Autism rights movement
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{{Autism rights movement}}
{{Discrimination (sidebar)}}
The '''autism rights movement''' ('''ARM''') is a [[social movement]] that encourages [[Autism|autistic]] people, their caregivers and society to adopt a position of [[neurodiversity]], accepting autism as a variation in functioning rather than a [[mental disorder]] to be cured. The ARM advocate a greater tolerance of autistic behaviors, teaching autistic individuals skills that allow them to better cope with the non-autistic world rather than forcing them to behave like their [[neurotypical]] peers, and objects to treatment goals like extinguishing harmless [[stimming]], forcing [[eye contact]] and breaking routines.
The movement is [[controversial]] and there are a wide variety of both supportive and critical opinions about the movement among people whose lives are affected by autism. Objections to the movement include a belief that the benefits claimed to accompany autism are overstated, and that the movement's activities may reduce funding for autism research and treatment. Parents of children with autism state that [[Applied behavior analysis|behavioral interventions]] used to treat autism help them care for children with aggressive or dangerous behaviors, and that autism exacts a toll on the entire family. Some critics have argued that the movement does not represent autistic people of all functioning levels.
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. These individuals do not believe autism can, or should be cured, instead believing that they deserve the opportunity to use their strengths to cope with difficulties presented by autism.
==Anti-cure perspective==
Curing autism is a [[Ethical challenges to autism treatment|controversial]] and [[politicized issue]]. What some call the "autistic community" has splintered into several strands. Some seek a cure for autism—sometimes dubbed as ''pro-cure''. Others view autism as a way of life rather than as a disease, and as such consider a cure unnecessary and resist efforts to find one<ref name=Harmon/><ref name=SanerDisease/> or view it as unethical.<ref>[[Michelle Dawson|Dawson, Michelle]]. [http://www.sentex.net/~nexus23/naa_aba.html The Misbehaviour of Behaviourists.] ([[18 January]] [[2004]]). Retrieved on [[23 January]] [[2007]].</ref> They are sometimes dubbed ''anti-cure''.
The ''anti-cure perspective'' is considered a fundamental value of the movement. It is the view that [[autism]] is not a disorder, but an alternate variation in brain wiring with its own benefits and drawbacks.<ref name=Harmon/> The anti-cure perspective supports the model of autism that says that autism is an integral part of the autistic person's personality,<ref name=Harmon/> and that autism is something that cannot be separated from the person. For this reason, some anti-cure autistics, such as [[Jim Sinclair]] and [[Michelle Dawson]], reject [[person-first terminology]] and prefer to be referred to as "autistics" or "autistic people" instead of "people with autism" or "people who have autism", because "person with autism" implies that autism is something that can be removed from the person.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.archive.org/web/20070810041804/http://web.syr.edu/~jisincla/person_first.htm|title=Why I dislike "person first" language|author= Sinclair, Jim|date=1999|publisher=Jim Sinclair's personal website|accessdate= 2007-11-07}}</ref><ref name=Harmon/>
Jim Sinclair says that curing an autistic person is equivalent to causing the autistic person to cease to exist and be replaced with a different (non-autistic) person.<ref name=DontMourn/> Anti-cure autistics believe quirks and uniqueness of autistic individuals should be tolerated as the differences of any minority group should be tolerated.<ref name=Dawson>{{cite web |url=http://www.autistics.org/library/dawson.html |title=In Support of Michelle Dawson and Her Work|publisher=Autistics.org |accessdate=2007-11-07}}</ref> Autistics.org has responded to Kit Weintraub's wish to remove her son's autistic symptoms so that he will make friends by saying that when someone is bullied or ostracized for a quality, it is because of people who are intolerant and not the fault of people who are different.<ref name= Dawson /> Anti-cure autistics view talk about visions for a future where autism has been eradicated as a wish for the end of [[Sociological and cultural aspects of autism|their culture]] and way of being.<ref name=DontMourn/>
