Re: Gavin Bollard's blog pages

[Guest guest]

helen_foisy wrote:

> I've posted one of Gavin Bollard's blogs recently

[ snip ]

> http://life-with-aspergers.blogspot.ca/search/label/Relationships

>

> Scroll down to see his previous posts - all are excellent.

>

> I also liked his Aug 16. entry on his home page and agree whole

> heartedly with his closing statement:

>

> " We need to make supporting families on the autism spectrum an easy

> and rewarding thing to do - and it's not something that we can do by

> continuing to fight amongst ourselves. We need to be showing a united

> front. For that reason, I'm suggesting that we " make peace with

> Autism Speaks " . I don't think that we should ever give up trying to

> get our message across but there are better ways to communicate and

> sometimes gentle persuasion is far more effective than brute force. "

I like Bollard's stuff too, Helen. And outright war with Autism Speaks,

IMO, is more counter-productive than otherwise.

But I think it would be wrong-headed *not* to fight against their

fundamental premises. They are " curebies " through and through, giving

no indication of seeing the light any time soon, or even working toward it.

It's part of their Mission Statement:

" At Autism Speaks, our goal is to change the future for all who

struggle with autism spectrum disorders.

We are dedicated to funding global biomedical research into the

causes, prevention, treatments, and cure for autism; to raising public

awareness about autism and its effects on individuals, families, and

society; and to bringing hope to all who deal with the hardships of this

disorder. We are committed to raising the funds necessary to support

these goals. "

NB especially: *prevention* and *cure*...

- Bill ...AS, retired geneticist

--

WD " Bill " Loughman - Berkeley, California USA

http://home.earthlink.net/~wdloughman/wdl.htm

[Guest guest]

You'll get no argument from me Bill, but it does bear saying what you said,

again. I do think it would be good to find out why some of our most severely

impacted brethren have to suffer so, though. It would be especially good if the

main thrust of the " research " was alleviating the suffering caused by common

co-morbid issues, such as gut problems, and also towards sound, quantifiable

teaching methods to help autistics harness their special skill set.

- Helen

> > I've posted one of Gavin Bollard's blogs recently

> [ snip ]

> > http://life-with-aspergers.blogspot.ca/search/label/Relationships

> >

> > Scroll down to see his previous posts - all are excellent.

> >

> > I also liked his Aug 16. entry on his home page and agree whole

> > heartedly with his closing statement:

> >

> > " We need to make supporting families on the autism spectrum an easy

> > and rewarding thing to do - and it's not something that we can do by

> > continuing to fight amongst ourselves. We need to be showing a united

> > front. For that reason, I'm suggesting that we " make peace with

> > Autism Speaks " . I don't think that we should ever give up trying to

> > get our message across but there are better ways to communicate and

> > sometimes gentle persuasion is far more effective than brute force. "

>

> I like Bollard's stuff too, Helen. And outright war with Autism Speaks,

> IMO, is more counter-productive than otherwise.

>

> But I think it would be wrong-headed *not* to fight against their

> fundamental premises. They are " curebies " through and through, giving

> no indication of seeing the light any time soon, or even working toward it.

>

> It's part of their Mission Statement:

> " At Autism Speaks, our goal is to change the future for all who

> struggle with autism spectrum disorders.

> We are dedicated to funding global biomedical research into the

> causes, prevention, treatments, and cure for autism; to raising public

> awareness about autism and its effects on individuals, families, and

> society; and to bringing hope to all who deal with the hardships of this

> disorder. We are committed to raising the funds necessary to support

> these goals. "

>

> NB especially: *prevention* and *cure*...

>

> - Bill ...AS, retired geneticist

>

> --

> WD " Bill " Loughman - Berkeley, California USA

> http://home.earthlink.net/~wdloughman/wdl.htm

>