Autism rights movement

Many autistic people have at least some language skills, and have started to speak and/or write for themselves about their experience. Along with neurotypical allies, they have started the autism rights movement to advocate the rights of autistic people. The use of the Internet has made it possible for autistics to present their perspective when they do not have the communication skills to do so offline. Even some mute autistics, such as Jasmine O'Neill, still write very well and present a case for societal acceptance of autism. These autistics do not desire a cure, but rather to be given opportunities to use their unique skills and perceptions in useful ways.

The position this movement considers most fundamental is the position that autism is not a disorder at all but simply a different way of being. They believe a cure for autism would destroy the original personality of the autistic person and replace them with a different (neurotypical) person. This movement has made ethical challenges to applied behavioral analysis (ABA) and psychiatric hospitals. The movement wants to include autistic adults in autism societies and provide services for autistic adults. They also wish to challenge descriptions of autism that they consider to be pitiful, insulting, and/or incorrect.

It should be noted that "autism rights movement" is not the official name of the movement. The movement has no official name. Other names like autistic self-advocacy movement [1] and autistic liberation movement [1] have also been used.

The anti-cure perspective

Many autistics believe autism is not a disorder at all, but simply a variation in neurological hardwiring. They believe that autism is a fundamental part of who they are and that autism is something that cannot be separated from the person. For this reason, they prefer the word "autistics" or "autistic person" instead of "person with autism" or "person who has autism" because "person with autism" implies that autism is something that can be removed from the person [1]. Autistics with this perspective oppose the idea of a cure for autism because they see it as destroying the original personality of the autistic individual, forcing them to imitate neurotypical behavior (which is unnatural to an autistic person), simply to make mainstream society feel less threatened by the presence of people who are different. Anti-cure autistics believe quirks and uniqueness of autistic individuals should be tolerated as the differences of any minority group should be tolerated [1]. When people talk about visions for a future where autism has been eradicated, anti-cure autistics usually see this as a wish for the genocide of their culture and way of being [1].

The most quoted person with this perspective is Jim Sinclair who has written an article titled Don't Mourn for Us which has been widely distributed over the Internet. Websites such as autistics.org, Graphic Truth and Aspies for Freedom also present this view.

People who hear autistics opposing the idea of a cure have assumed it is because their difficulties are very mild. Autism rights activists responded to this by pointing out that the reason they oppose a cure for autism is not because they are so high functioning that they do not need a cure. Autistics who oppose a cure assert they experience extreme difficulties on a daily basis. They simply believe autism is a fundamental part of who they are. Anti-cure autistics usually do wish they had fewer difficulties in life, and they do find some aspects of autism (like sensory issues) painful, but they don't want to have to sacrifice giving up their personalities, values, and basic identities in order to make life easier [1] [1]. Anti-cure autistics wish society would be more tolerant and accommodating instead of pushing a cure.

Anti-cure autistics are in favor of helping make the lives of autistic people easier, but they prefer the word "education" over "treatment" and they support programs that respect the individuality of the autistic person and only try to teach them things instead of change them.

Role of parents in the movement

Although this movement is sometimes quoted as consisting only of autistic people, there are actually many parents involved in the movement [1]. For example, the website Neurodiversity.com is part of the autism rights movement and is run by neurotypical parents of an autistic child. These parents value their children's autism as part of their uniqueness and individuality [1]. They still wish to help their children but wish to do so without the desire for a cure. Autistic autism rights activists wish to attract more parents to the movement and strongly value their parent allies. In addition, some autistic people involved in the movement are also parents [1].

Ethical challenges to autism treatment

There are many programs intended as treatment for autism available. However, autism rights activists feel these treatments do not actually help autistic people but instead harm them. In particular, applied behavioral analysis (ABA), mental institutions, and drug therapy have been challenged. Michelle Dawson is one such person who has challenged ABA in Canada's supreme court in 2004. This is discussed in more detail in the article on ethical challenges to autism treatment.

Adult issues

Adult inclusion

Many in the autism rights movement believe the status quo of autism issues focuses too much on children and parents, and tends to disclude autistic adults. They point to various autism organizations that have a child as a logo and parents having more power than autistic adults in autism organizations. Autistic people oppose this because they feel autistics, not parents, should be the primary focus of autism organizations. They also believe there are a lot more services for autistic children and their parents than for autistic adults, and some advocates of adult inclusion believe that the services and resources that are claimed to be for autistic children are really just for the parents (such as respite).