Some people within the autistic community hold the view that autism, as a valid and unique way of being, should be embraced and appreciated, not shunned or cured.<ref name=Harmon/><ref name=Gal>{{cite news |author=Gal L |title= Who says autism's a disease? |work=Haaretz |date=2007-06-28 |url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/876283.html |accessdate=2007-07-16}}</ref> They say they feel threatened by the growing search for a cure, as if society has little use for autistics. They argue that autism is a normal part of the diverse human condition and say the focus on a cure amounts to treating them as a medical problem.<ref name=TrivediProud>{{cite journal |title= Autistic and proud of it |date=2005 |journal= New Scientist |author=Trivedi B|issue=2504 |pages=36}}</ref> The autism rights movement says that efforts to cure autism should not be compared, for example, to curing cancer, rather to the antiquated notion of curing left-handedness.<ref name=Harmon/>
When asked if society should change for people with autism or people with autism should change to fit in with society, [[Simon Baron-Cohen]] said it's a bit of both: people with autism are trying to fit in, but society should change to some extent. Educating teachers and other children at school could help children who have a hard time at school and are often bullied and teased.<ref>{{cite journal |title= In a different world |date=2001 |journal= New Scientist |author= Else L |issue=2286 |pages=42}}</ref> Baron-Cohen said:<ref name=SanerDisease/>
{{cquote|I do think there is a benefit in trying to help people with autism-spectrum conditions with areas of difficulty such as emotion recognition. Nobody would dispute the place for interventions that alleviate areas of difficulty, while leaving the areas of strength untouched. But to talk about a 'cure for autism' is a sledge-hammer approach and the fear would be that in the process of alleviating the areas of difficulty, the qualities that are special - such as the remarkable attention to detail, and the ability to concentrate for long periods on a small topic in depth - would be lost. Autism is both a disability and a difference. We need to find ways of alleviating the disability while respecting and valuing the difference.}}
Parents with the perspective of autism as a disorder (which is sometimes called the ''pro-cure perspective'' in the autism rights movement) believe that a cure for autism is in their children's best interests because they see a cure as something that will reduce suffering.<ref name=OnCuring>{{cite web|url=http://wampum.wabanaki.net/archives/001574.html|title=On "curing" autism|date=[[January 5]], [[2005]]|publisher=wampum.wabanaki.net|accessdate=2007-11-07}}</ref><ref name=NYTLetter>{{cite web |url=http://www.sarnet.org/ltr/weintraub1-05.htm |title=Letter to the NY Times from Kit Weintraub |author=Weintraub, Kit |publisher= The Schafer Autism Report |accessdate=2007-11-07}}</ref> People with the pro-cure perspective have been disdainfully labeled "curebies."<ref name=Harmon/>
==People in the movement==
===Organized groups===
Organized groups of the autism rights movement include the [[Autism Network International]] (ANI)—a [[self-advocacy]] organization founded in 1992 run for and by autistic people and which hosts an annual conference called ''Autreat''—and [[Aspies For Freedom]]—an activist group founded by Amy and Gareth Nelson in 2004 which started [[Autistic Pride Day]] and protested against the [[Judge Rotenberg Educational Center]].
Prominent websites include neurodiversity.com.<ref name=Harmon/>
===Individuals===
* [[Amanda Baggs]] has written for Autistics.org, an anti-cure autism website. She was featured in an article on [[CNN]] in February 2007.<ref name=CNNLiving>{{cite web|title=Living with autism in a world made for others |author=Gajilan, A. Chris |date= [[February 22]], [[2007]] |url= http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/02/21/autism.amanda/index.html |publisher= CNN |accessdate= 2007-11-07}}</ref>
* Harvey Blume coined the term ''neurodiversity''.<ref name=BlumeAtlantic>{{cite news |author= Blume, Harvey |url= http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/199809u/neurodiversity |title= Neurodiversity |publisher= The Atlantic |date= [[September 30]], [[1998]] |accessdate= 2007-11-07}}</ref>
* [[Michelle Dawson]] is an autistic person and autism researcher who has challenged the ethics and science of applied behavior analysis and what she considers to be exclusion of autistic adults in the Autism Society of Canada.
* Ari Ne'eman founded the Autistic Self Advocacy Network and spearheaded a protest against an autism ad campaign by the [[NYU]] Child Study Center.<ref>{{cite news |work= New York |title= The autism rights movement |last= Solomon |first= Andrew |date=2008-05-25 |accessdate=2008-05-27 |url=http://nymag.com/news/features/47225/}}</ref>
* [[Jim Sinclair]] is a co-founder of [[Autism Network International]] and author of the essay "Don't Mourn for Us," an anti-cure essay.<ref name=DontMourn>{{cite web |url=http://www.edmonds-institute.org/dontmour.html |title=Don't mourn for us |publisher=The Edmonds Institute |author= Sinclair, Jim |date=1993 | accessdate= 2007-11-07}}</ref>
The essays of some individuals in the movement, including Amanda Baggs and Jim Sinclair, have been used as reading assignments in a class at the [[University of Wisconsin-Madison]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://web.archive.org/web/20050514145357/http://psych.wisc.edu/lang/webcourse-sp04/assignments.html |title=Exploring autism |publisher= The University of Wisconsin-Madison |accessdate=2007-11-07}}</ref>
==="Neurotypical" supporters===
Although this movement is sometimes considered to consist only of autistic people,{{Fact|date=April 2008}} there are some parents involved in the movement.<ref name=Dawson/> [[Morton Ann Gernsbacher]], who is a parent of an autistic child and a professor of psychology, said that autistics need acceptance and not a cure and has expressed opposition to the view of autism as a disorder.<ref name=Acceptance>{{cite web |url=http://www.autistics.org/library/acceptance.html |date= [[April 24]], [[2004]] |author=Gernsbacher, Morton Ann |title= Autistics Need Acceptance, Not Cure |publisher=autistics.org |accessdate=2007-11-07}}</ref> Estee Klar-Wolfond, the mother of an autistic son, founded The Autism Acceptance Project in support of autistic people.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.taaproject.com |title= Homepage |publisher= The Autism Acceptance Project |accessdate= 2007-11-07}}</ref> Autistics.org claims that parents can be the movement's strongest allies.<ref name=Dawson /><ref name=Allies>{{cite web |url= http://www.autistics.org/library/allies.html |title= Identifying, Educating, and Empowering Allies |author =Schwarz, Phil |publisher= autistics.org |date=June 2004 |accessdate= 2007-11-07}}</ref> In addition, some autistic people involved in the movement are also parents.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://cap.autistics.org/ |title= C.A.P.: Celebrating Autistic Parents |publisher= autistics.org |date=2004 |accessdate= 2007-11-07}}</ref> Autism professionals [[Tony Attwood]] and [[Simon Baron-Cohen]] have sent supportive messages to the Aspies for Freedom organization.<ref name=Attwood>{{cite web |url=http://www.aspiesforfreedom.com/index.php?page=libraryview&document=tonyatwood |title= (Registration required)|publisher= Aspies for Freedom |accessdate=2007-11-07}} [http://web.archive.org/web/20061012143523/http://aspiesforfreedom.com/index.php?page=libraryview&document=tonyatwood Internet archive version.] Retrieved on [[2008-02-23]].</ref><ref name=SimonBC>{{cite web |url= http://www.aspiesforfreedom.com/index.php?page=libraryview&document=simonbaroncohen |title= (Registration required)|publisher= Aspies for Freedom |accessdate=2007-11-07}} [http://web.archive.org/web/20061018063829/http://www.aspiesforfreedom.com/index.php?page=libraryview&document=simonbaroncohen Internet archive version.] Retrieved on [[2008-02-23]].</ref>
===Critics===
Some of the most critical pro-cure advocates are non-autistic relatives of autistics, e.g. those represented by FAAAS, Families of Adults Affected by Asperger Syndrome.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.faaas.org |title=Homepage|publisher=Families of Adults Affected by Asperger's Syndrome |accessdate=2007-11-07}}</ref>
==History==
[[Autism Network International]] was founded in 1992. Later in the mid-1990s the [[world wide web]] began to emerge and websites increased awareness about the neurodiversity perspective of autism.<ref name=Woodford/> Autistics.org was founded in 1998 and started Internet campaigns in 2000.
