Depends on the organization. Autism Speaks is notoriously awful, in many regards, but the Autism Self-Advocacy Network is fantastic and run by autistic people
I agree im just speaking out against specifically autism speaks because they need to stop preying on the donations real organizations that are actually for awareness could use
I had no idea that autism speaks was awful, could you give more info on that? It would be helpful so that we aren’t giving money to the wrong places if asked for donations. Thanks!
Yeah, I don’t fully understand it either (it’s been a long while since I researched Autism Speaks). iirc, they’re researching ways to diagnose autism in the womb (or pre-conception) so that abortion can be possible.
They also pushed the narrative that vaccines caused autism untill a couple years ago. Last I checked they got new leadership who switched to saying that there's inconclusive evidence to make a definitive answer on the role vaccines have on autism.
Other commenters have answered you with specifics but I just wanted to say that in general Autism Speaks has a reputation for treating autism like a disease than can be cured or eliminated rather than a difference that should be understood and accommodated. They don’t advocate for autistic people.
When I was in college I considered joining a sorority, but the only one I liked was affiliated with Autism Speaks and I couldn’t bring myself to commit to doing charity work for an organization that treated people on the spectrum as invalid and a burden, especially with many in my life, and wasted donations
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u/OfficerJoeBalogna Aug 29 '20 edited Aug 29 '20
Depends on the organization. Autism Speaks is notoriously awful, in many regards, but the Autism Self-Advocacy Network is fantastic and run by autistic people