ASAN Autism Spectrum Takeover Continues with Suppression of Autism Truth

The ASAN, Autistic Spectrum Advocacy Network, is continuing its takeover of the autism spectrum of disorders and its unrelenting attempt to transform autism from a medical disorder to a social club for persons with High Functioning Autism, Aspergers, self diagnosed "auties" and persons with autism like symptoms.

At the same time that the university students, lawyers, researchers and other very capable members of ASAN are expanding the definition of autism at the high functioning end of the spectrum they are seeking to exclude those persons with severe autism, the low functioning severely autistic persons with Autistic Disorder.

Any mention of the severely autistic or the challenges that confront them and the families who actually care for them is strictly verboten in the new world order of the self professed "auties" and "aspies" who take offense at being associated with persons who can not communicate by any means and who live their lives in institutional care. Better that the severely autistic become, or remain, invisible autistics then the self esteem of the ASAN leaders be hurt by inclusion in the public mind with lower functioning persons with Autistic Disorder.

Autism Speaks made the mistake of kowtowing to the ASAN outrage over the I Am Autism video which, like Autism Every Day before it, spoke of the harsher realities of actual autism. Now ASAN, drunk with victory for having forced a guilty plea from Autism Speaks, is planning to harass parents and other members of Autism Speaks in a walk for autism.

ASAN declares "nothing about us without us" and then acts to do that very thing to the very vulnerable severely autistic persons and autistic children who they do not represent. ASAN now harasses very many persons with autism disorders who they do not represent. ASAN does not want the world to know the truth, that autistic disorder is a severely disabling medical disorder requiring substantial commitment and sacrifice from families and society. Autism truth is not fashionable at ASAN.

Hopefully Autism Speaks has learned its lesson and will make a greater effort to present the realities of autism to the world notwithstanding howling from the barely autistic members of ASAN.

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Autism Cure Research Underway? Or Have We Given Up?

Parents of autistic children have searched for effective treatment, and preferably a cure, for their autistic children for many years. To date only Applied Behavior Analysis, ABA, enjoys strong evidential support as an intervention that can help autistic children learn skills, improve their ability to communicate and reduce problem behaviors. But, as a strong supporter of ABA intervention for autistic children I do not suggest that it is a cure.

Possible cures and treatments, such as HBOT, stem cell and chelation do not enjoy any substantial evidential support as treatments for autism disorders and can involve risk to the autistic person undergoing treatment. But what studies, if any, are currently underway exploring possible treatments or cures for autism? A planned chelation study was abandoned on the basis of risk to child participants in the study.

Do we really need to spend charitable and tax dollars to finance the latest Mottron-Dawson group study promoting the ability of a small group of High Functioning Autistic persons to out perform a small group of non-autistic persons on one specific test? As a parent I am constantly amazed at some of the things my autistic son can learn and do on his own but his overall understanding of language and the world and his ability to function in it are limited. Do we really need to fund studies to tell us that parents of autistic children suffer additional stress levels from the extra child raising challenges presented by raising autistic children? Do we need yet another genetic study to tell us that there is a strong genetic basis to autism while ignoring possible environmental factors?

As the parent of a 13 year old boy with Autistic Disorder, assessed with profound developmental delays, a boy who stims but does not produce choreographed Internet videos about stimming and "autistic" language, I would like to see research done that might have some actual value to my son. It would be nice to see research that actually helps the intellectual functioning, the understanding of the world, ability to function in the world, of those autistic persons who do not appear before the Supreme Court of Canada, the Canadian Senate or CBC and CNN cameras.

It is long past time that research money was spent on ways to help autistic persons overcome their deficits. If we study genetics we will find genetic bases for autism. If we study problem solving abilities of High Functioning Autistic persons we will learn more about the the abilities of HFA persons.

If we fail to study causes of, and look for cures for, autism then no cure will be found. And those who claim that "the notion of curing autism is nonsensical" will win by default and our autistic children will lose.

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