistics in awareness campaigns. One might say that the human species has not advanced as far beyond primitive tribalism as we like to think. When social issues are framed in terms of battling against a dangerous enemy, such language incites fear and anger on a mostly subconscious level. We react instinctively as if we were our prehistoric ancestors going to war to defend the tribe's scarce resources against invaders.

It's not simply, as the article suggests, that people scapegoat and attack unpopular minority groups just because we "enjoy feeling angry." Somewhere in the less evolved depths of our brains, we actually feel that we are righteous warriors protecting the tribe. Because battlefield imagery evokes such strong emotional responses, it works very effectively as a tool of demagogues and unscrupulous fundraising campaigns. Logical arguments often fail to have any effect in countering such rhetoric because of its inherently irrational nature.

So what's the answer? Well, frankly, I think our society needs to grow up—to become self-aware enough so that we can avoid being manipulated by propaganda of this sort. With just a smidge more maturity, it shouldn't be too difficult to comprehend that autistics, the obese, and other stigmatized groups are not wicked enemies stealing our resources. Rather, they are our neighbors, our co-workers, our family members—and, quite often, ourselves.

End of Week Stupid Roundup

Sometimes the stupid runs so deep that instead of blogging about it, I just want to scrape up its stinking carcass with a shovel and chuck it into the woods to rot in peace. For instance, it ought to be obvious to everyone—except the most prejudiced jerks—that the fact that mass murderers are antisocial creeps does not mean they are autistic. However, looking at the comments on a recent post on Sarah's blog goes to show that there's no shortage of prejudiced jerks.

And where might one expect to find an article that advocates killing off people with disabilities to save money for health care for everyone else? If you guessed a neo-Nazi newsletter or a Klan website, that would be a logical enough guess, but wrong. Actually, to the great disgust of many, it appeared in the New York Times Magazine. You know, when governments run short on money for highway maintenance, you don't see mainstream publications printing articles that suggest killing off rural folks to save the wear on the roads... and when the fire department needs a new truck, nobody proposes whacking a few smokers to reduce the number of fires...

Did you think we'd seen the last of billboards describing autistic children as kidnap victims when the Ransom Notes ads were taken down in 2007? Well, as Joe just blogged, there's plenty more of the putrefying stupid where that came from. This time, the culprit is the York, PA chapter of the Autism Society of America. E-mail address is pa-york@autismsocietyofamerica.org and the chapter president is Amy Wallace. Time to let her know what we think of that tired old stolen child changeling garbage.

Edit, August 16: ASA York has agreed to take down the billboards—many thanks to ASAN and to everyone who wrote about the billboards!

Rex Reed Spouts Disgusting Bigotry

For those who are fortunate enough never to have heard of the jerk, Rex Reed is a movie critic with a history of making ignorant and prejudiced remarks. His latest attack, in a review of the movie Adam in the New York Observer, is beyond the pale:


Asperger’s is an incurable neurological disorder similar to autism that turns outwardly normal-looking people into high-class idiot savants. I know at least two people with Asperger’s. They are incapable of thinking of anyone or anything outside of themselves...

…It is lethal to get involved romantically with any person with Asperger’s syndrome, since they care nothing about other people’s feelings, needs or priorities. Almost without exception, they leave you perplexed, riddled with doubt and totally depressed.

observer.com/2009/movies/hugh-dancy-his-way-superstardom

(as usual, I do not post active links to hate speech; you'll need to copy and paste into your browser)


Perhaps nothing better should have been expected from Reed, whose past history amply—and quite ironically—demonstrates how little he cares about others' feelings, etc., especially if those others happen to belong to a minority group. But the Observer certainly should have known better than to print such a revolting display of bigotry, in total disregard of every modern code of journalistic ethics.

Time to fire up those keyboards, folks, and write to editorial@observer.com to let the Observer know what we think. As indicated on their website, letters should be addressed "To the Editor," must include the writer's address or telephone number, and should not exceed 250 words.

Edit, August 18: In response to pressure from ASAN, working with self-advocates and parent allies, FOX Searchlight has taken down its link to the Rex Reed review. Way to go! They really ought to go farther and condemn the review, but it's a start...

FAAAS Social Work Seminars: Lessons in Hate

Before I slog once again into the fetid swamp that is FAAAS, I'm first going to mention a recent advocacy success in Maryland, where new legislation has been passed to safeguard the rights of citizens with disabilities regarding child custody and adoption proceedings. The fact that a person has a disability, whether mental or physical, now cannot be a reason for finding that the person is unable to care for a child, in the absence of specific evidence relevant to the family's circumstances and the child's best interests.

Meanwhile, in the less enlightened state of Massachusetts, which is ground zero for the hatred and destruction of families wrought by FAAAS, true believers in Maxine Aston's Cassandra cult are teaching continuing education seminars that indoctrinate social workers to treat autistics as defective and unfit to live in families. FAAAS member Harriet Simons regularly teaches such seminars at the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology, such as this course in April. A similar program was presented in December by Grace Myhill, a social worker who is currently leading Aston-based support groups that are, to my great disgust, sponsored by the Asperger's Association of New England (AANE). Here's a link to the program's ugly content, from which I quote briefly:


"When a woman attempts to work through a problem in the relationship, the man with AS may respond to his partner’s feedback, expectations, requests or demands with denial, withdrawal, or even verbal or physical abuse. His rage or depression, problems with stable employment, or limited ability to parent then become additional stressors for the wife."


Nasty stereotypes like this have a long history of leading to actual discrimination against people with disabilities, including the serious issue of discriminatory treatment in child custody matters that the Maryland law addressed. Those who call themselves autism advocates while endangering our families by promoting the bigoted views of FAAAS and Maxine Aston in their associations, such as Dania Jekel of AANE and Stephen Shore (who recently wrote the foreword for Kathy Marshack's repulsive book that compares a relationship with an autistic person to living in prison, a war zone, and "a black hole of nothingness"), should be aware that they do so at the risk of losing whatever respect they might have had in our community.


Edit, June 4: I have just been informed that an Australian law firm, LAC Lawyers, has a page on its website advertising family law services "for people who have been affected by someone with Asperger's" and quoting extensively from the Potential for Abuse article that was recently removed from the ASPIA website in response to international condemnation.

http://www.laclawyers.com.au/legal/Asperger%27s-Syndrome.aspx

To take action against this blatant appeal to prejudice and disability stereotyping, I've provided a link to a site that explains how to file professional disciplinary complaints against lawyers in New South Wales.

