Fox News: Celebrity Autism Group in Civil War

[Guest guest]

Fox News: Celebrity Autism Group in Civil War

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,278814,00.html

Autism Speaks, the celebrity group founded by former NBC chairman Bob

and his wife Suzanne, is in the middle of a family feud and a dispute over

whether they have swiped an award-winning film from its director.

The charity is unusual because in a short time it has raised millions of

dollars and called upon such celebrity friends of the s like Jerry

Seinfeld and Simon.

The s created Autism Speaks just three years ago when their grandson,

Christian, was diagnosed with the disorder. But since then they have had

such a severe falling out with their daughter , Christian's mother,

that the Internet is now buzzing with a new scandal.

This week, the s posted a press release on the Autism Speaks Web site

in effect disowning daughter 's comments in a video interview she gave

to a critic of Autism Speaks.

also appeared on the " Oprah " show in April, where she talked

about the split with her parents.

Even the press release issued by the s caused a buzz because it

initially read: " is not a spokesperson for Autism Speaks. Our

daughter's personal views differ from ours and do not represent or reflect

the ongoing mission of Autism Speaks. ... Her appearance with Kirby

was done without the knowledge or consent of Autism Speaks. " Ouch!

Only later, when the statement seemed too harsh, the s changed the

release, adding of : " She is our daughter and we love her very much. "

But the damage was done.

With the scandal quickly overtaking the cure of autism as a subject comes a

new dilemma. Filmmaker Thierry is accusing the s of

appropriating her award-winning film " Autism Every Day " for their own

purposes.

Thierry made the film, which was shown at Sundance this year and is in this

month's Nantucket Film Festival, after the s saw an earlier, shorter

version they liked.

Thierry says Suzanne then commissioned a feature version, and told

her " money is no object. " While the s paid all the film's costs, they

never came to terms with Thierry, the director says. They systematically cut

her out of the promotion of the film, she says, when the s took it on

the media rounds.

This was odd, considering Thierry and husband Jim Watkins, an anchorman for

Channel 11 in New York, have a good PR hook of their own: They are parents

of an autistic son.

Thierry wants to be paid for making " Autism Every Day, " but when the s

sent her a contract, with a blank space for the fee, it also included a

proviso that Thierry could not do any publicity for it.

Thierry countered by sending a bill for $104,000, including $64,000 for

labor and $40,000 for intellectual property. For that amount she was willing

to allow the s buy her out. Ironically, Thierry had already told the

s she would be splitting her fee with an autism school in New York.

The s countered, through their executive, Alison Singer, that Thierry

was paid $30,000 and that they have compensated her in full. But Singer

can't produce any evidence of this.

" Alison Singer sent me a check for $30,000. I never cashed it and sent it

back. There was never an agreement for a fee, " Thierry said.

Singer, who at first told me about paying Thierry, is now playing her cards

close to the vest.

" Autism Speaks feels it inappropriate to publicly disclose its details, "

Singer said.

The chaos surrounding Autism Speaks is not surprising. In short order, the

new group has shut down or subsumed a number of other, older organizations

that used to do the same work, but without the resources of the s.

Sources at the longstanding Nordoff-Robbins Foundation, for example, have

complained recently that their fundraising sources have dried up since

Autism Speaks came on the scene.

In her video interview, criticizes not only Autism Speaks but

also a group they took over, the National Alliance for Autism Research,

which has organized marches and vigils for 20 years.

now believes that vaccinations and the environment may be

responsible for autism — a controversial theory among others who say it is a

genetic disorder.

Whichever side turns out to be correct, the split in the family

cannot be good for the cause of autism.

" The whole reason for Autism Speaks was because of Christian, " one critic

said. " And now the s are dissing his mother, their own daughter. "

Singer says none of that is true.

" The s started Autism Speaks for all families, not just their own, "

she said.

She agreed, however, that the couple would not have known about autism at

all had their own family not become involved in it.

Meanwhile, Thierry says she remains unpaid and that, despite the s'

assertions, she is paying her own expenses. When she goes to the Nantucket

Film Festival later this month, it's the festival that's picking up her

travel and accommodation expenses.

--

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

AutismLink -- Information and Support for Autism Spectrum Disorder

Contribute to AutismLink the United Way -- #1382643

Our new facility, the Autism Center of Pittsburgh, offers evaluations,

occupational therapy, speech therapy, support and more! Call us at

(412) 364-1886 or 1-866-PUZZLE-2

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Visit our website at www.autismlink.com for information, help and support

24/7.

--

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

AutismLink -- Information and Support for Autism Spectrum Disorder

Contribute to AutismLink the United Way -- #1382643

Our new facility, the Autism Center of Pittsburgh, offers evaluations,

occupational therapy, speech therapy, support and more! Call us at

(412) 364-1886 or 1-866-PUZZLE-2

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Visit our website at www.autismlink.com for information, help and support

24/7.