Ari Ne'eman, "Neurodiversity" Champion, Named to Obama's Council on Disability

“Not only has he selected an individual on the autism spectrum ”

The very mildest possible end of the spectrum. How Mr Ne’eman qualifies for an Aspergers diagnosis is beyond me. He has obvious strengths in communication, social skills and behavior. His skills are so strong in these three core deficit areas that he is able while still in University to socialize with Presidents and Washington elites. All wonderful but nothing in common with the many autistic persons on whose behalf he claims to speak.

As a Canadian I do not have a right to expect anything from an American leader. None the less I am appalled at this clear indication that President Obama does not take autism seriously and has no intention of seeking a cure for autism disorders. He has appointed an anti cure person who, quite understandably given his many strengths, does not seem autism spectrum disorders as disabilities.

Barack Obama has many fine qualities. With great respect though, his understanding of the seriousness of autism for many autistic children and adults and their families appears to be non existent.

The nomination of Ne’eman to this post is wrong. Not only does he apparently not believe that autism is a disability (excepting the social model as opposed to the medical model of disability), not only is he opposed to curing autism or having genetic or scientific research done. He is also a 21 year old kid with no life experience or qualifications for anything. In spite of this fact, he often gives public policy inputs on employment issues for persons with autism related disorders though he himself has never had any employment of any kind in his life.

I believe this appointment is wrong and should not be made and I would urge any U.S. Senators not to confirm his appointment.

Why do people assume that people with autism have to have someone without autism to speak for them? Why condemn someone because they are fortunate enough to be verbal and independent?
Autism is in some cases a disability but in many cases the greater disability lies in the inability of society to accommodate people who with a little support and understanding can play a full role in society. I am what I am and I have no need nor desire to be cured. My biggest disability is the attitude of others.

Springingtiger assumes that because Mr. Ne’eman has a very, very mild version of Aspergers he can understand and speak for those with severe Autistic Disorder. That is nonsense. The family members and others who actually live with and care for these people who can not speak for themselves directly are the ones who can speak for them not the fortunate Mr. Ne’eman.

It appears to this reader that it is Harold Doherty who denies that all members of the autism spectrum are disabled.

Asperger Syndrome *is* a disability

Has Harold Doherty the expertise to diagnose ASD’s? Has he had the opportunity to examine Ari Ne’eman? Quite obviously, faux-Dr. Doherty is speaking from ignorance.

This autism parent applauds Mr. Obama’s decision. Ari clearly understands that autism is a spectrum and ASD’s are a disability. He has worked to help autistics.

I’d rather have Ari than Harold Doherty–someone who clearly misrepresents the facts to suit his own position. Thankfully it isn’t a choice.

HTF can it be a bad decision to actually appoint someone with the condition that’s the focus of the board? Huh? Kudos to President Obama for showing wisdom in yet another aspect of the bizarreness that is American life.

This nomination will be opposed by a wide range of people representing many viewpoints in our community. I will be one of them. I support many of the goals that ASAN has on subjects like inclusion but of they have not demonstrated any ability whatsoever to work with others or be tolerant of viewpoints opposed to their extreme ones on issues related to autism medical research.

While some say that this body won’t be focused on medical research priorities, I don’t believe you can cherry pick Ne’eman’s mainstream views from his extreme ones. I favor the inclusion of autistic adults on a Council like this one, just not Mr. Ne’eman or his small group of followers.

Ari, to my knowledge, has never said that autism is NEVER a disability. Self-advocates are usually very clear in stating, “It can be anything from a difference to a disability.”

I’m so pleased with President Obama’s progressive decision! The fight isn’t over, but this is a HUGE step for tolerance and Autistic rights.

Kudos to the Obama Administration for picking evidence-based health advocates over ideologues.

I’m frustrated and worried. High-functioning, highly verbal people with autism have just about zero in common with my severely impaired, non-verbal child. I’m glad that things have worked out so well for him, but in the general population of people with autism only about five percent will ever be able to participate in a movement like neuro-diversity. Acceptance of/for people who aren’t NT is a fine and lovely goal, but I’d rather have a cure.

“…only about five percent will ever be able to participate in a movement like neuro-diversity. Acceptance of/for people who aren’t NT is a fine and lovely goal, but I’d rather have a cure.”

In the general population of autism parents, about five percent feel the need to fabricate statistics like you just did.

Lisa, What exactly does Ari support in terms of treatment for Autism? (Am perhaps incorrectly assuming he has no interest in any type of research, since he considers autism to be a normal variant?)

Maybe, given he has already written a correction to you, he would be willing to explain his views on other things?

Does he support any kind of treatment or intervention for autism , or does he believe in no early intervention, no speech therapy, no social skillls training, no help at all?
I’m assuming no biomed, but what about anything else; floor time?ABA? Drugs?
Seem to remember one neurodiverse advocate in Canada, the result of whose intervention was (whether intentional or not) to take ABA services away from an autistic child.
Does Ari also represent a desire to take away services from autistic children??

Maybe he will at least advocate to prevent abuses to autistic children?
Would be very grateful Lisa, if you could get an interview or information from him, indicating what his views on these crucial topics actually are.

Excuse me, ANB, but I’m not fabricating anything. That statistic comes from an article I read on the subject just a few weeks ago. But by all means, be snotty and snarky about it — that’s so helpful and impressive.

The fiver percent statistic comes from Dr. Lee Wachtel, medical director of the NBU.

Was thinking, really this is the same issue that occurs frequently due to the massive diversity of realities covered under ASD’s.Ari will probably advocate well for other people like himself with very mild aspergers.
I assume he will do things about universities and colleges and making them more user friendly.
What I am worried about is whether he will care about the forgotten ones; those with severe autism who can’t speak, self mutilate, or have issues with violence. Those who are in great need of an advocate.
And given the possibility ( if the increase in autism rates is real) of many many more of these adults needing life time care, it would be great if someone could be appointed to advocate for them.

And by all means Loopy, do share this highly credible and well-researched source.

@ANB: Look two comments above, genius.

Since you can’t provide a citation, I’ve emailed Dr. Wechter to ask him if he can confirm the quote, and to clarify that it means what you claim. The spin you’re putting on the purported quote is, well, loopy, so I hope you can understand my skepticism.

Correction:

Since you are unable to provide a citation, I’ve emailed Dr. Wechter to ask if she can confirm the quote, and to clarify if it means what you claim. The spin you’re putting on the purported quote is, well, loopy, so I hope you can understand my skepticism.

1. Mr. Ne’eman’s comments about autism not being a disability.

Ari Ne’eman in 2006 wrote an essay which is posted on the ASAN web site in which he in fact states that Autism is JUST a difference not a disease and NOT a disability:

“Difference Is Not A Disease”
…

“We see the world in a different way than our neurotypical peers (neurotypical is a word in the autistic community meaning those of the majority neurology). This does not imply a defect, but merely a difference — one that we have just the same right to as those of a different race, nationality or religion. Due to that difference in perception, we interact socially in different ways. Yet our quirks and eccentricities should be just as legitimate as the social skills of the mainstream.

…….

“We should recognize what diversity of neurology has contributed to the human race and what it can bring to the future. Difference is not, in itself, disability; it becomes disability when it is not properly understood and accommodated. Someday, I hope the world will recognize that those who think in different ways should be welcomed.”"

http://www.autisticadvocacy.org/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=2

Mr. Ne’eman is flip flopping on the issue of autism as a disability.

2, Mr. Ne’eman is not a Doctor either.

And he does not have Autistic Disorder diagnosis and yet he purports to speak on behalf of people with autism, which would include my son with Autistic Disorder whom he has not met and with whom he has ABSOLUTELY nothing in common.

A person with Aspergers, unlike the 30-51% of Aspergers does not, by definition in the DSM, have an intellectual deficit. The 30-51% of autistic persons having an ID figure is taken from the CDC report on autism prevelance released today.

Mr Ne’eman has no obvious communication difficulties judging by his writings, his video performances and his numerous Big Media interviews.

Mr. Ne’eman has no social deficits judging by his ability to interact extremely well with Washington politicians.

Mr. Ne’eman has no reported behavior challenges that are visible in any of his appearances.

If any of these facts are wrong please provide a source. If not please tell me how ANYONE could possibly conclude that he is anthing other than mildly autistic.

I have a son with Autistic Disorder and Mr Ne’eman has no right to speak on his behalf or say that my son’s autism is JUST a difference not a disability. I was visiting autistic persons in institutional care in my home province of NB Canada long before Mr Ne’eman’s media skills and connections launched his career as an “autistic”. i have seen the reality of autism for those who are in fact severely autistic. Many are living lives dependent on others visited only by parents who eventually die. That is an autism reality that Mr Ne’eman’s pontificating about autism being JUST a difference does not touch on.

3. Mr. Ne’eman’s Opposition to Curing Autism

I assume that Mr. Ne’eman has not flip flopped on his declaration that WE, referring to persons with autism, do not want to be cured. Mr Ne’eman has no experience as a person with Autistic Disorder to even begin to understand the realities of life for those who end up living in institutional care. or wander off to freeze to death in snow storms, or drown in local pools, or like my son wander into automobile traffic obivious to the dangers to his safety (he was rescued by a good Samaritan, a “Neurotypical”).

Autism disorders are not JUST differences as Mr. Ne’eman says to this day on the ASAN web site. They are for those with severe Autistic Disorder exactly what they are called … Disorders . They are severe disabilities.

Neither Mr. Ne’eman nor anyone on this discussion has the right to tell OTHER parents that they should not seek to cure their children of their very serious disorders.

Mr Ne’eman is not the first person with Aspergers or High Functioning Autism to declare that people like my son do not want to be cured. NONE of you have the right to tell other parents not to seek cures for their children’s autism disorders.

President Obama has done a great disservice and will only divide the autism community further by appointing this person who is wobbly at best on whether autism disorders are disabilities and who opposes the right of autistic children to be cured of their disorder should a cure ever be found …. should the research to find a cure ever be undertaken.

CORRECTION:

I stated under Item No. 2, para. 3 in my last post that:

“A person with Aspergers, unlike the 30-51% of Aspergers does not, by definition in the DSM, have an intellectual deficit. The 30-51% of autistic persons having an ID figure is taken from the CDC report on autism prevelance released today.”

The second reference to Aspergers, should refer to autism … “A person with Aspergers, unike the 30-51% of persons with AUTISM having an ID figure is taken …”

Again the reference to 30-51% of persons with AUTISM having an Intellectual Disability is taken from today’s CDC report. If you factor out the persons with Aspergers from the defintion of “autism” then the figure might be closer to 60-82% of persons with Autistic Disorder having an Intellectual Deficit.

ANB: Understand your skepticism? Is that what you call your unrelenting, inexplicable snottiness — *skepticism*? If I wasn’t so disgusted I’d be laughing. You can’t even decide what your problem with me is. First I’m “fabricating” and you demand a source for the statistic I cited. Fair enough. I provided one, but that’s not enough for you. For some utterly unfathomable reason I’m expected take your hand and lead you to the specific article in question. Well, guess what? I’m not here to do your work for you. As you are capable of writing a comment and hitting “say it!”, I assume you are also able to make use of the Google and could, with a tiny bit of that “research” that you’ve been talking about, locate it and many, many other articles that discuss the long odds against children with autism. By all MEANS, contact the doctor and confirm that I’m not putting words and numbers into her mouth. You think that’s some sort of threat? Seriously, what is wrong with you?

Why would I, the parent of an autistic child, “spin” anything? You think I WANT to believe my child faces more difficult challenges than she actually does? My only interest is finding help for my toddler and not seeing her severe disability misrepresented by someone who belongs to a tiny and very fortunate percentage of the autism community.

Somehow, Harold Doherty’s comments remind me of this latest installment of Square Talk…

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1vPB2M2IMiI/SyotPtaSItI/AAAAAAAACfw/srLpuJsklQQ/s1600-h/disclaimer.jpg

Harold is wrong on so many counts. I wonder why a person would want to demonstrate such ignorance in public.

There is a connection between Asperger Syndrome and autistic disorder. That’s why they are under the same classification of pervasive developmental disorders. So, in that respect he has something in common with Harolds son (and likely many others…like they are both people, they are both male, to name the strikingly obvious).

Harold makes many assumptions. Bad idea. Perhaps he could speak from facts rather than assumptions? He’s made some major mistakes so far–like claiming that Ari doesn’t think autism is a disability.

Mr. Doherty has NO RIGHT to pretend to speak for me as a parent or for my child. NONE.

Harold, take it to your own blog. At least there your constant mistakes are less obvious and less annoying. And, yes, I am stating that much of what you blog is incorrect. You rarely fact check and you obviously don’t have a good background in science. You misinform the few people who read your blog.

I am confident that Mr. Ne’eman will in the end ask those who nominated him (and who exactly did that?) to withdraw his name from consideration for this post.

“No Drama” Obama doesn’t need the aggravation that this nomination has already caused, It’s only going to get worse.

Our not a defective dog/lion of an Ari rocks as a choice. The only reason I’m still disliking Mr. Obama is because of the rest of his political stances. I love the statements and choices he’s made concerning Autism.
Whoopee!!

