Table of Contents 1 - What is Autism? 2 - Autism Misconceptions 3 - Autism Speaks 4 - Autism Speaks Controversy 5 - My Experiences (WIP) What is Autism? Autism, also called Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), is a developmental disorder. The term Autism was coined by Swiss psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler in 1811. He referred to it as "withdrawal into one's own inner world". The term comes from the Greek word "autos" (meaning self). Autism Misconceptions People commonly think that Autism makes somebody dumb, or unable to think for themselves. Other thoughts are that Autism makes somebody disgusting, mentally unstable, or diseased. Some less common thoughts are that Autism can be spread, is a choice, can be developed, is a result of vaccine reactions, is a reaction to faulty vitamins, or occurs with bad/control-freak parenting. Autism Speaks Autism Speaks is a controversial, biased, and untrue Autism support site. It was created by Bob and Suzanne Wright after their son was diagnosed with Autism. Autism Speaks Controversy Why is Autism Speaks controversial? Think of it like PETA campaign ads, but all the actors wore leather jackets. (This actually happened once, but that's for a later infodump.) A campaign against animal crualty, but they wore the results of it. AS does the same thing; they defend Autistic people as people who can't think for themselves, people who have a disease needing to be cured, etc., even though they are supposed to be a support group. One article on the site says that, "Several factors may influence the development of autism," and "there is not one autism but many subtypes, most influenced by a combination of genetic and environmental factors." To summarise these quotes, they explain Autism as something that people develop, like PTSD/PTSS, instead of a genetic thing. My Experiences No, I don't have Autism. But I have some relatives and possibly a friend who is not yet diagnosed. I've also seen things online that made me want to do this in the first place. 1. My brother(s?) I have two brothers--one 10, the other 5. @Zeldafan487 is the eldest of the two, and he has Autism. He's such a sweet kid, and he doesn't deserve the bullcrap people give him (and he gives himself). He's really good at schoolwork, provided the focus problems. He's working on the social skills, but other than that, he could totally pass for a Neurotypical!
Sites I used for my research: Inspiration:
