why is autism speaks so bad, you may ask? 1. Very little money donated to autism speaks is actually donated to autism. 2. The fundraising strategies of autism speaks promote fear, stigma, and prejudice against autistic people. According to The Washington Post, "In 2009, Autism Speaks released an ad titled 'I Am Autism' that portrayed autism as a silent and sinister killer. The ad claimed that autism 'works faster than pediatric AIDS, cancer and diabetes combined' and ensures that marriages will fail, financial ruin will ensue and that it will 'rob [parents] of [their] children and dreams.'" This doesn't just portray autism as a disease, but it also portrays it as a curse of some kind. The article states that "I Am Autism" implies that autism can cause financial ruin, marriage fails, and the robbing of parent's children and dreams. Even though I'm not autistic, I understand that autism is not a disease and most definitely not a curse. It simply doesn't have the ability to cause all the things the ad says it can. And these are just 3 of the many reasons why autism speaks is a bad company.