Michelle Dawson's ethical challenges to ABA and the founding of Aspies for Freedom both occurred in 2004. In December 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.<ref name=Harmon>{{cite news |last=Harmon |first=Amy |title=How About Not 'Curing' Us, Some Autistics Are Pleading |date=[[December 20]], [[2004]] |publisher=New York Times | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/20/health/20autism.html |accessdate=2007-11-07}}</ref>
==Issues==
The movement embraces a number of issues and goals that range from challenging the way autistic people are treated by others to challenging the way autism is portrayed. Not all supporters of the movement have the same opinions about the issues and there is controversy about the issues from within the movement.
===Autism treatment===
{{further|[[Autism therapies]]}}
A controversial public conflict occurred between parents of children with autism and autistic adults when the [[Supreme Court of Canada]] ruled against families asking the government to pay for their children's [[applied behavior analysis]] (ABA) as a medical necessity. [[Michelle Dawson]], a Canadian autistic, had submitted testimony questioning the ethics of ABA. Her position angered many parents fighting to get government and insurance company benefits for their children.<ref name=Harmon/><ref name=Gal/>
An autistic person named Jane Meyerding criticized therapy which attempts to remove autistic behaviors because she says that the behaviors that the therapy tries to remove are attempts to communicate.<ref name=Harmon/>
Michelle Dawson testified in ''[[Auton (Guardian ad litem of) v. British Columbia (Attorney General)|Auton v. British Columbia]]'' and was cited in the [[Supreme Court of Canada]]'s ruling in the case.<ref name=Harmon/> Michelle Dawson has received heated criticism from some parents of autistic children because of her criticism of [[applied behavior analysis]] and her involvement in ''Auton v. British Columbia''.<ref name=RogerCollier/><ref name=Woodford/> These critics{{Clarifyme|date=March 2008}} say ABA has been scientifically proven to be effective and gives autistic children the best chance of success in adulthood. Some parents believe that intensive behavioral therapy is the only way to rescue autistic children.<ref name=Harmon/> Some critics also fear that the movement will prevent other autistic children from receiving treatment. [[Kit Weintraub]] has responded to Michelle Dawson's claims that ABA is harmful by saying that it is harmful to deny medically necessary and appropriate treatment to autistic children who need it. Weintraub said she does not want ideology to triumph over the welfare of autistic children.<ref name= Weintraub>Weintraub, Kit. [http://web.archive.org/web/20051216174906/http://asatonline.org/resources/library/moms_perspective.html A Mother's Perspective]. Retrieved on [[24 January]] [[2007]].</ref>
Bobby Newman said in an issue of the Schafer Autism Report that he believes that those without basic skills of self-care would not want those who are capable of communication to speak on their behalf.<ref>Newman, Bobby. "Behavioral Flowers for Algernon", [[Lenny Schafer|Schafer Autism Report]], April 2004.</ref> Baggs, who has been published at Autistics.org, responded to Bobby Newman's argument by saying that she was once in the situation Newman describes and would have wanted activists to stop her from receiving treatment she felt was harmful.<ref>{{cite web |author=[[Amanda Baggs|Baggs, A]]|url=http://www.autistics.org/library/time.html |title=Past, Present, and Future|publisher=autistics.org|date=2004|accessdate=2007-11-07}}</ref> A parent named Estee Klar-Wolfond has expressed concern that her son will be forced into ABA programs where he will not benefit.<ref name=RogerCollier/>
===Elimination of autism===
