John Elder Robison's blog 2015-08-28

[royinpink]

royinpink submitted a new resource:

John Elder Robison's blog - Author of Look Me in the Eye and Raising Cubby

Lots of content, lots of commenters. For instance, the post in 2013 about resigning his position with Autism Speaks.

"John Elder Robison is an autistic adult and advocate for people with neurological differences. He's the author of Look Me in the Eye, Be Different, Raising Cubby, and the forthcoming Switched On. He's served on the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee of the US Dept of...

Read more about this resource...

 

[Mia]

I've read one of his books, and I do agree with what he wrote on his blog. I don't see Autism Speaks as an organization that cares about people with Autism, they seem to want to wipe out people with the disability, it reminds me a little of eugenics. When they fundraise or campaign it seems more about Autism and ASD as a disease, rather than the ability to do things differently, and promote more acceptance of Autism. I've gotten the impression that Autism Speaks is mainly about raising money for its founders.

 

[royinpink]

This post (different blog) breaks down the expenses of Autism Speaks. Pretty bad.

I have to admit I haven't read much by Jon Elder Robison, but I was surprised this wasn't up in the resources already. Do you recommend the book you read?

 

[watersprite]

dropping this, a favorite quote, here. I believe I found it on his blog.

Robison: "The biggest virtue of pointing out the continuum is that when we do, we recognize that people can occupy different positions on the continuum at different points in their lives. One of the things that troubles people about the use of labels like “low-functioning” and “high-functioning” is that people will call a five-year-old kid who can’t talk “low-functioning,” yet a kid who has language skills, like me, but doesn’t have any friends, is described as “high-functioning.” First of all, of those two children, the so-called high-functioning kid is the one who is at material risk for suicide by the time he’s 16. Most people would not call a dead kid highly functional."

 

[Mia]

Do you recommend the book you read?

When I read the book about two years ago, I skimmed it looking for similarities with my spouse's behaviour and perceptions. I don't actually remember much about the book except that it was insightful and well-written.
I would have to reread it again, knowing what I do now, in order to recommend it.

 

[Mia]

Autism Speaks is the largest autism non profit in the United States. In 2012, they raised over $58 million (source: Autism Speaks website). Unfortunately, very little of the funds raised by Autism Speaks actually go towards helping Autistic people and their families. Only 4% of the money raised is directed towards family services and supports! Where does the rest go? Well, 5% goes towards “administrative costs and salaries”. That’s more than is spent on actually helping Autistic people. The bulk of the funds raised by individuals for Autism Speaks go toward awareness and advertising campaigns, fundraising, and research.

This is frightening and it's awful that they can get away with this.

 

[MEDL86]

Autism Speaks is the largest autism non profit in the United States. In 2012, they raised over $58 million (source: Autism Speaks website). Unfortunately, very little of the funds raised by Autism Speaks actually go towards helping Autistic people and their families. Only 4% of the money raised is directed towards family services and supports! Where does the rest go? Well, 5% goes towards “administrative costs and salaries”. That’s more than is spent on actually helping Autistic people. The bulk of the funds raised by individuals for Autism Speaks go toward awareness and advertising campaigns, fundraising, and research.

This is frightening and it's awful that they can get away with this.

I heard about this quite some time ago (last year, I think), and it's unfathomable how much money is wasted, when the majority of it could be used to help people on the spectrum. Of course, that's not the only questionable thing that goes on with Autism Speaks, but that's another story.

 

[Lena_C]

One of his quote:“We do not naturally care about people we don't know... If we tried to feel sorry for every death, our little hearts would explode... I don't have any physical reaction to the news. And there's no reason I should. I don't know them and the news has no effect on my life.”

This is sooooo me.

 

[royinpink]

One of his quote:“We do not naturally care about people we don't know... If we tried to feel sorry for every death, our little hearts would explode... I don't have any physical reaction to the news. And there's no reason I should. I don't know them and the news has no effect on my life.”

This is sooooo me.

Haha, I'm almost the opposite. I will literally cry watching the news. Or reading it, I suppose, but especially if there are pictures or writing that really 'puts you there' instead of just describing it. Too much suffering for no good reason. I think it's injustice or senselessness that gets to me more than 'caring about people I don't know', but maybe both.