Icon from a picrew by grgikau. Call me Tir or Julian. 37. He/They. Queer. Twitter: @tirlaeyn. ao3: tirlaeyn. 18+ Only. Star Trek. Sandman. IwtV. OMFD. Definitionless in this Strict Atmosphere.

piggyschuyler:

Hi everyone, I have permission from @butterflyinthewell to make this post.

I was trolling through Autism $peaks website and found one of Cyndi’s (butterflyinthewell) youtube videos on their website without her consent/permission. They never asked her if they could use the video, they never gave her credit, but instead they stole her creative content for their own gain. 

We are working to get it off of the website but need your help! There is a comment section under the videos on autism speaks website (link to videos) where you can leave a comment saying she openly dislikes and doesn’t support autism speaks and that she didn’t give them permission to use her video. We need to try everything we can to get her video off of their awful website.

You can also email webeditors@autismspeaks.org saying that they didn’t have her permission and that she openly does not support autism speaks.

Autism Speaks stole her creative content without asking, giving credit, or acknowledging her feelings. Autism Speaks stole and spoke over an autistic person once again.

Everyone help Cyndi if you can! She does not deserve to be harassed and stolen from.

theconcealedweapon:

(I have previously posted this. This is an updated version. I will be posting this on my facebook on April 2. Let me know if I should add anything.)

Time for some real autism awareness, and not any of that “light it up blue” bullshit.

  • The consensus among the autistic community is that Autism Speaks is a hate group. If you want to know why, just google “what’s wrong with autism speaks”. Some examples are their videos “I Am Autism” which makes autistic people seem like burdens, and “Autism Every Day” which features a mother talking about wanting to murder her autistic daughter. If you want to actually help autistic people, you should support Autistic Self Advocacy Network.
  • Light It Up Blue and the puzzle piece are not supported by the autistic community.
  • Contrary to popular belief, most autistic people prefer “autistic person” over “person with autism”. Autism is something we are, not something we have. You cannot separate a person from their autism. The only time “person with autism” should be used is when they specifically ask to be called that.
  • The number of people diagnosed with Autism is not “shocking”. We exist. Get over it.
  • There aren’t more autistic people now. Those who are autistic are just more likely to be diagnosed now.
  • It is up to each individual disabled person to decide whether their disability needs to be cured. Abled people should not be the ones deciding that. Also, acceptance must come first, because some disabled people may want to be cured only because they don’t know that acceptance is an option.
  • Most autistic people do not want to be cured. We want to be accepted, not removed from the gene pool. Most autistic people believe that the struggles involving autism are caused by how society treats autistic people, not by autism itself. A non-autistic version of an autistic person would be a completely different person. Curing us would be like murdering us and putting someone else in our bodies.
  • Even if a cure was possible, it would most likely be very dangerous. People have tried bleach to cure autism, and that doesn’t even work. If a cure actually did work, one can only imagine how dangerous it can be with society still accepting it.
  • Autistic children become autistic adults. It is impossible for an autistic person to grow out of their autism. We just figure out ways to appear less autistic in order to be accepted, so it may appear that we grew out of it.
  • An autistic adult who hasn’t been diagnosed yet has most likely spent their entire life trying to be normal, which causes their autistic traits to be less visible, so it’s very difficult for an autistic person to be diagnosed as an adult. 
  • Functioning labels do not help autistic people. They just label us based on how well we can pretend to not be autistic. Instead, state a person’s needs directly (nonverbal autistic person, autistic person who also has a learning disability, etc.) Many autistic people can’t be put into a category because they fit some characteristics of being high functioning and some of being low functioning. Also, unlike the autism condition itself, a person’s functioning label can change over time.
  • It’s commonly believed in the autism community that autism affects all genders equally. Women/girls are just severely under-diagnosed.
  • Autistic people are just as diverse as non-autistic people. Not every autistic person is going to remind you of that one autistic person you know.
  • For a detailed scientific explanation of how vaccines cause autism, go to howdovaccinescauseautism.com.
  • Even if vaccines did cause autism, you must really hate autistic people if you’re willing to expose your children and any immune-deficient children to deadly diseases in order to prevent autism.
  • You are not an “autism family” unless your entire family is autistic. Actual autism families exist.
  • You’re allowed to think that an autistic person is annoying. Just know that we’re allowed to think you’re annoying too.
  • “I didn’t know they were autistic” is not an excuse. Do not make fun of anyone for being different in a way that’s not hurting anyone else.
  • Do not accuse someone of faking a disability. The harm caused by a person faking is much less than the harm caused by a person being wrongly accused of faking. Not all disabilities are visible. Not all disabled people fit the stereotypes. Not all disabled people have been diagnosed.
  • Do not dare someone to do something, pretending that people will like them if they do it, then laugh at them when they do it. Autistic people can’t read your mind and won’t know whether doing something will cause people to like them or think they’re weird.
  • It’s okay to be surprised to find out that someone is autistic, but don’t compliment someone by telling them that they don’t seem autistic. It implies that being autistic is bad.
  • Do not use “autistic” as an insult.
  • Saying “talk to people” as advice for how to make friends is like saying “write numbers” as advice for someone who needs help in math. It’s just about as vague as you can get. If your advice cannot be taken literally (meaning that it’s possible to do something wrong while technically following the advice), it’s bad advice.
  • Say what you mean. Not everyone can understand subtle hints and hidden meanings.
  • Don’t expect something to come natural to everyone just because it comes natural to you, even if it actually does come natural to most people.
  • Talking to people does not come natural to everyone. Not knowing how to talk to people is different from being shy or being afraid of rejection.
  • If someone says that they’re unable to do something, the correct response is to help them find something similar that they are able to do (or maybe they’re okay with not being able to do it and don’t need your help at all). Do not just say “yes you can”. It’s not a compliment. It’s not reassuring. It’s just denying their personal experiences and making them feel like no one understands them.
  • If someone tells you about a problem they have, don’t say that everyone experiences it. They know that’s not true. There’s most likely an important detail that you’re missing.
  • Positive stereotypes are still harmful, because they erase those who don’t fit the stereotype.
  • Autistic people are not all math geniuses. (I just happen to fit the stereotype.)
  • If we try to be funny and end up offending someone, we’re expected to stop and apologize. You should too. Do not say “I was just kidding” and expect a free pass. In many cases “I was just kidding” is code for “Normal people consider what I did funny, so you should shut up and accept it.” If you make fun of someone as a joke, that person must be your target audience. If you make fun of someone to get laughs from someone else, you’re just being a bully.
  • There is nothing “rude” about wanting to be left alone, not wanting to talk, or not making eye contact.
  • Do not assume someone is lying to you just because they don’t make eye contact or they don’t maintain a straight face.
  • Do not post videos online of your autistic child having a meltdown.
  • Do not defend parents who murder their autistic children. I don’t even know why that has to be said.
mari-curry: “artisticautistic: “ For everyone talking about the bunnies, this is the sign in every Lindt store about A$ & the gold bunnies. It reads: “Help us support the millions of individuals with autism and their families. From February 15,...