Since those in the autism rights movement see autism as a natural human variation and not a disorder, they are opposed to attempts to eliminate autism. In particular, there is opposition to prenatal genetic testing of autism in unborn fetuses, which some believe might be possible in the future (see [[Heritability of autism]]). Some worry that this can prevent autistic people from being born.<ref name=Harmon/> On [[February 23]], [[2005]] Joseph Buxbaum of the [[Autism Genome Project]] at the [[Mount Sinai School of Medicine]] said there could be a prenatal test for autism within 10 years.<ref>{{cite web |author= Herrera, Sue |url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7013251 |title=Autism research focuses on early intervention: Genetic clues sought in fight against disorder |publisher= MSNBC |date= [[February 23]], [[2005]]|accessdate=2007-11-07}}</ref> However, the [[causes of autism|genetics of autism]] have proven to be extremely complex.<ref name=Freitag>{{cite journal |author= Freitag CM |title= The genetics of autistic disorders and its clinical relevance: a review of the literature |journal= Mol Psychiatry |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=2–22 |date=2007 |doi=10.1038/sj.mp.4001896 |pmid=17033636 |url=http://www.nature.com/mp/journal/v12/n1/full/4001896a.html}}</ref> In any case, the Autistic Genocide Clock was started in response to this, which counts down to 10 years after Buxbaum made this announcement.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.ventura33.com/clock/ |title= The Autistic Genocide Clock |publisher= Ventura33 FanFiction |accessdate=2007-11-07}}</ref> The public has started to debate the [[ethics]] involved in the possible elimination of a [[genotype]] that has liabilities and advantages, which may be seen as tampering with [[natural selection]].<ref>{{cite web |publisher= [[MSNBC]] |url= http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7899821/ |title= Would you have allowed Bill Gates to be born? Advances in prenatal genetic testing pose tough questions |author= Caplan, Arthur |date= [[May 31]], [[2005]] |accessdate= 2007-11-07}}</ref>
Some people lament that professionals, such as social workers, may discourage autistics from having children.<ref name=TrivediProud/> Some are concerned that the "ultimate cure will be a genetic test to prevent autistic children from being born"<ref name=Harmon/> and that most fetuses with autism would be aborted if prenatal tests for autism are developed.<ref name=SanerDisease>{{cite news |author= Saner E |title= 'It is not a disease, it is a way of life' |work= The Guardian |date=2007-08-07 |url=http://society.guardian.co.uk/health/story/0,,2143123,00.html |accessdate=2007-08-07}}</ref>
===Perception of autism===
[[Image:Autismawareness.jpg||right||frame|The puzzle piece ribbon is used by some autism societies.]]
Autism has been compared to a disease, rather than the variation in functioning preferred by supporters of [[neurodiversity]], with an attendant focus on the burden placed on society in caring for autistic individuals. Caring for individuals with autism has been compared to treating a patient with [[cancer]], though extended over the duration of a normal lifespan.<ref name=Bettelheim>{{cite web | authorlink = Michelle Dawson |last=Dawson |first=Michelle |title=Bettelheim's Worst Crime: Autism and the Epidemic of Irresponsibility |url= http://www.sentex.net/~nexus23/md_01.html |publisher= Michelle Dawson's No Autistics Allowed |date=[[September 9]], [[2003]] | accessdate=2007-11-07}}</ref> Autistic children have also been described as being held hostage to a psychiatric disorder.<ref name=Kaufman>Kaufman, Joanne. [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/14/business/media/14adco.html?_r=1&oref=slogin Campaign on Childhood Mental Illness Succeeds at Being Provocative]. [[New York Times]]. [[2007-12-14]]. Retrieved: [[2008-02-24]]. </ref> Others have used the term 'mad child disease' to describe autism,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2004/9/13/112130.shtml |title=Mad Child Disease |last=Glueck |first=MA | coauthors = Cihak, RJ |accessdate=2007-01-04 |date=2004-09-13 |publisher=Newsmax.com }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lewrockwell.com/miller/miller14.html |title=Mercury on the Mind |last=Miller |first=DW |date=2004-09-29 |accessdate=2008-01-04 }}</ref> which some autistic individuals and their parents have found highly offensive.