Hi, folks. Welcome to debate, of course, but please refrain from personal comments! Thanks so much,

Lisa

Ari Ne’eman’s views are expressed in the article he wrote “Difference is not a Disease” posted on the ASAN website he founded, at
http://www.autisticadvocacy.org/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=2

His article concludes, “Difference is not, in itself, disability; it becomes disability when it is not properly understood and accommodated.”

This is certainly a very reasonable philosophy, especially when applied to people with autism who have high levels of skills such as being able to read and write.

The problem is, many of the neurodiveristy advocates take this philosophy a few steps further and use it to put down parents who are advocating for children with severe disabilities in communication and basic life skills, and often with severe medical issues such as IBD, seizures, incontinence. Autism is not simply a cultural difference. Many people with autism need help — not just help with discrimination, but help with physical issues which impact both brain and body.

I understand the issues of acceptance, but that acceptance and acknowledgement of differences should be applied to those on all parts of the autism spectrum. People such as Ari who are able to write eloquently and express their views can be discriminators as well as discriminatees. Perhaps it is part of their handicap, that inability to empathize with others whose circumstances are different. I say, practise what you preach!

Even high functioning autistics I know often suffer from IBD and report being helped by biomedical treatmetns such as vitamin B6 with magnesium, DMG, B12, GFCF diet. All the investigation into physical causes and treatments for autism should not be viewed as an insult to people with autism.

In summary, I agree with Harold’s comments. And Matt, I think you should get off of your high horse.

There’s no reason to believe that Ari doesn’t care about people all along the spectrum. His focus has been human rights, because there’s a dire need for that at this time. There’s exploitation everywhere you look. Kanner Autistics, particularly children, bear the brunt of these abuses. The rest of us suffer marked indignities as well.

Many parents who advocate for autistic children are actually advocating for themselves. It’s an inevitability when one is personally involved. You can clearly see this tendency in the films produced by Autism Speaks. Because the focus is on the family, their feelings, their perceptions, the autistic individual is not presented as a consciousness but as an external force who acts upon the lives of others. This is ultimately dehumanizing.

I would never say that I’m opposed to safe and effective treatments, but there needs to be a lot more understanding in the mix. There needs to be A LOT more respect and regard for human dignity.

Though not as profoundly autistic as some, I can speak to the experience of stimming, of exclusion, of sensory overload. I think there’s value in sharing that.

(When referring specifically to Kanner Autism, we should perhaps use the term “Kanner’s” to avoid confusion. Just a thought).

I congratulate Ari Ne’eman on his post. Honestly, I don’t agree with him on everything, but I have to wonder about the people who want to destroy him for having an opinion. I have to wonder if people like Autism Gadfly are jealous that someone almost a third of their ages has accomplished so much. Being 22 and doing so much, he obviously has talent and can do something. I do support a cure for Autism, but I also support freedom of speech.

Go Ari!

So non-autistic people should be the main ones speaking for autistic people, but people with Asperger’s shouldn’t because they are not similar enough to lower-functioning autistics? I’m not seeing the logic.

Also, it’s important to distinguish between “autistic rights” and neurodiversity. ND covers everyone neuro-atypical, autistic rights is exclusive to ASDs.

ANB, the logic is this: It’s great for neurodiversity advocates with HFA/Asperger’s to speak out in support of disability rights and to describe their experiences with autism, but unfortunately many of them go beyond that to trash the people who are advocating for a safer vaccine program and better understanding of biomedical causes and treatments for autism.

The idea that autism is not a disability but just a difference does not apply to everyone on the spectrum and can be used to avoid developing better understanding of prevention and treatment of the severe problems currently affecting many people with autism.

Fine, but you’ll have to do a better job of defining disability. Just what makes a disability? Who defines it? And are people with disabilities deserving of respect?

If vaccine rejectionists feel like they are being trashed, then they need to pay more attention to the science, and less to Mark Blaxill’s talking points.

Anb, the issue is that some in the neurodiversity movement ( and I am not implying that this is applicable to Ari; currently I have only a limited idea of what his views are on different issues) have seemed to indicate that they do not have any idea what severe autism is like.
One person stated they could not understand why anyone would say autistic children would have a problem getting married; apparently that person was unaware that some autistic adults are self injuring, unable to communicate, and not potty trained.

Some in the neurodiverse community seem to believe that all autism is best represented by Einstein; brilliant, quirky people who are responsible for great scientific advances. While this may be true of some with mild aspergers, ( and who would really want a cure if your life experience was as a brilliant but quirky person) but in actual fact , the DSM IV lists mental retardation as a feature associated with autism. Quote from the Autistic Disorder section in the DSM IV TR, under the heading “associated features and mental disorders”

“In most cases there is an associated diagnosis of Mental Retardation, which can range from mild to profound”

(Now I completely believe that many non verbal children are inappropriately tested with tests normed on verbal children,making them appear to have lower intelligence than is actually the case.
Parents of autistic children should make sure that if an IQ test is done, a test is used which is normed for non verbal children ( schools for the deaf rountinely use such tests) )

This does not however change the fact that the life experience of someone non verbal, self injuring and not potty trained, doesn’t resemble Einsteins’ much.

By the way, according to my understanding Sarah, there is no such thing as “Kanners autism” as a diagnostic differentiation. Currently the DSM IV TR is the diagnostic manual used to define Aspergers, Autism and PPD NOS, and it does not contian any such differentiation.
Perhaps you are really wishing to distinguish between Aspergers and Autism, or PPD NOS and autism?

Twyla,

People like Ari Ne’eman are doing a lot of good work to support children like mine, the severely and multiply disabled.

Twyla, you regularly participate at the AgeOfAutism, a blog where trashing others is expected, encouraged and applauded.

You can get off your own high horse any time. Or you can continue to support that level of abuse. Your choice.

Hi Matt,
personally I have always found Twylas’ posts to be kindly written and well thought out.
I agree that every site, including A of A, at times can have posters who go over the top,kudos for the way Lisa moderates this one.
To be honest though, it was not that long ago that I went to one of the Neurodiverse/Science blogs, looking for at interesting discussion of the pros and cons of cutting edge science; instead there was a fairly purile schoolyard discussion involving some kind of offensive video of Jenny McCarthy.
(Hopefully you would not have supported the trashing of another autism parent, even if you very much disagreed with her viewpoints?)
What is also of interest is that you indicate Ari has worked on behalf of severely autistic children.That is information I’ve been looking for.Could you go into more detail about that please?
Thanks, Hera

Not sure what’s up with the “Christmas Cheer” on this blog, but there seems to be a more-than-usual amount of personal name-calling. PLEASE refrain from personal attacks, or I’ll need to delete the entire thread.

