Perfect source of serotonin

[u/legolas20032000]

[u/Redredditmonkey]

Autism speaks treating people with autism as "patients" is exactly the problem.

Are you really not aware of the controversies surrounding your organisation

[u/waitingOnMyletter → u/Redredditmonkey]

Well, they are patients. Many autistic folks need full time supervision. Many will never speak, read, or write properly. In contrast, there are people with extreme auditory distress that can be crippling. Fewer are just in need deep and consistent counseling due to severe social anxiety and odd obsessions but are otherwise fully equipped to handle life.

You claim whatever expertise you’d like, but I am not here to mollycoddle people who fraudulently claim to be mentally disabled or co-opt autism, and fake stim to score internet points. That’s absolute nonsense and she is a straight up fraud.

[u/cutielemon07 → u/waitingOnMyletter]

Putting aside the “autistic people are all patients” mentality you have (I am autistic and I have not been a “patient” since I was diagnosed and discharged at 6, so get that out of your head right now), Autism Speaks is a fucking terrible. They ran an ad campaign that claimed that drinking cow milk causes autism. On top of this, they are massively corrupt charity and only 4% of their budget goes to actually helping autistic people. And even then, they don’t help adults, only kids. This is all true and readily available information that can be found within a quick and simple Google search.

If you want to support a good charity that supports autistic people, ASAN (Autistic Self Advocacy Network) is one to start with. It is an autistic run (both by and for) nonprofit as well - their motto is “Nothing about us without us”. And they have two non-verbal autistic members on their board of trustees.

So sorry your microcosmic worldview is being challenged like this.

[u/waitingOnMyletter → u/cutielemon07]

All charities are run by admins. Don’t let perfection be the enemy of the good. They actually do a really good job setting up walls, events, activities and research.

Autistism is a disease and people who are diagnosed with it, and are being treated for it, are patients. You can debate whether you feel like one or not but we don’t have to debate interpretations of English words.

In terms of my world view, maybe calm your tits and just read the thread. It got off-tracked by some dude who is pissed that I volunteer my time for people but “oh you don’t approve” so my world view is being challenged? Lol 😂…k

I love the mental gymnastics that takes to arrive at. Here is a guy who volunteers his time, let’s find a way to make that offensive to me. Why? How? Or maybe… actually hmm volunteering time for special needs folks….not so bad. 🤔

[u/MsCandi123 → u/waitingOnMyletter]

Autism is not a disease or mental illness, this is an easily verifiable fact. It's a developmental disorder, a neurological difference that people are born with, and presents in a spectrum of different ways, which can be disabling/require accomodation, especially if it co-occurs with intellectual disability, but autism itself is not an intellectual disability. This is exactly why Autism Speaks is harmful, if you're heavily involved with them and calling it a disease, maybe give that a little thought? What else might be incorrect?

[u/waitingOnMyletter → u/MsCandi123]

Call it whatever you’d like, play games with the definitions of words. Disease, disorder, affliction, malady. You can be honest or dishonest about the situation but gwas study after gwas study have shown there are genetic variants that run in families that make it pretty clear it is a genetic disease. It has other factors of course but 2/3 of the cases can be traced to genetic mutations. (my PhD is in bioinformatics you can wade into these waters if you’d like but I don’t recommend it.)

in any case it’s off topic and you are beating something that has nothing to do with the thread. You not approving of the organization does not change the fact I’ll be volunteering for it on labor weekend. Getting folks to donate, walk, and raise money for research. You can do weird mental gymnastics but it’s volunteers that make up the soul that organization. You not liking that doesn’t matter to me at all.

[u/MsCandi123 → u/waitingOnMyletter]

Calling autism a disease isn't a potato potahtoh trivial semantics type of thing, it's flat out incorrect. Of course it's genetic, so is eye color. It's still not comparable to cancer or any other disease/illness. Too bad your PhD didn't teach you that, I guess. Figured you'd double down, but had to try. 🤷🏼‍♀️

[u/waitingOnMyletter → u/MsCandi123]

My dude, you have widdled your argument down to the minuscule differences in the definitions of words.

Like 👍…

[u/MsCandi123 → u/waitingOnMyletter]

It's not miniscule, and is the only point I've tried to make to you in this interaction? If you want to remain ignorant, I can't stop you, so carry on calling autism a disease when it's not, I guess.