<ref name=Dignity>{{cite web |url= http://www.neurodiversity.com/mothers_for_dignity.html |title= Petition to Defend the Dignity of Autistic Citizens |publisher= neurodiversity.com |date=July 2005 |accessdate=2007-11-07}}</ref> [[Margaret Somerville]], founding director of the [[McGill Centre for Medicine, Ethics and Law]], said that with activism there is a direct goal and it is sometimes necessary to sacrifice complexity and nuance to make a point, but some autistic activists don't believe desperation justifies the rhetoric.<ref name=RogerCollier/> [[Bennett L. Leventhal]] said he understands concern about comparing autistic children to victims of hostage but thinks the campaigns make the point that these are real diseases that will consume children if untreated.<ref name=Kaufman/> Autistic rights activists also reject terming the reported increase in the autistic population as an '[[epidemic]]' since the word implies autism is a disease.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.neurodiversity.com/mind_epidemic.html |title=The "Autism Epidemic" & Real Epidemics |date=2005-03-25 |accessdate=2008-01-04 |publisher=neurodiversity.com }}</ref>
Attempts have also been made to place a figure on the financial 'cost' of autism, addressed to both scholarly<ref>{{cite book |author=John L R Rubenstein; Moldin, Steven O. |title=Understanding autism: from basic neuroscience to treatment |publisher=Taylor & Frances |location=Boca Raton |year=2006 |pages= |isbn=0849327326 |oclc= |doi=}}</ref> and popular audiences.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fightingautism.org/clock/index.php |title=Autism Clock |publisher=fightingautism.org |accessdate=2008-01-04 }}</ref> These efforts have been criticized by some autism rights advocates, comparing it to the now-reviled [[eugenics]] movement in the early 20th century.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.autistics.org/library/thenandnow.html |title= Then and Now: 1926, The Bad Old Days |publisher= autistics.org |accessdate= 2008-01-04}}</ref> [[Michelle Dawson]] has pointed out that no effort has been made to examine the cost of 'eliminating the disease' to autistic individuals,<ref name = burden>{{cite web |url=http://autismcrisis.blogspot.com/2007/04/autistic-persons-burden.html |last=Dawson |first=Michelle | authorlink = Michelle Dawson |accessdate=2008-01-04 |date=2007-04-03 |title=The autistic person's burden }}</ref> and she, as well as others, have also pointed out the valuable contributions autistic individuals can, and have made to society.<ref name = burden/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/getArticle.cfm?id=2147 |title=The True Meaning of Research Participation |date=2007-04-01 |last=Gernsbacher |first=MA |publisher=[[Association for Psychological Science]] |accessdate=2008-01-04 }}</ref>
===Autistic traits===
Some autistic rights activists believe some characteristics described as being autistic traits are actually misconceptions.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://isnt.autistics.org/ |title=What is NT? | |publisher= Institute for the Study of the Neurologically Typical |date= [[March 18]], [[2002]] |accessdate=2007-11-07}}</ref> Michelle Dawson has disputed the belief that 75% of autistic people have low intelligence.<ref name=RogerCollier>Collier, Roger. [http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/observer/story.html?id=71fae5dc-7eb5-48fd-8f60-78deebee9879&p=1 "Autism".] ''The Ottowa Citizen'' [[2007-12-01]]. Retrieved on [[2008-02-17]].</ref> Psychologist [[Laurent Mottron]] of [[Hôpital Rivière-des-Prairies]] in [[Montreal]] says that autistic people often score much higher on a nonverbal test of abstract reasoning than on a standard IQ test.<ref name=Bower>{{cite web |author= Bower, Bruce |url=http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20070707/fob4.asp |title= Hidden Smarts: Abstract thought trumps IQ scores in autism