Morningside Elementary, St. Lucie School Board, Stop the Hate

In September 1957, after a federal court had ordered racial desegregation of the schools in Little Rock, Arkansas, an angry white mob surrounded Little Rock High School in an attempt to prevent nine African-American students from entering the building. When Arkansas officials failed to restore order, President Eisenhower sent in federal troops to protect the students, who came to be known as the Little Rock Nine. While attending the school, the students faced vicious bullying not only from racist classmates, but also from some teachers and other school employees. One of the students, Melba Pattillo Beals, later wrote a harrowing memoir entitled Warriors Don't Cry.

While this may seem like ancient history and something that could never happen again, even now in the 21st century some families with autistic children are enduring bullying and harassment from bigots who want to segregate their children. Melissa Barton, who successfully brought a complaint that resulted in the suspension of the teacher who incited a group of kindergartners to vote her son out of class, has faced ugly retaliation as a result of defending her son. Her children also have been attacked by haters. I have reposted an open letter from Ms. Barton along with her appeal to the school board and superintendent for decency, proper enforcement of the law, and respect for her family's civil rights:


I am not sending this to you so that you may have sympathy for our family but be aware of what retaliation comes with defending your child. If this is happening to you as well, do not fear. A wise friend once told me: Wishing you a day without retaliatory behavior, if that is possible. One of my inspirational quotes from Gandhi to you: First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Next, they fight you. Finally, you win.

Since my defending Alex our family has been bullied beyond anything I could have ever imagined. The bullies are not children but their parents, teachers, law enforcement and a Vice Principal.

As I write this to you I almost do not know where to begin. First, my son Kyle who is ten is in the gifted program at the very school that treated Alex so cruelly. This is the only gifted program in my area so I have no other choice.

In the beginning of the year I received a letter from the principal of the school warning me to leave. Within a few days my ten year old had been pushed physically by the Vice Principal of the school right in front of me! The police said that there was nothing that they could do, then it happened again.......still nothing. Later, Kyle, my ten year old had been given grades that were not accurate after a letter from my attorney they improved within days ten points or more. In January, I received a notice from the school that they were pursuing a truancy case against me for Kyle who had only missed five days of school all with notes. The truancy officer was shocked to find that the school wasted her time and mine. During all of this I have been fighting for a IEP for Alex and battling the district for a FAPE under IDEA Law - still not one service to date - In February, Wendy Portillo decided to appeal her punishment as a teacher by the district : http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2009/jan/29/alex-barton-teachers-suspension-appeal-be-heard-mo/ The very night the above article came out in our local news, I received six hang up phone calls from the school number.

At the appeal for Wendy Portillo, teachers from Morningside heckled me and my oldest child infront of media. One teacher in particular seemed like he had mental issues and a breakdown was taking place in the parking lot of the appeal building. When I phoned police to speak to the School Resource Officer Division, I was treated very poorly and told that it was not their liability to protect my son at school.

I can handle the snares from teachers, staff and parents at the school. I can handle letters to our local news paper from parents at the school with nasty comments. I can handle calling the school and being hung up on nearly every time I call to speak about my son Kyle's education. But I have to draw the line somewhere:
Last Friday http://www.cbs12.com/news/barton-4717586-says-school.html

When I called the SRO to the school about the incident, she wrote a police report that was bias and claimed that there was nothing that could be done. She did not even question the other mother until late in the day as she felt it best to wait until she got off of work. In the report the SRO writes that I did not appear to be pregnant, although I am clearly six months along. The woman was never questioned about stalking me as she said she had been.

We have had police officers drive to our home and run the plate of visitors for no apparent reason. I have been followed by these same officers to and from the school every day. The SRO's Sargent referred to me as a con artist to a dear friend of mine and the list goes on and on.

But, it hasn't even gotten bad yet. Yesterday, I was forced to send the following email to the school board, and superintendent:

Mr Lannon, Mrs Renew and members of the board:

My name is Melissa Barton,

The reason I am contacting you today is a serious issue.

My oldest child Kyle Barton is a 4th grader at Morningside in the gifted program as it is the only one in my zone. From the beginning of this year there have been miscellaneous incidents with staff members at Morningside Elementary directed at my son Kyle due to a separate ongoing issue with my other son from members of Morningside and now parents of the school.

Recently a parent came up to me and told me that she had been following me. She also made threats to harm me and my unborn child on school property with no consequence to her. SEE: http://www.cbs12.com/news/barton-4717586-says-school.html

Today, I went to pick up Kyle from school as I do everyday, with my younger son in tow. When I arrived at Morningside I immediately was approached by a woman holding a picket sign ( I started to snap photos with my cell phone). As we pulled into the parent pickup line where all the children stand to wait to get into their parents cars my young six year old son with autism and I noticed several other possible parents/others holding picketing signs that stated "Our children love Morningside" "We love Morningside" and other like worded things regarding teachers at Morningside. This took place on school property just three feet or less from my son Kyle. One of the picketers heckled my young autistic son as he sat scared in the front seat of my car. My son Kyle got into our car with tears running down his cheeks. We also noticed was several staff members and one volunteer from Morningside standing directly next to the picketers. Of the staff I witnessed ESE Coordinator, Cathy Oliver and Patricia Gascogine, Assistant Principal names are the ones I know. Other staff were camped out just inside the doors of the school watching the protest about our family.

Here are my concerns:

Parents that are strangers were feet away from my son Kyle and other children making remarks about me while your staff stood idly by. Not only was his safety at risk but his mental well being as well. Additionally, these picketers on school grounds were taunting my autistic son as we drove past to get Kyle. These actions will impact my children for years to come.

I sincerely hope you consider this to be a VERY SERIOUS occurrence and take the appropriate measures to make sure it never happens again in your district and to make an example in general of the staff like Mrs. Oliver and Mrs. Gascogine. There is something seriously wrong with the picket being allowed take place while staff stand by and do nothing all on school grounds.

I am sickened, outraged and utterly beyond words. This is not only morally wrong but legally as well.

