If you don’t want people exposing your private moments online, then don’t do it to [autistic people]. Don’t have a double standard. Treat them in the way that you would want to be treated. Think of it that way.
Tag: autism speaks
[image: Screen capture from the Autism Speaks video I Am Autism, with an African American child sitting on a slide, facing away from the camera. The YouTube video toolbar is visible, above title text reading, “I Am Autism commercial by Autism Speaks”.] Zephyr Ash Ostrowski thefilmroom.org “Where there is charity and wisdom, there is neither fear nor ignorance.” –St. Francis of Assisi “There is nothing more frightful than ignorance in action.” –Johann Wolfgang von Goethe “Where ignorance exists, myths flourish.” Norman Begg and Angus Nicoll It doesn’t take long for a hurtful word or comment to make its way across the globe. The media eagerly reports on officials’ latest xenophobic remarks within minutes. Protesters will gather and complain for a corporation to sever ties with a controversial program or person. But this outrage somehow doesn’t happen with organizations that are directly tied to “helping” certain groups of marginalized people—and when…
Brenda Rothman mamabegood.blogspot.com In my recent post about my autistic son not being accommodated at Disney World, some people responded with a vehement defense of Disney. It’s almost as if they themselves felt attacked. The same thing happened in the comments of Lydia Brown’s post about Autism Speaks. Neither Disney nor Autism Speaks will suffer from our criticisms. People will still visit and enjoy Disney. People will still donate, work for, and receive services from Autism Speaks. But those corporations, their goals, employees, and supporters can harm others. The readers who respond defensively aren’t really defending the corporations. Maybe they’re defending the kind employees they’ve met, like the Disney cast member who went out of her way to help their child, to make him happier, more comfortable, make their experience easier. Or the Autism Speaks parent volunteer who has an adorable autistic child, who loves her child more than life,…
Last week Hewlett-Packard hosted an amazing event: a Hacking Autism app hackathon, which showcased innovative and philanthropic synergy at its most brilliant. The all-volunteer event brought together notable autism experts and app developers to focus on a common goal: developing free apps for tablet environments, based on crowd-sourced ideas from the autism community, to help people with autism communicate and contribute. TPGA editor Shannon Des Roches Rosa was invited to participate as a parent and blogger resource based on her autism-specific iPad advocacy work, and found the event so incredibly positive that she is covering it in two separate posts. Part one covered the opening talks by the hackathon’s advisors, and their specific takes regarding autism and technology. Part two is about experiencing the event itself. Innovative technology can make a difference for autistic people. My son Leo excels in ways we (and Apple) never anticipated via iPad/tablet apps, which…
Last week Hewlett-Packard hosted an amazing event: a Hacking Autism app hackathon, which showcased innovative and philanthropic synergy at its most brilliant. The all-volunteer event brought together notable autism experts and app developers to focus on a common goal: developing free apps for tablet environments, based on crowd-sourced ideas from the autism community, to help people with autism communicate and contribute. TPGA editor Shannon Rosa was invited to participate as a parent and blogger resource based on her autism-specific iPad advocacy work, and found the event so incredibly positive that she’ll be covering it in two separate posts. Today covers the opening talks by the hackathon’s advisors, their specific takes regarding autism and technology. The apps developed at the App Hackathon will be posted at HackingAutism.org as they are finalized over the next few weeks. Those interested in hosting or getting involved with a hackathon should contact Random Hacks of…
Shannon Des Roches Rosa www.thinkingautismguide.com As an autism parent, I have a deep interest in seeing autism research proceed toward understanding and results with as few roadblocks or distractions as possible. So, for me, one of the most notable elements of IMFAR 2011 was seeing the Autism Science Foundation and Autism Speaks working alongside each other toward common goals, in the Autism Science Foundation’s tradition of “Funding Outstanding Science.” Anyone who has read my personal blog for more than a month or two knows I have been openly critical of Autism Speaks’ actions. I believe they have made some questionable decisions in how they approach and portray autism — but then so have I. If I’m going to give myself permission to evolve, I can’t very well fault them for past choices when their present direction includes wide-ranging funding of promising science, and listening to the community by broadening their…