#FUCK AUTISM SPEAKS

[ask-physalia-prime]

This is a PSA

Walmart apparel associate here.

Because Autism Acceptance Month is approaching, Walmart is apparently trying to look sensitive by selling autism t shirts.

Only problem?

The shirts are from AUTISM SPEAKS.

Please for the love of God, if you see these anywhere, do not buy them, or if you're feeling really bold, put them somewhere they won't be seen.

[confused-n-sinning]

Hey everyone, it's Autism Acceptance Month

Meaning

Time to take down Autism Speaks

A man called David Page started this on Tiktok. His autistic son took his life, and due to that he wants to make a change, he wants to shut down the organisation Autism Speaks.

Why?

Only around ONE PERCENT of Autism Speaks' revenue goes to helping autistic people and their families.

Autism speaks supports eugenics. They want to cure or get rid of autism. Autism can't be cured, it should be accepted and accommodated.

The majority of the people working there are not autisic.

They spread misinformation and stigma that autistic people should be feared and that they ruin families.

Autism speaks silences real autistic voices

How do we shut them down?*

Call Autism Speaks' phones lines as much as you can this month and keep them busy, so that less donations go through.

Keep their website open this month to overwhelm the server.

Use the #autismspeaks on every social media for random spam, so that its harder for their content to be found.

Live stream! Post! Share other posts! Talk about why Autism Speaks is harmful! Be loud and our voices will be heard.

*I'm using the suggestions from David Page's videos

Go follow David Page!! I found him on tiktok. Share his videos on other socials.

[bingsucks]

Sorry if you’re not still taking art requests, but could you draw Abed shooting the Autism Speaks logo with a gun?

I SAID I'D DO YOU ONE BETTER AND I DID, IT'S A BAZOOKA

[crazycatsiren]

I don't just hate the puzzle piece symbol for autism these days. I actually see red with rage every time it pops up anywhere within my sight.

How dare you imply I've lost a piece of myself because I'm autistic. How dare you call me a puzzle to begin with because why the fuck am I a puzzle.

I don't need a cure. I don't need to be fixed. Nothing is lacking from me. I'm not missing anything. I don't need a filling from your eugenics bullshit.

There isn't a hole in me because I'm not allistic. I'm complete. I'm whole. My autism is a part of me. It's who I am as a person. I'm beautiful just the way I am.

[morroodle]

Autism month

[zoobiefish]

“You don’t have to be a prodigy to be unique

You don’t have to know what to say or what to think

You don’t have to be anybody you can never be

That’s alright, let it out, talk to me” —Cavetown

Day 11: “Unlearning Ableism”

For today’s prompt, I decided to make a kandi bracelet based on “Talk to Me,” a song by Cavetown. One of the hardest parts of being Autistic is reminding myself that just because my disability is “invisible,” doesn’t make me any less disabled. I also constantly have to remind myself that I don’t need to always live up to neurotypical standards. I’m fine as I am and it’s okay if some days are too much for me. It’s okay to need a break. It’s okay to not be giving everything my 100% all the time. My hope is that one day when I’m finished my degrees and I become a clinical psychologist, I’ll be able to pass on this same message to my clients.

[bittyfromquotev]

My stance on Autism Speaks

So yesterday, my mother sent me a photo of a page on the Autism Speaks website. It said that they have removed “finding a cure for autism” from their vocabulary. On the same page they stated that they did not support eugenics.

I went on their page to do more research on what they’re saying now. They have a page addressing their awful (and quite traumatizing) “I Am Autism” video. They apologized for it and apologized to anyone that “was offended”.

So what am I saying here?

I do not support Autism Speaks. I never will. Despite their apologies, they do not acknowledge all their wrongdoings. Even if they did, nothing will be able to make up for it. So, that being said, my stance remains the same:

If you support Autism Speaks, GET OFF MY FUCKING BLOG.

[twingeoftism]

I was undiagnosed with autism.

not because i’m not autistic, but because I can’t immigrate to a queer-safe country if i’m autistic.

I was talking to my therapist, who helped me get my diagnosis, about how I want to live somewhere safe for queer people, since the U.S. is becoming a little dangerous for trans people like me

“You aren’t allowed to immigrate there if you’re autistic, you know that?”

there was an awkward silence for a bit.

“they don’t accept autistic immigrants”

It’s insane to think that a country that received the FDR international disability award only accepts their own, and doesn’t see itself as a safe haven for ALL disabled people.

New Zealand is one of the safest places to live if you’re queer but if you want to go there you can’t be autistic.