I expect to be contacted within the next three school days with an apology for my children and what steps you are going to take to discipline the staff involved and prevent those parents involved from coming onto school property for the purpose of bulling, harassment or retaliation.

I hope we can expeditiously come to an agreeable solution.

Sincerely,

Melissa Barton

Cassandra Cult Victim Speaks Out

I wrote a post in September discussing the phony Cassandra disorder invented by Maxine Aston and perpetuated by various hate groups. According to the Cassandra cultists, being in a relationship with an autistic person causes a depressive disorder. It's a convenient excuse for vengeful ex-spouses to blame everything in their lives on their autistic former partner, and quite lucrative for Aston and other unethical counselors who profit from allegedly treating the nonexistent disorder.

Recently, I received an e-mail from a woman who described in detail—from her own firsthand experience—the bigotry and hypocrisy of the Cassandra crowd, and the wreckage they cause to marriages and families. I have edited the letter slightly for clarity and to remove personally identifying details; otherwise, the letter as posted below has not been altered.


My marriage was broken up by a woman who runs an aspergers "partners support group." She convinced my husband I have aspergers syndrome and encouraged him to leave me and move in with her. He is suffering from Cassandra disease, she has told him. I had no idea he was involved with her in any way until he announced to me on the phone from her house that he had decided to end our marriage for a woman he claimed at the time to have just met, and move in with her. But it turns out they had a long term secret involvement.

I have NEVER had a diagnosis of aspergers, and have since been told by professionals that I do not have aspergers at all. Even been asked by professionals, "who on earth put that idea into your head?" But even if I did have, this behaviour is very very wrong. Before his involvement with her everyone, including me, thought we had an ideal perfect marriage. So you see why this turn around all came as such a traumatic shock to me. And why I'm so devastated by this adultery and family devastation. What has happened (and is still ongoing) is atrocious and caused me and our daughter so much pain and devastation.

They have even gone as far as to claim I left him. So many lies have been told about me in top of all the pain and the cruel betrayal. She is extremely manipulative and has an enormous amount of control over my husband. I find this woman's actions with my husband to be highly unethical. She claims he was a member of her partners support group and she was supporting and helping him to get out of his marriage due to aspergers.

We had NO marital issues that he had ever spoken of regarding me, before she convinced him I was "defective" and he would be better off with her being an "NT." She refers to herself and my husband as "NTs" and uses terms like "we" are like this, and "they" (people with aspergers) are like that. And "they don't understand how we normal people think" or "not normal like us."

She divorced her own husband after he had a new diagnosis of aspergers, breaking up a long-term marriage and separating the children from their father. He is now happily married to a woman who appreciates him just as he is and for who he is. From what I have heard he is a good man; however she says he wouldn't agree to the treatment she wanted him to undergo after she gave him an ultimatum. I think she found it shocking to suddenly know he was considered to be "defective" being a person with aspergers.

My heart is still so broken as is our daughter's, as even though this is terrible behaviour of my husband with this woman, I still love him very much as I always have. Our family and marriage are shattered. He told me on the phone when he announced to me about being with her, that she had "counselled him" to divorce me. She claims that she is not advising people to end their marriages... but THIS IS NOT TRUE! Privately she advises people to do such things.

She has gotten a lot of support from being linked to other sites, and people tend to find her and think she is some sort of expert, as she presents that way. She makes some very broad and sweeping unfounded statements and conclusions. I so believe this needs to be exposed for what's going on. This woman even advises partners of people with aspergers not to have children with their spouses, lest they bring "another one" into the world! I see her as not unlike Hitler, but you would never dream it from how she presents. Sounds so sympathetic to the aspergers cause, or "supportive" of aspergers marriages. Please believe me SHE IS NOT! She is a self seeking fraud and a very good actor with her own personal agenda.

Support groups should not be hate groups for NT "victims" who empower each other in abuse of and play cruel mind games with their unsuspecting partners. This woman encourages the "partners" in her group to NOT disclose to the spouses they are attending her hate groups. I know this for a fact, and believe encouraging deception and secrets between marrieds is dangerous to the marriage and detrimental to any real marital intimacy. She runs her group like it's a domestic violence victims group. Very unhealthy. I believe it's rather serious to treat a certain group of people as if they are subhuman or defective, and not even deserving of their own spouses, who loved them enough to marry them in the first place (you would think).

There's much more to this very sad story, than I can put here right now...

Autistic Monster Ad Yanked

After two and a half weeks of bluster and increasingly frantic and contradictory excuses for its disgusting "Dan's Story" advertisement depicting an autistic boy as a monster, Action for Children has finally (well, sort of) pulled its head out of its hindquarters and faced up to the reality that an ad campaign defaming autistic people wasn't a plus for its public image. The television ad has been withdrawn in response to the firestorm of protest from the British and international autistic community.

As Mike Stanton observes, however, Action for Children still won't admit the obvious fact that this ignorant ad campaign was a colossal blunder. The charity is now trying to save face by pretending that yesterday was the ad's scheduled ending date, despite previous statements that it would run longer.

By way of comparison, the protest against NYU's Ransom Notes ads in December 2007 was met with similar denials and excuses before the ads were taken down two weeks into their run. But at least NYU issued a statement acknowledging that the ads were being withdrawn in response to the concerns of the community. Action for Children hasn't even bothered with the pretense of caring what our community thinks.

Many thanks to all the bloggers and activists who relentlessly pressed to end this ad campaign, including Socrates, Sharon, Mike Stanton, the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, Dora Raymaker, Bev, and many others. Great work, everyone!


Edit, February 10: A British marketing magazine has published an article on the controversy. Let's hope that ad agencies will learn the right lessons from this debacle and will know better than to create stereotyped and insulting portrayals of autism in the future.

Dan the Torpedoes, Full Monster Ahead

The British charity Action for Children is stubbornly continuing to run its Dan the Autistic Monster advertisements, despite widespread outrage in the autistic community and unequivocal condemnation from autism researchers and professionals including Simon Baron-Cohen, Tony Attwood, and Mitzi Waltz. Evidently, Action for Children has made a calculated decision to ignore the public fury about the ad, hoping that it will all be forgotten shortly. It's up to us to make sure that doesn't happen.

Dora Raymaker has written a post on Change.org with links and information about action alerts to complain to the UK's Advertising Standards Authority and to other authorities (with directions for how to make the action alert work from non-US addresses) regarding the ad. If you haven't already responded to this, please do so. Also, you can find contact information for the charity's major corporate supporters here, and a group on Facebook is protesting the ad. For those who blog, please write some more posts about the controversy and let your readers know how they can show their disgust with this hateful and exploitative ad.

Edit, February 5: Yesterday the ITV network cut from the ad's line "I used to lash out" to someone being punched in the face in an unrelated ad, during a football (soccer) game. You can find a video of it here (thanks to Socrates for the link). As if the ad hadn't already done quite enough to stereotype autistic people as violent monsters...

Destroying the Intolerance Monster

A charity in the UK called Action for Children has created a truly appalling short film called Dan's Story, which is being shown on TV as an advertisement. It depicts a boy as having been eaten by a wicked autism monster and suggests that the monster must be destroyed. Several bloggers already have written about this horrid imagery, including Mike Stanton, Socrates, Bev, Sharon, and Shiva.

Socrates posted contact information on his blog for Gary Day, Head of Supporter Care at Action for Children: gary.day@actionforchildren.org.uk

Unfortunately, it appears that Mr. Day does not understand (or perhaps does not care) how grossly offensive this advertising campaign is to the autistic community. His mass-mailed response to our complaints, which is posted in Socrates' comments, asserts that the ad is acceptable because "Dan tells his own story in his own words," and goes on to say that anyone who does not like it can complain to the UK's advertising standards authority.

The dismissive tone of his message strongly reminds me of the mass response sent out by Dr. Harold Koplewicz of the NYU Child Study Center a few days after the Ransom Notes protest began. Dr. Koplewicz also claimed that he was just trying to raise awareness and help children. Less than two weeks later, after thousands of blog entries and protest e-mails, a joint letter prepared by ASAN and signed by thirteen other disability organizations, and media coverage, Dr. Koplewicz conceded defeat and withdrew the advertisements.

During the campaign against the Ransom Notes ads, contact information was posted for prominent NYU Child Study Center donors, and protest letters were copied to these donors so that they would understand the harm that was being done with their money and would put pressure on NYU to withdraw the ads. The same thing needs to be done here. I am not familiar enough with British job titles to know exactly what a "Head of Supporter Care" might be (and would appreciate it if my British readers would enlighten me in the comments). If supporters are the same as donors, and if Mr. Day's job consists of keeping them happy so that they will give more money, then the next logical step would be to post e-mail addresses for the charity's main supporters and make them as unhappy with the charity's actions as possible (if you have such info, please post it here). A joint letter signed by several UK disability rights groups, similar to what was done with Ransom Notes, would also help, with media coverage if possible.

As for the argument that the ad came from Dan's own words, I recommend reading a post on Ballastexistenz entitled Why Students Praise the Judge Rotenberg Center, which describes in detail how children with disabilities can be conditioned (brainwashed) to think of themselves as unworthy of having any say in their own lives and to make only positive statements about their caretakers, no matter what is done to them.

We can destroy the intolerance monster. The campaign against Ransom Notes shows exactly how to do it. Let's get busy.


Edit, January 26: ASAN has set up an Action Alert on Change.org, which provides a basic template for letters protesting these advertisements and automatically sends them.

An extensive list of contact information for corporate supporters, etc., can be found on Socrates' blog.

Advocacy: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Here's a brief roundup of a few items I've noticed recently in the news, related to autism and disability advocacy.

The Good: Disability rights organizations are continuing to make themselves heard, through well-orchestrated presentations to Congress and the Obama administration, regarding policy decisions. The National Disability Rights Network presented Congress with a report documenting the abuse of children in the schools by means of restraint and seclusion, and advocating specific policy changes to protect children with disabilities. Also, a coalition of disability rights organizations sent an expansive list of policy recommendations to President-elect Obama. Both of these initiatives were supported by the Autistic Self Advocacy Network.

The Bad: As blogged by Bev on Asperger Square 8, a British newspaper, the Daily Mail, has printed an article advocating eugenic abortion of autistic children because they supposedly wreck their parents' lives. The Mail is an infamous bigoted rag and not to be taken seriously; however, the article got a large number of disgusting comments from people who agreed with it.

The Ugly: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has decided to give its Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the Oscar Awards ceremony in February to — Jerry Lewis. Yes, that Jerry Lewis, the misogynistic, gay-hating, narcissistic slimeball who has been pissing off disability rights activists for the past four decades with his annual Muscular Dystrophy Pityfest. About two thousand people already have signed an online petition protesting that abominable choice.

Tropic Thunder Boycott Begins

Special Olympics chairman Timothy Shriver has announced that he, along with other disability rights advocates, plans to picket the premiere of Tropic Thunder today in Los Angeles because of its repeated use of the R-word and other offensive language. Mr. Shriver wrote an editorial explaining his reasons for advocating a boycott, in which he describes the movie as "an unchecked assault on the humanity of people with intellectual disabilities—an affront to dignity, hope and respect."

Here's an excerpt from Mr. Shriver's article:


People with intellectual disabilities are routinely abused, neglected, insulted, institutionalized and even killed around the world. Their parents are told to give up, that their children are worthless. Schools turn them away. Doctors refuse to treat them. Employers won't hire them. None of this is funny.

For centuries, they have been the exception to the most basic spiritual principle: that we are each equal in spirit, capable of reflecting the goodness of the divine, carriers of love. But not people with intellectual disabilities. What's a word commonly applied to them? Hopeless.

Let's consider where we are in 2008. Our politics are about overcoming division, our social movements are about ending intolerance, our great philanthropists promote ending poverty and disease among the world's poor. Are people with intellectual disabilities included in the mainstream of these movements? For the most part, no.

Why? Because they're different. Their joy doesn't fit on magazine covers. Their spirituality doesn't come in self-help television. Their kind of wealth doesn't command political attention. (The best of the spirit never does.)

Sadly, they're such an easy target that many people don't realize whom they are making fun of when they use the word "retard." Most people just think it's funny. "Stupid, idiot, moron, retard." Ha, ha, ha.

I know: I could be too sensitive. But I was taught that mean isn't funny. And I've been to institutions where people with intellectual disabilities are tied to beds or lie on concrete floors, forgotten. I've heard doctors say they won't treat them. I know Gallup found that more than 60 percent of Americans don't want a person with an intellectual disability at their child's school.