Thanks in advance,

Lisa (autism guide)

By all MEANS, contact the doctor and confirm that I’m not putting words and numbers into her mouth.

Thanks, Loopy. I took you up on your advice, and received this reply from Kennedy Krieger’s PR office:

Regarding Dr. Wachtel’s quote, her comments were pulled from a conversation that she had with a parent. She wasn’t aware that they would appear on a large web site as was the result. Her comments were also made relative to the severely impaired patient population that she sees. The majority of these patients can be described as she did in her comments, but the full context of the discussion would include mention of the fact that advances are happening in the field of early intervention which may change outcomes for toddlers who are being newly diagnosed today at age two or earlier. Also – she does not have a citation or reference for the “less than 5 percent” reference. Again – it was a casual comment made to a parent, and within the context of her patient population.

Amy Lutz, who originally posted the comment on her blog, told me by email that she got the quote directly from Dr. Wachtel.

Hope this clears things up!

@Hera,

A lot of the work that Ari Ne’eman and the Autistic Self Advocacy Network has to do with quality of life for all people, children and adults alike on the spectrum. Most recently, they have been a heavy hand in the policy on Restraints and Seclusion. ASAN has also released quite a bit of information on AACs. I would go on, but I think this snippet is enough to show that Ari and ASAN truly cares for all people on the spectrum no matter where they lie on the spectrum.

Speaking personally, (and not as a member of ASAN as I am only a supporter) I think much of the issues surrounding the neurodiversity movement are a lack of understanding. I’m a 27 yr old mother of two. I have AS and my children have Autism. My youngest is high functioning. My oldest however is moderate functioning. I hold early intervention to getting him to this point. He was self injurous, violent and nonverbal.

Neurodiversity is not against intervention. Actually, most of us are clear proponents for early intervention. We want as many people on the spectrum to be as independent as possible. At a point though, there needs to be accommodations made. That is all the ND position is about. Asking for accommodations and not to be looked upon as second class citizens.

Feel free to contact me privately if you’d like to understand more.

Melody,
27, Asperger’s Syndrome
sons 4&5, Autism

Thanks Melody for that explanation, I appreciate it.
Early intervention , appropriate accomodations and fair treatment are all things that make a great deal of sense and I’m glad Ari/ASAN stands for these things.

My youngest has a different disorder, but we have also dealt with self injurious behavior, and severe verbal apraxia.

Sorry Lisa. Maybe it is the stress of the seaon?
In the spirit of goodwill ,wishing everyone here a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa,or Happy Holidays.

If you take time to look at the rest of the ASAN website at http://www.autisticadvocacy.org, you will see that Ari Ne’eman and many other autistic self-advocates advocate for services and supports for ALL people on the autism spectrum, including people with intellectual disabilities. ASAN advocates for and end to restraints and seclusion, which happen often to people who do not speak, for inclusion in schools, for an end to discrimination in employment, and against stigmatizing advertisements, to name a few.

To view ASAN’s public policy on disability rights and neurodiversity, go to this link:

http://www.autisticadvocacy.org/modules/smartsection/category.php?categoryid=71

ASAN’s public policy on disability rights and neurodiversity can be found here:

http://www.autisticadvocacy.org/modules/smartsection/category.php?categoryid=71

Ari has never said that autism is not a disability. It is a disability, and he knows this and has stated it in interviews and his own writing.

You can’t bring facts into this discussion Katie, what Ari has said repeatedly to many people across many sources – all easily found through a simple, single google search – is always going to be less of an indication of his beliefs than what his opponents claim he has said.

At least, according to the logic of his opponents.

That’s a good point, Dedg. Ari’s opponents do have a logic, but it’s their own logic, and separated from the logic of science. That’s important to remember. The anti-vaccine logic may seem odd to anyone who understands and respects the scientific method, but to some it makes perfect sense.

Actually, Dedj, I would be interested in hearing some facts about Ari. Please feel free to share some facts with us.

And ANB, many people with concerns about vaccines (whom you refer to as “anti-vaccine” regardless of whether or not they actually are) are quite logical in a scientific way and do respect the scientific method. The scientific method does not mean discounting all observations and data and following only pharma/CDC/AAP/Offit talking points.

“Actually, Dedj, I would be interested in hearing some facts about Ari. Please feel free to share some facts with us.”

Such as? You can find out the same that I can, as you have access to the same websites and files that I do.

His profile at ASAN is a good start.

As for vaxx-skeptics and the scientific method. Unfortunetly, I’ve come across very few people in the vaxx-skeptic movement who have been as scientifically minded as they claim.

I’ve even came across people who have supported Dr Healy because of a semi-relevant job she had over a decade ago, yet will dismiss relevantly and extensively qualified people like Offitt and co. because of their pharma connections.

Even as a mere health professions student, the average relevant education and application of the scientific method of most vaxx skeptics I’ve come across can be said to be really bad.

Certainly, this is also true of most pro-vaxx people, as it is with most people who support interventionX. But from a movement that has members who proclaim themselves informed and followers of the scientific method, the actual understanding and application of such is generally poor.

Twyla,

There is a new biography of Ari out that I think is rather informative to get a perspective of where Ari has come from.

http://www.umbc.edu/magazine/winter09/feature_ari.html

Also, if you have specific questions, many of us can answer them. I try to do so as unbiasly as possible.

personally I have always found Twylas’ posts to be kindly written and well thought out.

I guess I was less impressed with her comment supporting the (now removed) baby-eating post on the Age of Autism.

Someone has already mentioned the work ASAN and Ari did on the seclusion and restraints legislation.

I would also state that promoting an image of respect for autistics benefits all ages and levels of disability.

..personally I have always found Twylas’ posts to be kindly written and well thought out.

What Hera means is that she always found Twyla’s posts to be kindly written and well thought out, with the exception of Twyla’s posts that weren’t kindly written and well thought out. So Hera isn’t talking about a large body of work here.

Dedj, yes of course I could do my own research, but I thought you felt there was something important we were missing out on and that perhaps you would like to point out some information that you believe we should know about.

Melody, thanks for the link; I will read it.

Matt, promoting an image of respect is certainly a good thing. Unfortuately sometimes conversations are too adversarial rather than people trying to communicate and learn from each other’s perspectives.

ANB, that may be what you think, but it’s not what Hera meant.

Everyone: Wishing you all the very best during the holidays and beyond.