mari-curry:

artisticautistic:

For everyone talking about the bunnies, this is the sign in every Lindt store about A$ & the gold bunnies. It reads:

“Help us support the millions of individuals with autism and their families. From February 15, 2016-March 27, 2016, Lindt will donate 10¢ to Autism $peaks for every Lindt GOLD BUNNY Milk 100g sold, up to $100,000. Learn more at www.lindtusa.com/LindtGOLDBUNNY ”

So that means only the small milk chocolate bunnies contribute to A$, if you get a larger size milk bunny or a 100g white, dark, or hazelnut bunny, they don’t account towards A$. So if you don’t wanna contribute to A$ but consider the bunnies part of your family tradition, you can still have them!!

However, if you want to boycott Lindt in total, that’s def understandable as well. I just think the whole story should be out there! And if you wanna give feedback to Lindt & inform them of what’s wrong with A$, that’s the best way to end this altogether so we don’t have to deal with this next year!

It’s crap chocolate anyway. Just saying.

April is “Autism Awareness Month”, so here are a few reminders for you to keep in mind:

jurassicsaphole:

  • Autism Speaks is a hate group.
  • The reasoning behind “Light It Up Blue” (that there are more autistic boys than girls) stems from a tendency in doctors to base their autism diagnoses on stereotypes and sometimes refuse to diagnose girls.
  • Most autistic people don’t want a “cure” for autism and don’t support Autism Speaks.
  • Autism Speaks has given abusive/ableist parents legitimacy by portraying autism as a terrifying, life-ruining affliction and sympathising with parents who have contemplated killing their children, or actually killed them.
  • The views of autistic people are more important in this topic than the views of our allistic family members and peers.
  • Autism is not a disease.
  • Very little (about 4%) of Autism Speaks’ proceeds go toward supporting autistic people. More of it goes toward catering.
  • Autism is not a tragedy.
  • What autistic people need is acceptance, not awareness. 

Please tell Starbucks to stop supporting Autism Speaks

thereoncewasaboy.wordpress.com

autismserenity:

*loud literal groaning*

The worst part is that I went there this morning, after getting on the freeway right behind a car with an autism speaks bumper sticker. Like WTF!

