Mulvaney Blogs About Autism Speaks - Do You Agree?

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http://autism.about.com/b/2007/06/05/james-mulvaney-blogs-about-

autism-speaks-do-you-agree.htm

Mulvaney Blogs About Autism Speaks - Do You Agree?

Mulvaney is, according to his bio, president of Tactical

Intelligence Services, Inc., a New York based company that provides

risk, security and intelligence services to entities around the

world. He's a Pulitzer Prize winner. And he's the dad of an adult

child with autism.

Mulvaney occasionally blogs on the Huffington Post, usually on topics

related to politics. Today, though, he's posted on the subject of

Autism Speaks, Bob and Suzanne , and their statement relative

to their daughter, . Here's a snippet from Mulvaney's blog, in

which he compares Bob to Dick Cheney (!):

is the former head of NBC and current vice chairman of

General Electric. This weekend he issued a press release all but

disowning his daughter for having the temerity to disagree with him

on what caused one little boy to come down with autism.

The disagreement is especially heartrending because the little boy,

is the grandchild of , and son of his daughter,

.

Cheney has been criticized for draft dodging, making false claims

about WMDs and failing to practice good shotgun safety. Politics

aside, he deserves the respect of his office. Personally he should be

respected for standing by his daughter.

There are a few comments responding to Mulvaney's blog, most

supporting his position and one questioning it. I've gotta say I'm a

little astounded at what seems like a huge over-reaction to both

's words and her parents' response - but obviously this

interchange has struck a nerve.

For many months now, members of the autism community have been in a

wait-and-see mode relative to Autism Speaks. While the organization

has been achieving great things, it has also aquired and incorporated

almost every significant autism research foundation in the United

States.

Recently, members of the Autism Speaks board have been involved at

the highest levels in determining the direction of autism research

for the NIH and, now, the Department of Defense. That means that a

small group of people may be setting the agenda for coming decades of

autism research. Autism Speaks is essentially asking members of the

autism community to trust their judgement as they set that agenda.

And, for a group of people who are not only incredibly diverse but

also extremely well informed and passionate, that's asking an awful

lot.

I suspect that the present brouhaha (I love that word!) between

and her parents is not the real focus of all the online (and

offline) conversation. Instead, I think the brouhaha is actually an

opportunity to think and write about where we feel autism research

should go... and about who we feel should be making the decisions.

What's your take?

Tuesday June 5, 2007