I’m happy with Ari’s appointment. He’s not popular amongst the parent autism community, that’s for certain. But he’s well thought of amongst adult autistics. And while I don’t think Ari should be speaking on behalf of everyone involved (since he obviously doesn’t represent all POVs on autism) he does adequately represent many adult autistics. In which case, his appointment makes sense.

He’s there as a representative, simple as that. For anyone who disagrees with his appointment then I suspect it’s more because one disagrees with his POV rather than the fact that he would adequately represent a number of autistic people. In which case, express your discontent over his viewpoint, not over the appointment.

As an aside, playing the “he’s too high-functioning” game has grown old. The largest percentage growth of autism diagnoses in the 1/100 is not autistic disorder but higher-functioning individuals. The “epidemic” is greatly a high-functioning one. So using the 1/100 as case in point but then deriding HF people because they don’t adequately represent “autism” is like having your cake and eating it too.

Ari will hopefully do an adequate job representing both high-functioning people AND adults, especially since adults have been so thoroughly ignored when it comes to support and services.

Researchers will continue to search for cures, you don’t need to tear Ari down on behalf of fear that it’ll end. But you should be glad he’s there fighting for autistic adults. One day, your children will be adults and will hopefully be better for Ari having done the work he’s doing.

Ari is an emissary, not a scientist. Save worry and your fight for where it really matters.

Here is a quote from the article that Melody linked to:

“He doesn’t suffer those he considers to be fools gladly,” says mentor Simon Stacey of UMBC’s Honors College. Stacey points specifically to Ne’eman’s dismissal of many parents who claim that their infants developed autism as a result of childhood vaccinations. While almost all medical evidence rules out a link between the two, Ari cuts little slack to parents who still seek to establish such a connection.

“If you get him started on [these parents' concerns], he’s really quite vitriolic, almost,” says Stacey. “He needs to temper his comments a little bit. This is a big movement that he needs to get on his side and behind him.”

Ne’eman acknowledges he’s gradually becoming more politic as he progresses toward his degree and life after college

***

Dedj, do you think the above quote is not accurate? Or do you think it is o.k. for him to be vitriolic because you believe that he is right and that the parents who witnessed their children’s vaccine injuries are wrong? Or do you think that he is becoming less vitriolilic and becoming more politic so now we should all support him even if he is against some of the most important things that we believe?

Imagine this:

You have a happy, typically developing toddler who laughs, plays, talks, learns and is meeting developmental milestones on time. You take your toddler to a “well baby” visit at which he (or she) receives multiple vaccines. That night, he runs a high fever, cries inconsolably, arches back, and maybe even has a seizure. Subsequently he regresses, loses the ability to talk, stops making eye contact, falls behind in development, has huge screeching tantrums, develops unusual sensory sensitivities, and also develops signs of immune system disorder such as eczema, inflammatory bowel disease, chronic yeast or viral infections — or in some cases never getting sick due to a highly activated immune system.

You go through evaluation and diagnosis and start on early intervention, speech therapy, occupational therapy. But his behavioral/learning/communication problems continue, and mainstream medicine offers no help for medical issues such as chronic constipation or diarrhea.

You hear from other parents about dietary intervention and nutritional supplements. You start your child on GFCF diet, and eye contact improves. You start probiotics and digestive enzymes and specialized multi-vitamins and see further improvements in health, behavior, communication, and learning. Your child is happier too!

Then neurodiversity advocates tell you that vaccines don’t cause autism and that you should just accept your child the way he (or she) is. You are told that “all science” proves vaccines safe, even though basic science such as study of the injured children and a comparison of vaxed & unvaxed children has never been done. All that has been done are epidemiological studies — statistical analyses conducted mainly by people with vested interests in defending the vaccine program. There is a long history of vaccines causing encephalitis, and inflammation has been found in the brains of people with autism, yet the majority of autism research continues to focus on genetics.

Thousands of parents have had experiences similar to the above. How can Ari be so sure that they are all wrong? He does not know their children. He did not see their children’s vaccine reactions. He did not witness their children’s reactions to biomedical treatments.

I, like most parents of kids with autism, applaud work advocating for society to make accommodations and appreciate neurodiversity. But why should this entail defending our vaccine program and attacking parents?

Dr. Paul Offit is not an expert on autism. And he has huge vested interests in defending vaccines and denying problems.

I am so interested in what people with autism who can communicate (whether verbally or in writing) say about their experiences. It would be so interesting, for example, to understand why my son loves spinning objects. Can anyone explain that to me? I think it goes beyond being calming — he finds spinning objects fascinating.

I myself have aspie tendencies. One of my best friends and I were the two top math brains in elementary school, and I won the award for best science student in sixth grade and best math student in seventh grade. My high school teachers marveled at my grasp of geometry. But I am not good at making small talk. There is a whole realm of casual social interaction which is mystifying to me. I can speak from the heart about my feelings (maybe not an aspie quality?) and I can discuss information (e.g. in classroom situations) but in a casual conversation I feel like others have a bucket full of small talk which overflows on command while I have an empty bucket. I can communicate directly, but I don’t understand how to communicate indirectly, by hints or tone of voice or implying something. I don’t necessarily pick up on what is being implied by someone else. I don’t understand why we have to know these complicated mysterious social things. I am excellent at what Dr. Simon Baron Cohen calls “systemetizing” — such as understanding and applying laws and policies — but I am not politically astute and not good at negotiation.

In other words, like many parents of kids with autism, I have some tendencies myself, yet unlike so many of this generation’s kids with autism, we nerdy parents are able to drive cars, speak in complete sentences, shop at the grocery store, have jobs. Our kids have problems which go beyond this. Why do we get so much flack for trying to help our kids, and for trying to understand the damage that was done to our kids? Why does the ND movement have so much focus against the biomedical movement?

Donna Williams tells how she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, close to falling apart, when a nutritionist helped her to identify foods that she eliminated from her diet, and thereby helped herself tremendously. Were she and the nutritionist disrespectful to find this? Should they had just accepted her as she was? Would she be writing books now without that help, or would she perhaps have lost self-sufficiency?

Our vaccine program has serious problems. Saying this is not anti-ND.

Emily said to “express your discontent over his viewpoint, not over the appointment.” His viewpoints would not be of consequence to me until he is in a position of power in which he can influence others to ignore what I believe are primary causes and treatments for autism. If they are going to appoint him, they should also appoint someone prominent in the biomedical community to advocate for interests related to the biomedical paradigm of autism.

I acknowledge the diversity among people with autism. Not all autism is caused by vaccines. Not all people with autism respond well to any specific treatment. ND advocates need to acknowledge that diversity to.