Click through if you don’t understand why autistic people would beg them not to support Autism Speaks. Or if you just want to read the letter this blogger wrote to Starbucks.

Below is what they said about what they learned, and what actions we can take:

“I wasn’t alone in my objections. Several other parents–even more than the people I reached out to!–wrote to object, and I’m happy to report that Starbucks responded. The acting district supervisor not only sent my email to her media staffer to vet my resources, but also contacted Seattle headquarters. My name has been given to to southern district supervisor in charge of community relations; I certainly plan to follow up.

“I talked with the district supervisor this morning, and here’s what I learned: Starbucks has had a long association with Autism Speaks. It started with a couple of parents in partner organizations whose children are Autistic. The parents felt that A$ was making a positive difference in their lives, and worked with Starbucks to create a partnership. (The gist here is that Starbucks supports A$ walks elsewhere, too, not just here, so this is a much bigger battle!)

“So corporate headquarters now knows about the #BoycottAutismSpeaks movement, but also has a long relationship with people who are passionate about A$. Starbucks needs to know who to support.

“And here’s where YOU come in:

“Starbucks continually reviews its relationships with community partners. The company is committed to supporting A$ walks through the end of the year, but that commitment is not permanent. If we can give them local community partners to support in lieu of A$, they will listen. I want to emphasize that the supervisor I talked to was quite eager to support the needs of people, not organizations. It makes perfect sense to her that if A$ is not supporting people, we need an alternative. But WE have to make the case, and WE have to give them an alternative community partner to support.

“WHAT YOU CAN DO:

“If you are new to the #BoycotAutismSpeaks movement, please take some time to read the links above. Then ask yourself: do you really want A$ in your community?

“Forward this everywhere. Let everyone know that (1) Starbucks, as an international cooperation, supports A$, and/but (2) they are willing to listen and talk.

“Send your own letters. I promised not to give out email addresses here (*send me a private message, hint, hint*), but there’s a dedicated portal for suggestions about community involvement here: http://mystarbucksidea.force.com. the supervisor I talked to insisted that suggests posted here are constantly reviewed and discussed at corporate.

"You could also leave a comment here: http://store.starbucks.com/customer-service/cs-landing.html. Or, contact your local store, find out who the district supervisor is, and send an email to that person.

"Find / create alternative events for Starbucks to support (and please work with organizations run by or supported by #ActuallyAutistic people). It’s easier for Starbucks to work with partners who host specific events. (This is another reason why it is so easy for them to support A$.) #ActuallyAutistic people who run organizations: please help us all get the word out about your events so we can support your work.

"If you are reading this and you are already working on a similar campaign, please contact me! I want to work with you to amplify our efforts.

"People in Central Texas: please let me know what’s going on in your community that helps #ActuallyAutistic people.”

obstinatecondolement: “ goldenheartedrose: “ goldenheartedrose: “ Hey Supernatural fans, I hope you’re on this shit. Please. Protest the shit out of this. For more information, go here : http://goldenheartedrose.tumblr.com/A$ and here :...

obstinatecondolement:

goldenheartedrose:

goldenheartedrose:

Hey Supernatural fans, I hope you’re on this shit. Please. Protest the shit out of this. For more information, go here : http://goldenheartedrose.tumblr.com/A$ and here : http://goldenheartedrose.tumblr.com/anti-autismspeaks

And Kim Rhodes is already getting threats with regard to her career for saying something. Stay classy, Autism Speaks.

Kudos to Kim Rhodes for saying something.

“

Someone walks over to our step to say hello. She bends at the waist, looming over Brooke.

Brooke doesn’t look up. She doesn’t stop stripping her stick.

Dig. Pull. Dig. Pull.

Our visitor reaches out a hand and cups it below Brooke’s chin.

I freeze. Oh God.

She uses the hand to pull Brooke’s head up by the jaw.

A thin line of panic starts somewhere deep. I know that Brooke is going to scream. 5,4,3,2 …

She does scream, but not in the way that I expect.

“I HATE BEING TOUCHED!!” she shouts.

I am flabbergasted.

Words. Self-awareness. Communication. Self-advocacy.

I know the sentence will need to be reformatted. But I am drenched in pride.

I turn to Brooke. “Great job telling us how you feel, Brooke. Really great job.” I hope that my words send a message to both of them. I stand with my girl.

Our visitor is undaunted.

“I just want to see that beautiful face,” she says. “Lift up for me.”

I am stymied by etiquette. By deference to our host. By generational difference. By convention.

Brooke is not.

She lifts her head as instructed. And growls.