I've talked to people with intellectual disabilities who cry over being insulted on a bus. I've received too many e-mails from people who are devastated not by their child's disability but by the terror of being laughed at, excluded and economically devastated.

It wasn't funny when Hollywood humiliated African Americans for a generation. It's never funny when good and decent human beings are humiliated. In fact, it is dangerous and disgusting.


Thank you, Mr. Shriver, for making it clear that hate speech of the sort found in Tropic Thunder has very ugly real-life consequences. It's not just harmless humor.

This PSA entitled "R Word," produced by Christschool for the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, shows the impact of such language. Readers, please pass it on by copying or embedding the link into your blog posts.





This is what I have to say to the DreamWorks executives, Ben Stiller, and all the others involved with the production of Tropic Thunder who didn't even notice that there was a problem with their language, apparently because the R-word has been used on occasion in other movies without any consequences. Here's my version of the movie's offensive tagline:

Never go full bigot.

Michael Savage in Deep Doo-Doo

A lot of people have been wondering what the heck Michael Savage was thinking last week when he said, among other offensive remarks, that autistic children were really just brats who needed more discipline. I'm inclined to believe that the potential consequences of his rant never even crossed his mind. If he thought about it at all, he probably figured that—given the extent of the ugly, dehumanizing language so often used to describe autistic children in recent years—there would be no consequences whatsoever.

After all, "combating autism" is now an official policy of the United States government; some of our politicians and autism charities have given the impression that they're competing to see how many times in the same speech they can revile autistics as a devastating burden to society; and people calling themselves autism advocates have used language such as train wreck, tsunami, empty shell, etc., to describe autistic children for the past several years with apparent impunity. Michael Savage probably thought the language he used was comparatively mild.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the Land of Easy Laughs. Instead of shrugging off Savage's remarks as just more of the usual melodramatic language often used about autism, millions of people reacted with disgust and outrage. Disability rights groups, autistic self-advocates, and parent groups joined together to denounce Savage's bigotry and to call upon his sponsors to pull their ads from his show. Advertisers and radio stations are now abandoning his show in droves, and Savage's career is in serious jeopardy. (To put a few more nails in his coffin, visit the Autistic Self Advocacy Network for a list of advertisers to contact.)

What happened here? How did an ignorant rant about autism on a talk show that regularly features plenty of ignorant rants suddenly snowball into a career-destroying controversy? I suspect it has to do with the fact that, unlike previous insulting statements from politicians and charitable groups, Savage's rant clearly was intended as nothing but entertainment. Parents who cringed at the language used in fundraising campaigns might have been willing to ignore their qualms about it, reasoning that it was at least intended to raise money for services that their child needed. However, they were not at all willing to give a free pass to a hate-spewing shock jock.

I hope that this incident, whether or not Michael Savage ends up getting fired, will prompt more critical reflection by people who might have been inclined to overlook insulting language in the past. Politicians and fundraising campaigns do not need to demean autistic children in order to accomplish the goal of providing services. It's time for advocacy that focuses on our kids' potential contributions to society, rather than on devastation rhetoric.

Vancouver Sun Prints Bigoted Article on Adult Autism

Although a Sunday article in the Vancouver Sun entitled "Researchers pulling back the veil on adult autism" contained a large number of offensive stereotypes and generalizations, actual cites to research were conspicuously lacking.

The author gave as an example of an autistic person an "office clerk who beat up a woman on his way to the bus stop one morning for the simple reason she was in his way." She further stated that "their social skills are disastrous" and suggested that autistic adults often receive a diagnosis after "they're reprimanded at work for making an inappropriate comment, or charged with harassing or stalking."


canada.com/topics/bodyandhealth/story.html?id=ea98c743-7305-439e-9ae8-3d32c3224f92


Karen Rodman, founder of FAAAS, was quoted as an authoritative source for such pronouncements as "There's no rhyme or reason (to an autistic person's behavior)." Here's a little background on FAAAS: The acronym originally stood for Families of Adults Afflicted by Asperger's Syndrome, but the second "a" was later changed to "affected" as a bid to improve the group's public image when FAAAS was booted out of the International Asperger's Year event because of its reputation as a hate group. Its membership is composed largely of spiteful ex-wives involved in bitter custody disputes with autistic men, and it has a long history of inventing imaginary psychological syndromes and throwing around nasty and groundless stereotypes.

Several autistic self-advocates wrote to Patricia Graham, the Sun's editor-in-chief, to express our concerns about the article. She replied that she did not believe there was anything wrong with it but that she would consider a correction if specific inaccuracies were pointed out.

So we provided some data. We cited the US statistic that only 4.5 people per year assert autism as a defense in a violent crime case, out of almost 1.5 million violent crimes per year (source: Autism Society of America). We pointed out that research studies have proven that autistics are no more likely than non-autistics to commit violent acts or violent crimes (Murrie, Warren, Kristiansson, & Dietz, 2002; Barry-Walsh & Mullen, 2004).

Unfortunately, we got no reply to that, and no retraction or correction was printed. I suspect that when Ms. Graham told us that she would consider a correction, what she really meant was "I'll consider it if I get some complaints from normal people, but I don't give a rat's patootie about anything you freaks have to say." Or something along those lines.

We need united action to make it crystal clear to Ms. Graham that prejudiced articles of this sort are totally unacceptable. Letters and calls from parents, professionals, and other allies are needed, as well as letters from autistic self-advocates. Also, if you have the time, please write blog and/or forum posts about the article and copy Ms. Graham's contact information, listed below:


Patricia Graham, Editor in Chief, Vancouver Sun
Address: #1 - 200 Granville Street, Vancouver BC V6C 3N3, Canada
Phone: 604-605-2318
Fax: 604-605-2668
E-mail: pgraham@png.canwest.com


In the wake of the Michael Savage controversy, there's a reasonable likelihood that Ms. Graham may be amenable to issuing a correction/retraction and a public apology if we can put enough pressure on her. Bigoted statements about autistic people can have real consequences in the form of lost advertisers, as Mr. Savage has discovered.

Run the Dream Out of Town on a Rail

The despicable anti-autistic bigotry in the "Run the Dream" fundraising campaign needs to get dunked in some virtual tar and feathers. For those who may not be familiar with the historical reference in my title, a common way of banishing a wrongdoer from an American colonial town was to tie him to a rail and carry him outside the town's boundaries. He might also be tarred and feathered to increase his public humiliation. This was known as being "run out of town on a rail."

Here's a brief summary of what Run the Dream is about: A Canadian long-distance runner, Jonathan Howard, is running from Newfoundland to British Columbia to raise money for autism research and other purposes. He states on his website that the research he seeks to fund is "research into the treatment and, one day, cure, or prevention of Autism."

As far as I know, Howard has no personal experience with autism, other than having met a small number of autistic children while he worked as a summer camp counselor. Apparently he just wanted to get some publicity by running for a cause and picked autism more or less at random. His total ignorance of our community and culture hasn't stopped him from posting a web page entitled "Learn More about Autism," in which he suggests that the existence of autistic children is regrettable.

On May 9th, Canadian blogger jypsy, who had previously gotten no answer when she wrote to express her concerns about the intolerant language used on the Run the Dream website, received an e-mail from production manager Mike McCarther asking if she and her autistic sons would like to participate in a Run the Dream event. She politely declined, restating her concerns. This is the response she got (with the original profanity slightly edited):


From: "Mike McCarther"

Haha oh sh*t...


After receiving an e-mail from Alyric commenting on this offensive response, Run the Dream's chairman Bill Robertson made the bogus claim that it was all a misunderstanding and that McCarther had meant to write to someone else about an unrelated topic. Yeah, right, tell us another one... we may be autistic, but we weren't born yesterday!

More commentary can be found at Asperger Square 8 and at G's Place. To express your own views regarding this display of gross disrespect toward the autistic community, here are the e-mail addresses of Run the Dream's management:


Bill Robertson, Chairman: bill.robertson@runthedream.ca
Alison Pickard, General Manager, Beneficiary, Sponsor and Donor Relations: alison.pickard@runthedream.ca
Alex Bittner, General Event Manager: alex.bittner@runthedream.ca
Warren Howard, Operations Planning: warren.howard@runthedream.ca
Kevin Cassan, General Manager, Operations: kevin.cassan@runthedream.ca
Mike McCarther, Production Manager: mike.mccarther@runthedream.ca


This is what I have to say to everyone involved with Run the Dream: There is nothing funny-ha-ha about the idea that autistic people are human beings who deserve respect and social acceptance and who have just as much right to inhabit the earth as anyone else. Rather, that is just basic decency. We have had more than enough of genocidal bigots who "dream" of eugenically exterminating our children and who pretend that it would be an act of charity. Let me put it even more bluntly: You are not welcome in our community. Get your hat, your sh*t, and split. On a rail or otherwise.

Update, May 22: Run the Dream has removed the references to "prevention" and other objectionable language from its website. Many thanks to those who sent e-mails explaining our point of view!

Bigotry on Parade

If anyone still doubts that Autism Speaks' ultimate goal is eugenic extermination of the world's entire autistic population, more proof can be found in a Parade Magazine article written by Suzanne Wright, straight from the proverbial horse's mouth—or, perhaps, from another part of the horse's anatomy:


parade.com/articles/editions/2008/edition_01-27-2008/Autism_Changes_Everything


In a span of less than two years, Suzanne Wright's bigoted diatribes against autistic people have included promises to put us in the history books and exhortations to kick us to the curb. Oh, and she also claims that autistic children are "just not there" and can't be taken out to restaurants and movies. So I didn't find it at all surprising to see this unequivocal declaration of Autism Speaks' eugenic intentions in the Parade article:


"We’re now playing catch-up as we try to stem the tide and ultimately eradicate autism for the sake of future generations. If we continue our current trajectory, we’ll get there in my lifetime."


What really needs to be eradicated for the sake of future generations, of course, is genocidal bigotry like this. Notwithstanding her egotistical claims, Suzanne Wright does not control history's trajectory; to the contrary, she has demonstrated quite clearly that she is on the wrong side of history. As other civil rights movements have shown, it's not going to take a lifetime for us to change our society's backward attitudes toward neurological minority groups and people with disabilities—and to kick Autism Speaks to the curb.

Ransom Notes and Autism Speaks: Partners in Crime

The Ransom Notes advertising campaign has Autism Speaks' dirty little fingerprints all over it. It's a direct follow-up from those Ad Council PSA commercials for Autism Speaks, also produced pro bono by the ad agency BBDO. If you live in the United States, you've probably seen those awful commercials that compare the odds of your child being autistic to being hit by lightning, killed in a car crash, or otherwise ending up dead. Autism Speaks seems to have quite a fixation with autistic children ending up dead, to judge from Alison Tepper Singer's infamous line in the Autism Every Day video about wanting to drive off a bridge with her autistic daughter, which was soon followed by a magazine interview with two Autism Speaks board members who hoped their autistic son would drown in their backyard pond.

Not long after he donated those television commercials, CEO Andrew Robertson of BBDO was named to the board of Autism Speaks:


autismspeaks.org/press/board_additions.php


I wouldn't be at all surprised if he shares the view of his fellow board members (and of prenatal testing researcher Joseph Buxbaum, funded by Autism Speaks) that the only good autistic child is a dead autistic child.

Amazingly, Suzanne Wright of Autism Speaks, whose avowed goal is a world where autism is a word for the history books, has tried to argue that those sick public fantasies of child murder are helping to take off the stigma. Remind you of anybody? Oh yeah, Dr. Harold Koplewicz of the NYU Child Study Center, who also claims that he just wants to start a dialogue and reduce stigma.

One thing is clear: The repulsive attitudes expressed by Autism Speaks, BBDO, and Dr. Koplewicz do not represent the majority view. They do not speak for us. Rather, they speak for a tiny number of bitter, twisted New York elitists who feel angry and cheated about having children with disabilities in their otherwise glamorous families, and who are throwing a colossal temper tantrum and spewing their vicious prejudice all over the media.

They are a hate group, pure and simple. They share a hideous eugenic agenda with disgraced white supremacist James Watson, who has been praised on Autism Speaks' website. They are enemies not only of the autistic minority population but of decent people everywhere. And it's past time for decent people to stand up in outrage and put a stop to their hate-mongering.

If you haven't yet sent letters of protest to NYU, signed the petition against the Ransom Notes ads, and blogged about it, please do it now. We need to keep the pressure on, without letting up even for a moment, to make it unmistakably clear that we will not stand for this despicable targeting of vulnerable children.

EDIT: The ads are now GONE! See the statement from Ari Ne'eman entitled "Victory!" posted above.

The Other Six-Letter N-Word

Some words are considered so offensive in today's society that just using such a word once is enough to brand a person instantly as a crude, ignorant bigot. Quite a few celebrities have wrecked their careers by using a certain six-letter N-word, which I won't mention here because someone probably would post an indignant comment telling me that I really didn't need to say it in order to make my point. And they would be right; we all know what that word is because there's such a strong social consensus about its extreme offensiveness.

Of course, there is good reason for our society's strong condemnation of that word. It reflects a very ugly worldview that brands certain people as genetically inferior and undesirable, denies our common humanity, and arbitrarily divides our species into a privileged caste enjoying all the advantages and a lesser caste that is excluded and stigmatized. It is a truly vile word, deserving of all the opprobrium heaped upon it.

There is another six-letter N-word that has a similar effect of dividing people into different groups, giving more advantages to some folks while stigmatizing others as defective and undesirable. This other word, however, is one that is commonly used in today's society. The ugly attitudes associated with it often go unchallenged. Millions of people are forced to struggle against prejudice and discrimination every day because of these attitudes.

Perhaps you've guessed what word I'm talking about—the word "normal."

NYU Ransom Notes Ads: Public Outrage

We have your ignorant and ill-conceived advertising campaign, which is a detriment to itself and society. We are making sure that when people search the Internet for information about it, they will find nothing but a deluge of furious condemnation on blogs and forums. We're also posting links everywhere to an online petition protesting the ads. If you fail to provide appropriate remediation and a prompt public apology, we will make sure you no longer have the respect of any decent people and will be driven into a life of complete isolation. Do nothing and see what happens.

— Public Outrage


Or, worded a bit more diplomatically in a joint letter from the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network and thirteen other disability rights organizations:

__________________________________________


The following letter was mailed and hand-delivered to the NYU Child Study Center on December 11th, 2007. It is co-signed by fourteen premier disability rights organizations, including ASAN, ADAPT, TASH, ADA Watch and the National Coalition for Disability Rights, the Autism National Committee and many more. In it, we urge the Center to withdraw its offensive "Ransom Notes" advertising campaign, which stigmatizes people with disabilities and misinforms the public. As some of you have already heard from our previous communications on this topic, the advertising campaign is expected to garner 700 million impressions over the next four months, requiring us to act quickly to stop grave damage to the public perception of people with disabilities.

As several others have indicated an interest in joining our statement in response to the "Ransom Notes" advertising campaign, we are encouraging organizations to issue letters endorsing the joint statement and send them to the supporters of the "Ransom Notes" campaign, urging them to withdraw the offensive advertising. Contact information for all of the supporters of the "Ransom Notes" campaign is available here on ASAN's website. We will also be making available in the next day or so a petition for individuals to sign to express their support for the disability community's efforts. We urge individuals and groups to indicate their support now for the joint statement of fourteen disability rights organizations on this topic directly by contacting the NYU Child Study Center by e-mail at Harold.Koplewicz@nyumc.org or by phone at 212-263-6205.

Thank you so much to everyone who has already written and called to protest the "Ransom Notes" campaign over the course of the past few days and for those who will do so for as long as it takes to show that the disability community will not stand for advertising that questions the humanity of people with disabilities. We will be keeping you informed as we continue to mobilize the disability community against these hurtful and unfortunate statements. Your support is what keeps the disability community strong.

Regards,
Ari Ne'eman
The Autistic Self Advocacy Network, President
http://www.autisticadvocacy.org/
info@autisticadvocacy.org
732.763.5530

_____________________________________________

Dr. Harold S. Koplewicz, M.D.
The NYU Child Study Center
577 First Avenue
New York, NY 10016

Dr. Robert Grossman, M.D.
NYU School of Medicine
IRM 229
560 First Avenue
New York NY 10016

John Osborn
President and CEO of BBDO New York
BBDO New York
1285 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10019

Richard Schaps, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Van Wagner Communications, LLC.
800 Third Ave 28th Floor
New York, NY 10022

To the NYU Child Study Center and the supporters of the "Ransom Notes" advertising campaign:

We, the undersigned organizations, are writing to you regarding your new ad campaign for the NYU Child Study Center: "Ransom Notes." Our organizations represent people with a wide range of disabilities, including those portrayed in your campaign, as well as family members, professionals and others whose lives are affected by disabilities. As people who live and work with disability, we cannot help but be concerned by the way your campaign depicts individuals with disabilities. By choosing to portray people on the autism spectrum as well as those living with OCD, ADHD and other disabilities as kidnapped or possessed children, you have inadvertently reinforced many of the worst stereotypes that have prevented children and adults with disabilities from gaining inclusion, equality and full access to the services and supports they require.

While the "Ransom Notes" campaign was no doubt a well-intentioned effort to increase awareness and thus support for the disabilities it describes, the means through which it attempts this have the opposite effect. When a child with ADHD is described as "a detriment to himself and those around him," it hurts the efforts of individuals, parents and families to ensure inclusion and equal access throughout society for people with disabilities. When individuals with diagnoses of autism and Asperger's Syndrome are told that their capacities for social interaction and independent living are completely destroyed, it hurts their efforts for respect, inclusion, and necessary supports by spreading misleading and inaccurate information about these neurologies. While it is true that there are many difficulties associated with the disabilities you describe, individuals with those diagnostic categories do succeed – not necessarily by becoming indistinguishable from their non-disabled peers – but by finding ways to maximize their unique abilities and potential on their own terms.

The "Ransom Notes" campaign places a stigma on both parents and children, thus discouraging them from pursuing a diagnosis that might be helpful in gaining access to the appropriate services, supports, and educational tools. The autism spectrum should be recognized for what it is: a lifelong neurological condition – not a kidnapper that steals children in the dead of the night. The devaluation of the lives of people with disabilities has led to public policies and funding decisions that have forced thousands of people with disabilities into nursing homes and other institutions. The unintended consequences of ad campaigns like yours give legitimacy to the taking away of the civil and human rights of people with disabilities.