Who speaks for the anti-vaccine movement? I’ve heard it said that “thousands of parents” reported regression within hours of vaccination, and others (like Jenny McCarthy) said that regression sometimes occurs months later. The petitioners in the autism omnibus trial supposedly selected their strongest cases for regression, and then it turned out some of those kids were clearly showing symptoms before the shots that supposedly caused autism. We also know parental recall of symptom onset is unreliable.

So who are we supposed to believe? Who speaks for your side – just you?

And one more thing, if you object to Dr. Offit talking about vaccines because he’s not an autism expert, then why don’t you object to Dr. Bernadine Healey, the cardiologist, talking about vaccines? Or Dr. J. Bradstreet who never completed OB-GYN training and doesn’t even have hospital privileges talking about autism? Or Dr. Roy Kerry the ENT surgeon treating autism with quack therapies? Or Dr. Mark Geier the geneticist who chemically castrates disabled children?

Where’s the outrage, Twyla?

Wow. That’s what I have to say to you Twyla. There are a lot of points in that article to grasp an understanding of what he’s trying to do and you choose that one to focus on.

Ari is entitled to his feelings about the vaccine debate. He also oddly enough shares your bitterness that most research dollars go to genetics. Wouldn’t it be nice if some of those genetic dollars went to investigate the environmental causes you question? Wouldn’t it be even nicer for some of those genetic dollars to go towards helping the Autistic population now?

I do my best to stay away from the vaccine movement as I do not believe my kids are Autistic because of vaccines. I do not do GF/CF/SF diets or HBOT or many of those treatments. If you see progress with them and are not putting your child in harms way, then I see no reason not to do them if you see fit. I’m not trying to control what you do. At the same time, I’ve met too many parents who are not nearly as well informed and going off 4th hand information. They do all the experimental therapies and ignore doing staples like OT ST or PT (as needed). That scares me to be frank.

Each time someone finds out I have Autistic children, they start insisting I do this and that to help ‘recover’ them. I see nothing to ‘recover’ from. There are things each has deficits in that we do help them with. This is to make them independent.

Oh. And why does your son like spinning things? They’re mesmerizing. It’s a calm that is hard to express. It’s like cuddling up with a big teddy bear or a warm blanket. Or like laying on the grass and looking up at the sky to watch the clouds pass by. Or a soothing bath with candles all around. It’s bliss without explanation.

Twyla, feel free to email me if you’d like to speak more.

Melody
melody at asparenting dot com

“Dedj, yes of course I could do my own research, but I thought you felt there was something important we were missing out on and that perhaps you would like to point out some information that you believe we should know about.”

I’m not sure what you’re getting at. It is never anyone elses responsibility to ensure that people who share a minority of your opinions refrain from making demonstratably false accusations about another person.

The intial claims put forth at the beginning of the comments thread have been refuted multiple times by Ari, including in the correction added to the article.

Melody, I focused on that paragraph because it addresses the area of conflict which we have been discussing. Dedj and ANB said that we have our own logic not related to facts, but it seems to me that the record is clear that Ari has been vitriolic towards parents who believe their children were harmed by vaccines and helped by biomedical treatments. He is steadfastly opposed to the major tenets of the biomedical movement.

ANB, you continue to use the term “anti-vaccine movement” in spite of repeated objections, which shows that you are not listening and are more interested in propaganda than in discussion. As far as who speaks on behalf of vaccine concerns and biomedical treatments, there are several prominent organizations with outstanding, knowledgable parents and professionals, including NAA, SafeMinds, DAN!, AAN/A-CHAMP and NJCVC.

You keep harping on lupron, ANB, and no wonder because to say “chemically castrates disabled children” is sure to raise hackles. I have neither the expertise nor experience to speak for or against the Geiers’ lupron protocal I looked up lupron and testosterone in the index of four books on biomedical treatments (Changing the Course of Autism by Dr. Bryan Jepson, Children with Starving Brains by Dr. Jaquelyn McCandless, Healing & Preventing Autism by Jenny McCarthy and Dr. Jerry Kartzinel, and Healing the New Childhood Epidemics by Dr. Kenneth Bock). Interestingly, this treatment was not listed in any of these indexes. This treatment is but one of many biomedical treatments, and as far as I know it is not being widely practiced. Yet those who wish to discredit biomedical practitioners love to mention this treatment for it’s shock value. You (ANB) are more interested in finding a good propaganda device than in truly learning about the broad range of treatments that people are using as described in these four books which range from 299 to 455 pages long — chock full of information on so many medical issues and treatments.

Lupron is FDA approved for treating precocious puberty. To call it “castration” is innaccurate because it causes a temporary drop in testosterone, not like cutting off testicals. What the Geiers say they have found is that testosterone interferes with detoxification of mercury. It is plausible that testosterone could play a role in autism, aggression and impaired detoxification. Autism affects four times as many males as females, and according to papers I have read, males tend to suffer worse effects from mercury exposure than women. Whether in the long run this will prove to be a helpful therapy or will have risks outweighing benefits, I have no idea. As I said, I have neither the expertise nor the experience. Nobody I know is using this protocol. To constantly bring up this protocol as if thereby damning all biomedical treatments for autism is baloney.

Melody, thanks for your comments about spinning objects. I have not met parents who are doing biomedical instead of doing OT/speech etc. therapies. The parents I know doing bio also arrange for a variety of therapies for their kids as well as seeking the best educational setting.

“Dedj, do you think the above quote is not accurate?”

It doesn’t have anything to do with what I said.

You appear to be atributting an arguement to me that I niether said, nor which would affect my actual arguement if any of the options you put forth were true. How you got the idea that I agree with Ari because I disagree with at least one accusation of his opponents is perplexing.

I have no idea how where you got the idea that ND advocates intrinsically supporting vaccines and attacking parents (who have no right to be immune from disagreement anyway). We have as much right to go over ethics and the evidence for/against biomed as you do.

Not only are there members of the ND movement who are stuanchly anti-pharma, but many are also parents or grandparents to people with autism as well as many (but certainly not all) being autistic themselves or/and having vocational/professional experience in autism services.

The unvax/vax study is far from ‘basic’ and would require analysis of significant levels of confounders. I can’t think of a single person in the anti-vaxx movement that I would trust to accept the results of such a study if it came up with no positive-correlation. Accusations of corruption and gaming of the numbers would abound, as they do with Dr Offit, Verstraten and others.

You dimiss (without reason) the body of evidence put forth by the multinational, multicentre, multivariate studies that have been done. You fail to explain or even indicate the methodological or evidential flaws that are suposedly in them.

You dimiss Dr Offit and co. yet fail to explain why your reasons for doing so act as sufficient reasons for doing so. If that’s the level you’re working at then I would ask that you stop responding to me.

