(from EOHarm) Re: Autism Speaks ~ Will it ever speak for us? - counter-NDer comments interesting

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This is an interesting comment on the thread (HERE) on the ND site 'ActionForAutism'Comment by jonathan | December 14th, 2008Hi Ivar, I did not notice your comment on autism’s gadfly why don’t you try posting it again? You are usually polite in your commentary so I would most likely let it through.Hi Mike, if you and everyone else in the ND movement are so curious as to why autism speaks won’t appoint a member with autism to the board why don’t you send them an email and ask them. When I emailed them complaining about funding of the laurent Mottron lab who employs michelle dawson, they wrote me back a response. I was not happy with their response but they did send me one. It seems the neurodiversity community wants to say and make sweeping accusations against AS without getting their side of the story. They constantly ask this question about no autistic board members yet they never seem to do the obvious which is email or phone autism speaks and ask them.also I feel it is the neurodiversity movement that promotes dangerous propaganda and not autism speaks, though I don’t believe autism speaks is a perfect organization for a variety of reasons. Mike Stanton might as well ask why the neurodiversity proponents and researchers have perhaps not failed in to present their point of view scientifically or why the persons like Bob and myself who long for a cure for autism can’t show the ND movement the light and get them to change their position.[..] Neurodiversity seems to claim that there are easy answers such as societal change, that there is nothing wrong with being autistic and that autism should not be looked at as a disease. To me this is very dangerous and harmful propaganda which causes people to believe there are easy answers when there is not. If you believe autism speaks spreads dangerous propaganda perhaps again the onus should be on you to give an example of when they have ever spread dangerous propaganda when in fact they are persons mostly who have autistic relatives who want a better life for their severely disabled and crippled children who are far more impaired than your children or probably anyone else who preaches an ND point of view.[response from ND person 'Mike']Yes we do dispute claims that autism is a disease. But we do not deny that autism is a disablity. And societal change is easy? Tell that to blacks, women and gays who ave being trying to change societal racism, sexism and homophobia for as long as I can remember. Please, Jonathon, argue with the specifics of our position and stop tilting at windmills of your own creation.And please do not presume that my children or those of anybody else with an an ND point of view are necessarily less disabled than the children of those who are pro cure. As it happens I encounter severely autistic children every day. I teach them. It’s my job. I want a better life for them and for my own children. I do not believe that misrepresenting autism as a disease and holding out false hopes of a cure is the way forward." [emphasis mine] Hmm, so you admit that the autistics you see are 'severely (affected?)' and 'want a better life for them'. But you don't believe in saying autism is a 'disease'. Hmm - does that include GI problems, Calcium Homeostasis problems, vitamin D homeostasis problems, low vitamin A, chronic bacterial and viral infections, digestive problems, nutrient absorption problems, obvious vitamin B12 and/or folate deficiency (as proven by results of therapeutic trial of mB12/folate for most kids), horrendous immune system abnormalities, and the list goes on? Perhaps it might be interesting for everyone to post something here..Jim