It is true that diagnoses of ADHD, autism, Asperger's Syndrome, and OCD often accompany great hardships for families. It is true that depression and bulimia are terrible disorders that require treatment. Yet, the way you choose to convey those messages is inappropriate and counterproductive. Individuals with disabilities are not replacements for normal children that are stolen away by the disability in question. They are whole people, deserving of the same rights, respect, and dignity afforded their peers. Too often, the idea that children with disabilities are less than human lies at the heart of horrific crimes committed against them. The recent tragic instances of violence against children and adults on the autism spectrum and with other developmental disabilities are linked to the perception that these people are less than human. We – the adults, families, professionals and others affected by these conditions - assert that nothing could be further from the truth.

We are also concerned that the negative stereotypes the "Ransom Notes" campaign depicts could make it harder for the many people with disabilities and their family members who are working to ensure that students with disabilities have the right to be included in their home schools while still receiving all necessary services. Federal law mandates that students with disabilities have the right to a "free and appropriate public education" in the "least restrictive environment."

Your advertising campaign claims that children with disabilities could be a detriment to those around them and as a result hurts the efforts of parents working to secure the opportunity for their children to be included with their peers. While we recognize and applaud the good intentions intended by this effort, we must urge you to withdraw this campaign immediately, as it threatens to harm the very people whom it seeks to benefit: people with disabilities, their families, and their supporters. In the press release announcing this campaign, the Center gave as one of its goals "eliminating the stigma of being or having a child with a psychiatric disorder". We are in full agreement with the goal of eliminating stigma against people with disabilities and their families. Yet, this campaign serves to increase that stigma rather than lessen it. We hope that you will heed our concerns and those of many other people with disabilities, family members, professionals, and countless others and end the "Ransom Notes" advertising campaign.

Please do not hesitate to contact any of the organizations listed as signatories to this letter in order to better solicit the opinions of the disability community prior to your next advertising campaign. We would be more than glad to help the Center to develop better strategies to achieve its excellent goals. The NYU Child Study Center has the potential to do enormous good for children and families affected by disability. By showing that the Center respects the views of people with disabilities, families, and professionals, you can make that aspiration a reality.

Sincerely,

Ari Ne'eman
President
The Autistic Self Advocacy Network
http://www.autisticadvocacy.org/
info@autisticadvocacy.org

Bob Kafka
National Organizer
ADAPT
http://www.adapt.org/

Diane Autin
Executive Co-Director
Statewide Parent Advocacy Network of New Jersey
http://www.spannj.org/

Jim Ward
ADA and the National Coalition for Disability Rights
http://www.adawatch.org/

Janette R. Vance
The Family Alliance to Stop Abuse and Neglect
http://www.thefamilyalliance.net

Estee Klar-Wolfond
The Autism Acceptance Project
http://www.taaproject.com/

Barbara Trader, MS
Executive Director
TASH
http://www.tash.org/

Jim Sinclair
Autism Network International
http://ani.autistics.org/

Stephen Drake
Not Dead Yet
http://www.notdeadyet.org/

Stanley Soden
Director of Independent Living Services
MOCEANS Center for Independent Living
http://www.moceanscil.org/

Ethan B. Ellis
Executive Director
Alliance for Disabled in Action, Inc.
http://www.adacil.org/
President Next Step, Inc.

Phil Schwarz
Vice President
Asperger Association of New England
http://www.aane.org/

Sharisa Kochmeister
President
Autism National Committee
http://www.autcom.org/

Mission Accomplished?

"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." — Gandhi


Although some folks were upset by the insensitive tone of the mass e-mail sent by Dr. Harold Koplewicz to everyone who complained about the Ransom Notes ads, I view it as a positive sign that the NYU Child Study Center took less than a week to advance from the ignoring us stage to the laughing at us stage. (By way of contrast, it took Autism Speaks more than a year to realize that they couldn't just ignore us in the hope that we would all go away.)

In his letter, Dr. Koplewicz has this to say:


"Ransom Notes" may be shocking to some, but so are the statistics: suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people ages 15 to 24, and serious emotional problems affect one out of 10 young people, most of whom do not get help. The strong response to this campaign is evidence that our approach is working. We acknowledge the challenges faced by individuals with these disorders and their families. We hope to both generate a national dialogue that will end the stigma surrounding childhood psychiatric disorders and advance the science, giving children the help they need and deserve. We want this campaign to be a wake up call. Please join the dialogue.


Here's a strategic point to ponder: The fact that Dr. Koplewicz acted so quickly to compose a mass response to our letters is a clear indication that we have deluged him (and other influential people at NYU) with enough e-mail, snail mail, faxes, phone calls, etc., to make him feel very uncomfortable. Otherwise, he probably wouldn't have bothered to answer us at all. That means we're doing a great job, people, and we need to keep the heat on—and, if possible, turn it up a notch or two.

If you have already written a letter of complaint to NYU, send another one to make sure they clearly understand that you have no intention of taking crap like "[t]he strong response to this campaign is evidence that our approach is working" for an answer. It looks like Dr. Koplewicz has the mindset that one can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs—or, in this case, that one can't effectively advertise mental health services for children unless one first destroys the hopes, dreams, and spirits of said children and induces mass panic and vicious prejudice by means of misleading and sensationalistic ads.

The Autistic Self-Advocacy Network has made contact information available for various people associated with NYU and the Ransom Notes ads. (I suggest copying Dr. Koplewicz on all letters sent to anyone concerning the Ransom Notes ads, so that he can clearly see the extent of the worldwide revulsion these ads have caused.)

Also, tell your relatives and friends about NYU's ads and ask them to send protest letters as well. Write about these disgusting ads on your blog and on whatever forums you visit. If you know anyone in the media, either in the New York area or nationally, ask them to cover the story. Contact disability rights groups and anti-stigma campaigns such as NAMI's Stigma Busters. If you know any NYU alumni, ask them to inform the university that it won't get another dime of donations from them until it pulls the ads and issues a public apology.

We'll just see how long Dr. Koplewicz continues to put up a brave front and pretend that widespread public outrage is "evidence that [his] approach is working."

As Barack Obama mentioned not long ago, in reference to a certain overconfident opponent—some folks have made the mistake of declaring "Mission Accomplished" a little too soon.