So together we got rid of the diagnosis. And for my service dog letter, we’re changing it from autism to anxiety, because the things my dog will be doing are very similar to what anxiety PSDs do

but yea i’m pissed.

[artsyaech]

responses i've gotten when i tell people i'm autistic

"everyone's on the spectrum" if that were true, the world wouldn't be so difficult for us to live in.

"no, you're not" wow, i went through a lengthy diagnostic process when i could've just asked you! /sarc

"you're nothing like *insert 2-8-year-old boy this person knows*" hmmm, i wonder why. it's almost as if i'm not a 2-8-year-old boy. you're nothing like my allistic nephew!

*proceeds to re-enact a stereotype of autism in front of me, rocking back and forth and making noises* honestly, the fact that this has happened to me TWO SEPERATE times by TWO SEPERATE people is ludicrous to me. so you're saying that autistic people that act somewhat like that (not exactly, because they're portraying a stereotype) are inferior? of course that's what they're saying! and, in turn, they either think i'm faking it or that i'm inherently inferior...

"you're not that autistic" elaborate on that, please. so just because i'm not completely non-verbal and try my best to mask because i'm afraid of being bullied or harassed in public, that means i'm "less autistic". the fact that i've gotten this one more times than i can count. this one is so minimizing to the real and difficult experience i face every single day, but alright, i guess.

"do you have asperger's?" i was technically diagnosed with that at the age of twelve, but i feel like this question is essentially saying "oh, you seem 'high functioning', which, in turn, means you have a disorder not as 'severe' as 'real autism'" i won't even get into the problems with the term asperger's syndrome, i'll let you google that one...

"have you seen rain man?" no, and i don't want to.

"autism is not a disability, it's a different ability" i will bite you.

"oh, i see..." (in a condescending tone) what

responses i wish i got more often:

"oh, alright" simple, you can ask follow-up questions if you want to, but a simple acknowledgement in a sincere tone is enough for me, personally. because then we can keep talking about our interests.

"okay, how can i accommodate you / do you have any needs that i can make sure you meet?" never get this one, but, damn, i wish i did.

"oh, cool, can you tell me more about that?" my friends call me autism squared for a reason, i have a special interest in autism, so asking me non-rude questions is always a plus.

yeah, this was a rant, but whatever lol. just don't be a dick towards autistic people

[xclowniex]

it was true that jvp is part of austim speaks?

No they are not. They are often compared to autism speaks, but are not apart of it. I can get where the confusion comes from.

People say they are the autism speaks of jews as similar in terms of claiming to be for/helping a group, yet actually being bad for that group.

Autism speaks isn't good towards autistic folk and jvp is not good towards jews

[allwehearisradiosilence]

Hey just letting you self diagnosed autistic people know as a medically diagnosed person.

All those approved tests online made by doctors on self evaluating yourself for autism were used in my ACTUAL medical testing as well. They put the RAADS and Cat Q on me, they gave me “strongly agree-strongly disagree” questions. (Most of) Those tests are just as valid and just as accurate as a medical diagnosis that not everyone has the privilege and access to. You are valid don’t let anyone tell you those tests are “online propaganda for attention seekers” (my mother told me this)

(AlsothisisfromanaustralianIdontknowhowtheamericansystemworks)

[inkwell-illustrations]

To the tune of No One Mourns The Wicked

GOOD NEWS!!!!! THEIR DEAD!!!!!! AUTSIM SPEEKS IS DEAD! THE MOST ABLEIST FUCKS THERE EVER WAS! THE ENIME TO ALL OF US WITH AUTSIM IS DEAD!!! GOOD NEWS!!!

[hello-nichya-here]

What's wrong with ABA therapy? Genuinely asking.

It was literally created by a guy that did not believe autistic people were human - his words, not mine. It's not real therapy, it's just abusing autistic people (mainly children) until they associate doing any autistic thing (stimming, not looking people in the eye, giving only non-verbal answers, not being comfortable with hugs, etc) with stress and pain, so they "fix their behavior".

The entire thing is based on the completely bullshit assumptions that any trait of autism is inherently negative and has no real functionality, both to the person with the condition and to those around them, and that they can just learn how to do things "the right way" - hence the name Aplied BEHAVIOR analysis. It assumes we just "don't know how to act", like a little kid that hasn't learned to spell or how to eat using a knife and fork.