Accuracy of information about autistic adults

Autism rights activists believe many people considered autism experts publish false information about what happens to autistic children when they become adults. While most autistic adults in the autism rights movement have significant difficulties in life many of the pessimistic predictions that had been given to them when they were children did not come true. Because of this, autism rights activists believe pessimistic things autism experts are saying to the parents of autistic children of today are also false.

Adult diagnosis

Autistic adults often find that autism diagnosis are designed for children so have a difficult time getting a diagnosis. Because they are different as adults than they were as children, they no longer fit the model of what an autistic child is like. In addition, autism diagnosis is sometimes taken less seriously when it is made in adulthood rather than childhood because some people claim if autism were "severe", it would have been noticed in childhood. Some autistic adults respond to this by claiming that when they were children there was much more ignorance about autism than there is in the present.

A common reason for autistic adults to seek a diagnosis is to get services and/or accommodation for difficulties associated with autism. Some, however, only seek a diagnosis for the sake of a personal identity -- as a confirmation of why they feel "different" in a neurotypical society. Sometimes autistic adults find a self-diagnosis to be sufficient for this purpose (even though some prefer to get the "official" diagnosis for extra confirmation).

Services and accommodation

The autism rights movement wants there to be more services and accommodation for autistic adults. They also want autistic adults to have equal opportunity in employment and education.

Organized groups

Autism Network International (ANI) is a self-advocacy organization run for and by autistic people. ANI hosts an annual conference called Autreat.
Autistics.org was founded in December 1998. Autistics.org has started a number of Internet campaigns, hosts a library of information written by autistic activists, and has responded to criticisms of the autism rights movement, in particular, to criticisms of Michelle Dawson.
Aspies For Freedom is an activist group which has started Autistic Pride Day and has protested the Judge Rotenburg Center.
Against an insulting view of autism

It is the opinion of autism rights activists that many people present an insulting view of autism. One of the goals of the movement is to expose and challenge these claims they find insulting.

Some things autistics rights activists find offensive the comparison of autism to a national tragedy or fatal disease. Statements people make such as "autism is worse than cancer and 9/11 combined" are infuriating to autism rights activists. Other commonly made statements autistics find offensive is claims that autism is a death sentence. Michelle Dawson has protested the statement "autism is worse than cancer in many ways because the person with autism has a normal lifespan" [1]. Even some pro-cure advocates believe some of these statements go too far.

Dr. Boyd Haley, chairman of the chemistry department at the University of Kentucky, recently termed autism "mad child disease" in speaking about children whose autism was apparently caused by mercury poisoning. This term offended many autistics as well as parents of autistic children, and the petition to defend the dignity of autistic citizens was started by Neurodiversity.com to protest this.

Autism rights activists also reject terming the reported increase in the autistic population as an epidemic, since the word epidemic implies autism is a disease. The autism epidemic idea is controversial in any case; anti-cure activists have the opinion that the reported increase in autism may be due to the fact that more people are being diagnosed as autistic and that historically, more people went undiagnosed.

Many autistic adults find the puzzle piece ribbon offensive. In response to this, oddizms has created a rainbow ring to symbol autism awareness and replace the puzzle piece ribbon.

Autism rights activists find offensive a trend where people attempt to make people aware of autism by discussing how much money autistic people allegedly cost. These campaigns sounds to autism rights activists like they are claiming autistics are a burden on tax payers and a waste of money, and compare this to arguments Nazis used to support Adolf Hitler's T-4 Euthanasia Program and also the American eugenics movement [1].

Misconceptions of autistic traits

Autism rights activists believe many characteristics described as being autistic traits are really only misconceptions [1] [1]. People in this movement desire to educate the population about what they believe are the real reasons these alleged misconceptions occur.

It is considered characteristic of autism for autistic people to lack a "theory of other minds", that is, for autistic people to be unaware that other people don't necessarily think or know the same things that they do. Many people feel that autistics are only perceived to lack a theory of mind because autistic people don't necessarily communicate with others in the same ways neurotypicals do. Not only would this prevent others' knowing whether autistics have a theory of mind or not, but lack of communication might make autistics less likely to have knowledge of other people's thoughts and knowledge. Autistics often believe neurotypicals are insensitive to their perspective and use this as evidence that neurotypicals lack theory of other minds [1] [1].

It is reported that 75 to 85% of autistic people are mentally retarded. Many people believe autistics are incorrectly diagnosed with mental retardation because of lack of an ability to communicate what they know.

Although many people believe autistic people have no emotions and no sense of humor, there are those who challenge this by saying that autistic people have emotions and find things funny, but are more likely to keep their emotions to themselves or might not laugh when they do find something funny. Also, autistics may be amused by things that non-autistics would not find funny.

