Cover Us? - Autism Hwy

Part of the Why I #BoycottAutismSpeaks Flashblog.

Living in a constantly upgrading world, all families want to feel they are “covered.” Having all of our bases covered is what we are taught to do, on and off the fields of our lives. Covered by insurances, covered by the governments of our nations, the states and communities we live in, by the health and educational systems and hopefully by our families and friends. Our safety has become synonymous with being “covered.” The healthcare system revolves around “covering us.” Police officers and soldiers ‘cover’ each other in the most dangerous situations. We have all hopefully had people help us cover a tab, or two! Artists cover other Artist’s work, books are designed to be judged by their covers as we adamantly deny doing that! An entire industry of politicians, celebrities and organizations seek media coverage for prosperity and power. So, with everyone seeking coverage and everyone else seeking to cover us, how can we trust all of this rampant coverage? What is good coverage and what is BAD COVERAGE?

In 2005 AUTISM SPEAKS decided on the latter. Bad coverage. Sure, in their minds they were doing something noble by covering people they saw as needing coverage. Yet, did they look beyond their new sliver of Autism IQ, their erroneous belief system formulated by parents and grandparents with no innerstandings of Autism? No. Did they consider the existing population of Autistic adults living and raising their own Autistic children in the world? No. Did they mindfully consider what kind of coverage should be given to Autistic people and their families for health and well being? No. They focused on the family members of Autistics that misunderstand and often despise Autism, choosing to live in varied states of confusion, pain and distress. Autism Speaks chose to listen to people that prefer their loved one be as un-Autistic as possible. They did not consider AUTISM as a natural human condition or the people understanding, accepting and thriving on this incredible spectrum. They immediately disassociated themselves from Autistic people by demonizing Autism as an enemy to be crusaded against. They campaigned AGAINST AUTISTIC PEOPLE in endless media blizzards. If people were not “Aware” of Autism, they now became aware that it was all “wrong” according to the Wright’s. Autism Speaks claimed to speak for a population of people they had never met. Let alone, understood, respected and engaged with. How arrogant of them to decide that Autism needs to be “Spoken for” and “Crusaded against.”

A 10 yr. media campaign exploiting the difficulties Autistic people and their families endure when not in alignment with Autism is NOT awareness or respectful, loving ‘coverage’. It’s HATE and fear mongering. It’s misinformation spun negatively to the population, used to gain footholds and dollars. It’s using misinformation and power to decide what coverage others need and will get. I saw many people unhappy when the U.S. government was deciding how citizens would be covered through the new health-care/insurance system, this is no different! Allowing 41 states to COVER outdated harmful methods of ABA therapy is frightening to many Autistic people. Reforming insurance coverage for Autistic children without the wisdom of Autistic elders is negligent at best. Why would a company “speaking for” a population crying out for inclusion, willfully exclude them? Since we receive no answers we must assume it’s the same reason they crusade against Autism. Misunderstanding and- HATE.

This is why there is a movement boycotting Autism Speaks.

HATE and misunderstanding is what Autistic people and their allies “Crusade against.” We crusade against a company and it’s supporters unwilling to update their idea of COVERAGE. Unwilling to learn from the scores of Autistic voices speaking out loudly with amazing insights for us ALL. Unwilling to acknowledge that AUTISM is a life-long condition we must embrace, respect and innerstand. We crusade against non-Autistic voices that COVER Autistic voices. We ask that professionals work with Autistic adults not against them by covering us with (what we now know) are harmful therapies. Therapies created by non-Autistic people with compliance and indiscrimination from non-Autistic peers as primary goals. Therapies that have hurt an entire generation of Autistic people. Time to re-examine the coverage Autistic people can use, not what non-Autistic people think they need. Time to re-examine the therapies given to Autistic people without their advice. Time to stop deciding it is okay to speak for people that are already speaking. It is time to listen to the voice of our Autistic elders in every instance, to enhance the futures of our Autistic generations to come.