But the thing is autistic people behave the way they do for a reason. "Ordinary" things (like looking people in the eye, or always hugging their relatives and friends, or having to be in a crowded room, with a lot of people talking at once) are PAINFUL to us. Some of us can mask how much it bothers us, but it never stops being a problem. And on the case of stimming (saying the same word over and over, running around, flapping ours hands, biting on a toy, etc) that is what we do to self-sooth when something isn't going right.

ABA is abusive because it forces the patients to behave in a way that causes nothing but pain, just because that's how neurotypicals behave naturally. It's like punching someone in the face over and over, telling them that if they complain they'll just get punched again, and then using the fact that they're not complaining about being punched anymore as "proof" that you made them no longer feel pain - when it's pretty clear they're only not complaining because they'd be punished with more pain if they tried.

Not to mention: training a bunch of vulnerable kids, some of which cannot talk and don't even understand what's going on, that if an adult does something that bothers or hurts them, including touching their body without permission, it's their job to just sit there and take it and that if they turn to their parents for help they'll just get scolded for it because, again, the whole point of ABA is to go "This is all your fault actually, stop crying" is a HORRIBLE idea. It's practically grooming kids to accept that any and all forms of abuse (including sexual) are things that are supposed to happen to them.

That's why one of THE most repeated phrases by autistic people who speak out against ABA and organizations like Autism Speaks, an AWFUL hate-group pretending to be a charity and that adores things like ABA or trying to to blame everything from vaccines to milk for the "rise in autism cases" (which isn't actually real), is "Nothing about us without us."

The overwhelming majority of treatments and charities that claim to help autistic people are only doing things that are either useless or downright harmful to us because they all start from the basic misconception that we don't understand our own condition, that we cannot possibly know what would help us, and that we need someone else to "decode the mystery" that is autism to "save" us.

Entire decades of wasted effort and money, as well as abuse being pushed as a solution, could have been prevented if non-autistic people would fucking LISTEN instead of speaking over us just because we act "weird." It's all based on "Your condition bothers ME, therefore I'm the one who decides what is or is not a problem for YOU." It's the most condescending bullshit ever.

[chronicsymptomsyndrome]

I’ll never forget my counselor’s face when I said I used to secretly be really into aliens because I was worried that I was one. I thought I must not be from earth. But I must have known how weird that was because I never wanted anyone to find out. I would pull up the wikipedia page for dogs or trees or something, just to have a decoy tab to click to really fast so I wouldn’t risk anyone noticing what I was actually reading about or asking me why.

Anyway I’ve never attempted clinical diagnosis but if a professional ever tries to tell me I’m allistic I will laugh at them so hard and mock their career choice.

Go ahead tell me I don’t seem autistic I dare you

[titan-god-helios]

as an autistic person, most of the time i find it hard to be friends or speak at length with other autistic or socially “odd” people. let me explain.

since i’m autistic, there is often a communication gap between myself and neurotypicals, however, they are the majority and generally there are some behaviours you can always count on in allistics. because of this, i have a couple social scripts i can follow and reuse for most people. however, when i’m talking with an autistic person who i don’t completely vibe with, it’s much harder for me to interact because i’m so used to masking and using those social scripts. i hope i can get better at switching between communication types though, i love talking to all types of people !!

[enbycrip]

I’ve now seen more than one post from U.K.-based as well as US-based people promoting “blue pumpkins for autism”.

For the love of literally any god you want, this autistic adult is asking you to please do not engage in this or promote it.

a) it was promoted by Autism $peaks, the pro-eugenics organisation that actively promotes trying to prevent autistic people being born. They are considered a hate organisation by the vast majority of autistic adults. The focus on “blue anything for autism” is also an active contributor to the diagnosis gap in autistic women, girls and nonbinary people who don’t present or are read as “traditionally male”.

b) they are dangerous because they create confusion regarding the Teal Pumpkin Project, which indicates a household has treats available that don’t contain allergens.

c) they are dangerous because they mark out a potentially more vulnerable non-verbal child to predators in a potentially chaotic situation.

d) they are stigmatising AF. No one owes anyone else a medical diagnosis in return for sweets. There are a whole variety of reasons a child might not speak while guising/trick or treating, nor should anyone require them to. They’re not performing dolls. Just give them sweets please.

e) this entire movement is stigmatising and anti-inclusion. It promotes inaccurate stereotypes about autistic people that actively contribute to the many harms autistic and other disabled people face.

If you don’t want to participate in this festival, please just keep lights off or put up a notice on your door. If you want to participate, please give sweets out to everyone without requiring them to do things a specific way for your idea of how children are meant to act. It’s a festival, not an exam.