”

—

This has probably been posted before, but this knocks me for a loop - a blogger and her autistic daughter had the opportunity to meet Suzanne Wright of Autism Speaks, and this is how one of the noisiest voice in the autism community treated her daughter.

What knocks me for a loop isn’t so much Wright’s awful behavior. It’s the unbelievable strength and self-advocacy that the blogger Jess’s daughter, Brooke, shows when someone violates her personal space. It’s her mother backing her up for making sure someone knows that they are not permitted to touch her unless she says it’s okay. Honestly, it’s heartening. I hope Wright felt real fucking uncomfortable. She should.

(via chantrykomori) YOU GO, GIRL!!!!! (via primadraggle)

loryisunabletosupinate:

allismshutsup:

Imagine an organization called Homosexuality Speaks run entirely by straight people, many with gay children.

They discuss the harrowing epidemic of being gay, shouting “1 in 10!“ to the sky as a dreadful cry.

They spend their days wondering how to eradicate such an “abnormal” and “inappropriate” condition.

"How sad, they’ll never be able to fit in to enjoy the traditional dating structure like everyone else!” they say.

They research what makes folks gay in the first place…but only to abort gay people and wipe out the condition.

In fact, they don’t even want to say “gay people.” They’re people with homosexuality. Emphasize the person first, they say! Don’t define them by their negative condition; look beyond that! After all, the folks at Homosexuality Speaks would love their children if only they were straight.

And they’re not alone in this anti-gay pro-extermination dogma. Dozens of huge corporations support and sponsor them. Terrified yet?

If Homosexuality Speaks would strike you as a hate group, you should feel the same way about Autism $peaks.

don’t forget the ads that paint the parents as the victims of their gay child

nomorepuzzleprofits:

Hello, AndrewGarfieldDaily.

As an autistic person, I feel the need to help inform the public, especially on this important Autistic Pride Day.

Please, please DO NOT SUPPORT AUTISM SPEAKS.

Autism Speaks hates autistic people. Autistic people have been treated horribly by this corporation. They have done many, many really shady things that should be brought to public attention, yet they are often seen as the “face” of autism because they are so large. This is a LIE. Autistic people DO NOT want to be represented by Autism Speaks. We do not support Autism Speaks. We do not want Autism Speaks to continually pretend to “help” us while raking in massive corporate profits, that we, disabled people, will never see.

So What’s SO Bad About Autism Speaks?

  •  Autism Speaks does not have a single autistic member on their board.

  • Autism Speaks only spends 3% of their budget on “family services”.

  • Much of Autism Speaks’ money goes toward research, and much of that research centers on finding a way to eliminate autism, and thus, autistics (which will likely be done through a prenatal test, in the same way that the Down’s Syndrome test is conducted).

  • Autism Speaks produces advertisements, small films, etc. about what a burden autistic people are to society.

  • Autism Speaks was responsible for “Autism Every Day”, which featured a member of their board talking about contemplating murder-suicide of her daughter in front of her daughter.  This has now be removed from Autism Speaks’ Youtube channel.

  • Autism Speaks is responsible for the atrocity known as “I am Autism”, a short film produced by the Academy Award Winning Alfonso Cuaron, who also directed the 3rd Harry Potter movie (yes, really) and features an ominous voice saying things like “I am autism…I know where you live…I work faster than pediatric AIDS, cancer, and diabetes combined…I will make sure your marriage fails.”

  • This woman’s job offer was rescinded after she asked Autism Speaks for accommodations in caring for her autistic son.  They refused, and she made necessary accommodations for childcare, but they withdrew her offer anyways.

  • Autism Speaks shared the news of Google removing hate speech regarding autistics from Google’s autofill feature, completely erasing any mention of autistic people’s flashblogs having anything to do with the change.  It was only after a member of the autism community (and not a parent, but an autistic person themselves) spoke with a reporter about the flashblog and a statement was released to the media that Google decided to make this change.

  • Autism Speaks highlighted AAC use, while erasing those those who actually use AAC devices to communicate.  The focus was on the caretakers, not on the autistic people themselves. (The attached link has a link to a rebuttal by a nonspeaking autistic person, Amy Sequenzia).

  • Autism Speaks has violated copyright and has profited off an autistic advocate’s writing for three years.

    Is that not enough? Here, have way more of Autism Speaks dirty laundry that they don’t want you to know about.

Do not donate to Autism Speaks. Do not support them. Educate yourself on why they are so horrible. I like Emma Stone and I like Andrew Garfield, but they are obviously unaware of the horrors that go on behind closed curtains when it comes to Autism Speaks.

Please spread the word and listen to autistic people, not Autism Speaks!