I’m not sure where you were going with Donna Williams. There are several people in the ND movement (in the UK at least) who have recieved mainstream treatment for similar problems. Autism and gustatory problems are not exclusive and can be additive. The last LD (Mental retardation) service I did a clinical placement in had professionally qualified dieticians (nutrionists in not a protected title and can be adopted by anyone regardless of training) who treated issues in people with autism too.

I have no idea where you got the idea of where ND means no treatment. Although there are (including the anti-pharma people I mentioned earlier) people who oppose non-client centred, non-needs led interventions in the general ND movement, there certainly are those that support evidence based, client centred and needs led interventions, including advocating for such on the national stage.

Those of us in the ND movement who have experience of delivering autism interventions would have a hard time doing so if ND really did mean No Treatment.

P.S. to Melody — also thanks for the link to your web site!

Dedj, the issue is not whether you agree or disagree with Ari, but whether he has been very against parents who believe in vaccine causation and biomedical treatments.

Certainly he has a right to his opinions, and we have a right to voice opposition to his opinions and his appointment to this position.

I never said that all NDs think a certain way. You are twisting my words. But some ND advocates are very agains the biomedical paradigm of autism, and my point is that advocating for neurodiversity, for accommodation, and against discrimination are not inconsitent with advocating for a safer vaccine program, effective biomedical treatments, and better research on causes & treatments. I really do not understand the level of animosity that I often hear/read on the internet.

One again, I’m utterly perplexed at to how a response by Twyla is supposedly related to the post she/he is responding too.

I was directly asked a question that had nothing to do with what I had said previously. I am not the other participants in this thread, thus the question was irrelevant or at least misaddressed.

Just because Twyla thinks such-and-such is the issue does not mean everyone else does.

“You are twisting my words.”

I responded to what you wrote.

Examples:

“Why does the ND movement have so much focus against the biomedical movement?”

“But why should this entail defending our vaccine program and attacking parents?”

The Donna Williams bit was definetly confused rhetoric based on a strawman arguement. None of your rhetorical questions would have been relevant except in the context of (false) opposite.

It’s not hard to imagine how your arguement came across as being a strawman arguement, especially not when you rolled out the usual anti-ND canards.

I’ll thank you to not throw about accusations of ‘twisting’ again.

You are correct that some people in the ND movement are very much concerned about the ethical and social implications of the application of ‘biomedical’ models of autism, but this does not entail that they are therefore against any treatment, research or services for people with autism.

Some may oppose biomedical treatments (and as I noted, some are very much against pharma-based interventions, with a number having had very negative experiences in the mental health system) but biomed is far from the only available option in regards medical, bio-chemical, and neuro-behavioural approachs, if indeed biomed is coherent enough to be deemed a ‘option’ and not just a catch-all term that gets banded about.

As noted, some of the more prominent members of the UK ND movement are involved in researching, advocating or delivering other autism interventions.

Dr. Paul Offit is not an expert on autism. And he has huge vested interests in defending vaccines and denying problems.

First, Dr. Offit doesn’t act as if he is an autism specialist. He is a vaccine specialist, and a pediatric infectious disease specialist.

How many “biomedical” doctors are actually specialists in autism? I mean, real specialists?

An even more telling question: How many specialists in autism have endorsed the so-called “biomedical” movement? To my knowledge, the answer is “none”.

My child will be treated by demonstrated safe and effective medicine, not a “movement”. My child will be treated by the best specialists I can find, not people who decided to add “biomedical treatment of autism” to their resume by taking some short course at at DAN conference.

Twyla, perhaps you could educate yourself enough about Lupron to have an actual opinion? You seem to scratch the surface. This is one of the great failings of the “biomed” movement. People accept everyone under the “biomed” umbrella, but no one will speak out against the treatments that are obviously bad medicine.

Lupron is absolutely scary stuff as applied by the Geiers. Doctors I have spoken with, doctors who use Lupron in their practice. were shocked to hear that this treatment is applied to autistic kids.

Your “movement” would have some credibility if you would speak out against those parts that are obviously bad.

Is there any treatment the “biomed movement” has rejected?

As such, it is a perfect example of the failings of the “movement”.

Again, I seek out doctors who are specialists, not part of a “movement”.

Perhaps one issue we run into is the definition of “biomedical,” which seems, in the autism world, to variously mean “any treatment which impacts the biological” (eg, anything that’s not behavioral, developmental, etc.); anything offered by the DAN! protocol; or any biologically acting treatment that is NOT recommended by a mainstream physician (eg, abilify is sometimes considered “medical” as opposed to “biomedical”).

I’d hate to throw away the baby with the bath water by dismissing every possible biological approach on the basis that it’s “biomedical” and therefore risky quackery.

In fact, some “biomed” treatments (GFCF diet, certain supplements, etc.) may be a whole lot less risky than, say, SSRI’s or other pharmaceuticals. And while the evidence for their efficacy is sketchy, I personally would think they’re worth a try (with medical supervision) for kids who have GI problems or very self-limited diets.

Lisa

“Is there any treatment the “biomed movement” has rejected?”

Many DAN! practitioners still offer secretin therapy, despite the fact that multiple DBPC studies have found secretin to be no better than placebo for the treatment of autism. I suspect exorcism would be accepted by this crowd if combined with a mega-dose of vitamins.

Lisa,

I think the problem of the biomed definition isn’t just amongst the ND vs. pro-cure. Biomed in the standard parent discussions seems to be a list of different things as well. I wish it were just GF/CF/SF and nontraditional therapies like Vision therapy. But there are dangerous portions of the DAN! protocol that I could never agree with.

I was reminded when I started this journey with my boys that SIT was considered ‘nontraditional’. So I do not hold weight in the ‘this will never been effective’ category. I feel in love with SIT and as a result to much persistance, I’m sure we can all agree that sensory issues are at a major forefront in even schools.

Also, I agree that many doctors ignore physical issues with ASD children as they are ‘common’. I’ve been quite lucky that my boys do not have the physical issues with their ASD. Hence why I do not try most of the biomed stuff. I have no reason to. But the attitude among many parents is that I’m ignoring a vital portion of ‘recovering’ or ‘curing’ my children’s autism. I’ve been told my children do have physical problems and I have physical problems because we don’t get sick often. That the ‘disease’ of Autism is attacking our brains instead of our GI.

I finally gave up on trying to explain differently. It’s painful for people to consider myself, my children, and all other ASDs as diseased individuals. I will agree that many ASDs have physical issues that should be treated. But that does not mean we all have these issues. And it’s one of the reasons I’ve seen so many adults on the spectrum get so hateful towards parents. Because the parents get just as hateful towards us.

