8 Nov 2007 - Letter to Independent
Independent08nov07
Letters: Autistic children
Hope for the autistic lies in research, not celebrity endorsements
Published: 08 November 2007 The Independent
Sir: We, parents of autistic children, wish to repudiate the National Autistic Society and its claim to speak for us and our autistic children. In particular, we demand the withdrawal of the latest leaflet ("Think Differently about Autism") calling for public understanding of autism, complete with a website of supportive celebs.
Hope for people with autism does not lie in celebrity endorsement and a pretence that autism is normal but in the torrent of medical research pouring out of the United States. A model of autism as a genetic predisposition combined with precipitating environmental damages is being developed in the US, with new discoveries almost weekly. These developments offer real hope for those affected by autism.
What is the contribution of the NAS at this exciting time? The only contribution is a leaflet with pictures of people who "choose not to speak" and a plea for public understanding. The public should know that the NAS is riven with feuding between those who believe autism is "normal" and those who believe it is a disability which should be treated.
The NAS has a research arm called Research Autism. It has a website. None of this US research gets a mention. People with autism are sometimes said jokingly to be on another planet. It must be the one where the NAS is a well-informed, authoritative campaigning organisation and a powerful voice for change
Sally Eva; Mandi Rodwell;
Caroline Traa
(director, Treating Autism )And 22 others, London SE15
http://comment.independent.co.uk/letters/article3138334.ece
Letters: Autistic children
Hope for the autistic lies in research, not celebrity endorsements
Published: 08 November 2007 The Independent
Sir: We, parents of autistic children, wish to repudiate the National Autistic Society and its claim to speak for us and our autistic children. In particular, we demand the withdrawal of the latest leaflet ("Think Differently about Autism") calling for public understanding of autism, complete with a website of supportive celebs.
Hope for people with autism does not lie in celebrity endorsement and a pretence that autism is normal but in the torrent of medical research pouring out of the United States. A model of autism as a genetic predisposition combined with precipitating environmental damages is being developed in the US, with new discoveries almost weekly. These developments offer real hope for those affected by autism.
What is the contribution of the NAS at this exciting time? The only contribution is a leaflet with pictures of people who "choose not to speak" and a plea for public understanding. The public should know that the NAS is riven with feuding between those who believe autism is "normal" and those who believe it is a disability which should be treated.
The NAS has a research arm called Research Autism. It has a website. None of this US research gets a mention. People with autism are sometimes said jokingly to be on another planet. It must be the one where the NAS is a well-informed, authoritative campaigning organisation and a powerful voice for change
Sally Eva; Mandi Rodwell;
Caroline Traa
(director, Treating Autism )And 22 others, London SE15
http://comment.independent.co.uk/letters/article3138334.ece