Functioning Labels

The autism rights movement has contributed to controversies about functioning labels in the autism spectrum. In particular, autism rights activists are concerned with the functioning labels making it more difficult to get services for difficulties associated with autism and they believe the terms are used as an excuse for their opponents to ignore the viewpoints they don't like. This is discussed in more detail in controversies about functioning labels in the autism spectrum.

Noteworthy events in the movement

On December 20, 2004, Amy Harmon published an article in the New York Times titled "How about not curing us? Some autistics are pleading" which covered the anti-cure perspective. [1]
Social Minority Group Status

It has been proposed that the Autistic community are a social minority group and therefore should be considered as such by the United Nations.
This would give certain protection against the forcible use of cures and therapies, either now or in the future. If the fact that people on the autistic spectrum are different in their own right was accepted worldwide, without being simply a faulty version of "normal" people, it could give greater freedom to the whole community. Without the stigma or pressure to have to communicate in the same way as neurotypicals, but instead be able to form social bonds in ways that suit autistics.
It is often the case that typing or signing is easier than talking, and that there is a huge comminty of autistics on the internet, many of whom are socially isolated in real life.
The statement from the autistic community on recognition for minority status is on the Autistic community page.

Speculation of possible famous autistic people

There has been speculation that well known contemporatory and historical people may have been autistic in some form [1]. Those who are most commonly discussed are Albert Einstein, Bill Gates, Isaac Newton, and Thomas Jefferson. In addition, there are rumors that Steven Spielberg is diagnosed. Although this is brought up frequently in the autism rights movement, it is controversial outside the autism rights movement as well. Some people considered autism professionals and/or psychologists (such as Simon Baron-Cohen and Christopher Gillberg) have contributed to this speculation.

Arguments in favor

People who believe the assertions that many of these people are autistic claim that people had no knowledge of autism at the time these people were alive so the fact that autistic people in that time period were undiagnosed doesn't mean they are not autistic, it simply means their autism was not known. The arguments for each alleged famous autistic person vary from person to person. People point out that Einstein (the most frequenly quoted as alleged to be autistic) was a late speaker, did poorly in school, was a loner as a child, and needed his wives to act as parents when he was an adult; factors people claim make him "obviously" (or at least stereotypically) autistic.

Arguments against

Some people claim these people only represent very mild cases. Some people believe alleged famous autistics only have a few autistic traits but not enough for an autism diagnosis. Others claim it is simply not possible to diagnose the dead so nothing can be said about spectulation over historical figures. Some people claim Einstein actually did well in school and the belief to the contrary is only a myth.

Motivations for speculation

This speculation may simply be an attempt to create role models for autistics and to show people that autistics can do constructive things and contribute to society. This issue is discussed by autism rights activists often to show people what a loss to society there would be if autism were cured. Others in the autism rights movement, however, dislike this argument, because they feel autistics should be able to value their uniqueness without the desire for a cure even regardless of whether or not people like Einstein were not autistic.

Activist campaigns

In the early 2000s, activist campaigns started, mostly over the Internet.

In April 2000, Autistics.org hosted an online counter-rally called "Hear Our Voices" to protest an autism rally in Washington, D.C called "Hear Their Silence" that they disagreed with. [1] [1]

In 2004, a Autistic Adults Picture Project was started in response to similar projects started by parents that only include pictures of children.

In September 2004, the "Our Names are Autism Too" is a campaign that protested an article titled "My Name is Autism" that presented a view autistic activists found insulting.

In October 2004, the Signatures of Intolerance campaign was started over controversy surrounding ABA in Canada.

In 2004, the Petition to Defend the Dignity of Autistic Citizens was started to protest the use of insults to describe autism (such as "mad child disease").

In 2004 Aspies for Freedom started a campaign against the use of electric shock devices on autistic children at the Judge Rotenberg Center in Massachussets, USA. This is an ongoing campaign by Aspies For Freedom and will continue until the use of such devices is stopped. The campaigns involves raising public awareness of this activity at the Center, an e-mail campaign, and protests are planned.

Aspergian Pride's Cure for Ignorance Campaign seeks to raise the visibility of pride and advocacy sites in searches for autism-related terms by distributing a list of links.

In January 2005 the Lenny Schafer's Inquisition was started to protest Lenny Schafer's assertion that anyone who can speak, write or sign can't possibly be autistic but instead "Asperger's" and to protest his assertion that Asperger's Syndrome should be removed from the autism spectrum.

In February 2005 autistics.org started the "Autistics speak" campaign to protest NBC's website Autism Speaks because autistics.org believes NBC's "Autism speaks" is mostly non-autistic people claiming to speak on behalf of autistic people.