I also see adults on the spectrum who have not had the luxury thus far, of having kids on the spectrum at a disadvantage in these debates. Because we adults are capable of communicating, we are seen as ‘not the same’ as the more disabled children who have not had the luck of a full life of intervention and support. I’m lucky that I have my children to show that our view points are not so outlandish.

I get the pleasure of hearing people tell me my youngest (4) does not have Autism. This isn’t beause he was misdiagnosed at a young age. It’s because of what we have accomplished with interventions. And to show that with no physical problems in the way, our kids can learn to be included. Perhaps quirky, yes, but at least he’s able to clean himself and communicate and all the other things kids his age can do.

Okay. That’s probably enough rambling on. But as I’m sure you can see, this is a perservation of mine. My kids and intervention and self-advocacy.

I am skimming through the comments and finding that people are objecting to Ari’s appointment because 100% of the money donated by Autism Speaks to genetic research isn’t enough and don’t want to let him influence the spending enough to allow some for research on how to get autistic adults into the workforce. If you disagree with my phrase containing 100% pick a phrase of your choosing and cut and paste. My concern is getting me a job. Autism Speaks is collecting money in my name and I want a piece of the action.

I personally would think they’re worth a try (with medical supervision) for kids who have GI problems or very self-limited diets.

Here I would disagree. If you take a kid with a self-limited diet and put him/her on GFCF you are changing two things at once. The variety of the diet and the type (GFCF) of diet. It is very possible that many parents mistake the benefits of a more varied diet for the effect of going GFCF.

The main goal is to make life better for the child. If going GFCF forces the family to make the kid’s diet more varied, it is a good thing. The problem is when the parents then tell the world how wonderful GFCF when in fact they don’t know. Not that this is what happens in all cases, but it can happen.

I’ve read a good deal of these comments and I feel that most seem correct to me. Strange? Not when you consider the spectrum of autism. At what point does the spectrum turn from difference to disability? Is there a need for a cure? Yes. Is there a need for acceptance by the NT community? Yes. I think Mr. Ne’eman’s mild case of ASD gives him insight and I have empathy for his view of “difference”. But the parent of a severely autistic child would probably tell him that mere acceptance isn’t the answer. I’m certain that not one of you know what goes through his mind and the social challenges he faces day to day. Only God and Ari know that. My concern is his age and lack of life experience… which comes from NT thinking and I can’t speak for him any better than any of you can.

(52) Twyla says:

“Thousands of parents have had experiences similar to the above. How can Ari be so sure that they are all wrong? ”

The same way I can be.

There. Is. Absolutely. No. Evidence. At. All. Period.

I checked. (I actually thought that it was a reasonable proposition.)

Those who dismiss the very real data are either fomenting or enabling a quackfest which, among other things, tends to endanger every single un vaccinated child. And that is intolerable foolishness.

Big Pharma stands to profit, to be sure. So do all the diet mongers, the chelation shills, the fake-mercury-test providers.

So the question is, who has the best data to review, and where was it published? It’s not evidence of “bad science” when the results are not what you wished to hear.

If you object to Ari “not suffering fools gladly,” perhaps you should present your desires in terms of “seeking reasonable accomondation.”

Twyla, your post #52 was exactly what we experienced with our son. Down to the spinning.

Things that have worked for us:
GFCF – Helped to calm him down and regulate his GI.
HBOT #1 biggest achiever and saw immediate results!
Vitamins, Vitamins, Vitamins
ST – Finding the right person that he’ll interact with was key!

We’re educated, smart parents. We’re hoping that everyone else is. We all can google, hopefully other parents do and research the proposed treatments.

As for Ari, I don’t feel that he will represent ALL the issues equally – something that we ALL need. There are several ‘fronts’ here and if you don’t believe that, then you’re only fooling yourselves. Each ‘front’ with valid points. Until each are investigated and thoroughly vetted by ALL then there will never be a consensus.

There’s nothing wrong in promoting more research for all ‘fronts’ whilest advocating regulations and laws to protect ASD (and other disability’s) rights.

I, personally, feel that another representative would’ve been better, but this is politics at play here.

Obiously, Mr. Ne’eman know nothing, or little about severe to profound autism as shown in my videos on you tube under severe autism.

What’s more is my videos on you tube of my severely autistic son who suffers from self injurious behaviors have been obsessively attacked by some in the neodiversity movement. Ie..they repeatedly gives thumbs down to anyone who supports what I’m doing to bring awareness to the most severe sides of autism. This is very telling to me. It shows me and other parents that these alleged advocates for autism are in fact probably not autistic. I mean, consider Rain Man, could U imagine this guy (based on real life person) coming onto you tube and attacking a mother like me who has been through hell and back trying to help my son? I just wouldn’t even occur to him. Nor would Temple Grandin, who I think has severe Aspergers, do this. But these so called “auties” and “aspies” who hate my guts now, are on a rampage to villify me and downplay my son’s condition because it threatens to expose their narrow driven movement that fails to acknowledge autistic peole like my darling son. Please go to you tube and see the video “autism epidemic out of control.” Many of friends and family members are helping me spread word about this because it is really scary that such hate, intolerance and outright mean spirited attacks would come against me and my son or anyone else who is dealing with serious issues like self injury. It is simply unreal that these neodiversity nuts are even posting things on “wrong planet” like “the mother must feel guilty” or she’s got munchasen by proxy, or “she’s whacked.” This is so funny to me, actually, as I gather their comments and really look at the kind of spirit they have. It is not one of helping people like my son. They are driven by a spirit of self-preservation. They have an agenda. They’ve fooled a lot of people. And now cases like my son are driving them crazy. So they want to shred us. It won’t work. They will be brought to utter confusion, as all people with this hate in their hearts for the truth, usually are. Some, I want to say, however, in the neurodiversity movement are really kind, honest and open minded people who actually acknowledge my son’s severe autism and support us, and for that I am grateful. I wish they could all be so honest and kind.

Thank you everyone for the depth of comments and the perspectives given on this blog.

I am sure Ari Ne eman has read the lot. He will surely learn, and progress from what has been said.

He may well change all or some of his ideas. I can do that as well you know, I can change my mind. If he does not change his ideas about some issues, it will not be because he has ignored what people on this blog list have said.

This seems to be a simple point that no one on here has considered. Ari learns. He is smart.

Of course, we can all say that, can we not?

Thank you all for reading. x

It’s a bit puzzing why some neurodiversity advocates attack kgaccount on you tube when the mum is clearly not in the same camp as vaccines caused my son’s autism group. I’ve seen her videos.