|publisher= Science News Online |date= [[July 7]], [[2007]], Vol. 172, No. 1, p. 4|accessdate=2007-11-08}}</ref> As of 2006, some people have begun to subscribe to the belief that autistic people lack a "[[theory of mind]]"; that is, they are unaware that others do not necessarily think or know the same things that they(autistics) do.{{Fact|date=July 2008}} Some autistics have claimed that non-autistics are insensitive to ''their'' perspectives, and write [[parody|parodies]] based on this, addressing non-autism as a mental disorder characterized by lack of "theory of other minds".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://isnt.autistics.org/salanne.html |title= The Sal and Anne Test: Implications, and Theory of Mind |publisher= Institute for the Study of the Neurologically Typical |date= [[September 26]], [[1998]]|accessdate=2007-11-07}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://isnt.autistics.org/theory_of_mind.html |title=NT Theory of Mind |publisher=Institute for the Study of the Neurologically Typical |accessdate=2007-11-07}}</ref>
[[Jim Sinclair]], who has also been target of similar criticism from very early on, goes into detail about "the politics of opposition to self-advocacy".<ref name=ANIHistory>{{cite web |url= http://web.archive.org/web/20070826110842/http://web.syr.edu/~jisincla/History_of_ANI.html |title= Autism Network International: The Developnment of a Community and its Culture |author=Sinclair, Jim |date=January 2005 |publisher=Jim Sinclair's personal website |accessdate=2007-11-07}}</ref> He notes, for example, that a common tactic is denying that "the persons mounting the challenge are really members of the group to which they claim membership". Sinclair illustrates the point with an analogy regarding [[Frederick Douglass]], a [[19th century|nineteenth-century]] [[African American]] who became a well-known [[Abolitionism|abolitionist]] writer and speaker. Douglass was after some time suspected of being an impostor because he was well spoken and educated, so he did not fit the [[stereotype]] of black slaves.
The controversy has erupted on autism e-mail lists, where some parents are referred to derogatorily as "curebies" and "portrayed as slaves to conformity, so anxious for their children to appear normal that they cannot respect their way of communicating".<ref name=Harmon/> These parents respond that this attitude shows "a typical autistic lack of empathy by suggesting that they should not try to help their children". Lenny Schafer said that the autism-like lack of [[empathy]] of anti-cure activists prevent them from seeing what is in the hearts of pro-cure advocates.<ref>Schafer, Lenny. [http://web.archive.org/web/20050507231402/http://lists.envirolink.org/pipermail/sareport/Week-of-Mon-20050110/000350.html "Response to Letters: Somewhere Over the Spectrum, Part 3."] Volume 9 Number 5. [[2005-01-12]]. Retrieved on [[2008-01-04]].</ref>
===Functioning labels===
Some autistic activists say it is not easy to distinguish between high and low functioning.<ref name=Harmon/> Some autistic individuals, in contrast, are supportive of the distinction between the low and high functioning labels as well as autism and Asperger's, and believe it is important in helping individuals get proper consultation and treatment.<ref name=SueRubin>Rubin, Sue. [http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/presents/shows/autism.world/notebooks/sue/notebook.html Acceptance versus Cure.] CNN Programs - Presents. Retrieved on [[2008-02-17]].</ref>
There is also controversy about how well autistic people of different functioning levels are represented in the movement. Critics of the movement argue that the autistic spectrum people opposed to a cure are [[high-functioning autism|high functioning autistic]] or have [[Asperger syndrome]]<ref name=Harmon/> and that they have the ability to communicate. [[Lenny Schafer]], for example, argues that those in the movement are [[Hans Asperger|Asperger]] autistics, as opposed to [[Leo Kanner|Kanner]] autistics. He says that if they would change every use of ''autism'' to read ''Asperger syndrome'' the movement might "make sense".<ref name= Harmon/> They{{Clarifyme|date=March 2008}} argue that [[autism|low functioning]] autistic people have much less ability to communicate, but that the movement's activists clearly have the ability to write eloquently, and they believe that those who have less ability to communicate are likely to want or need very different things from those who can communicate more readily. This is re-iterated by Sue Rubin, diagnosed with autism, when she states, 'High-functioning people speak and low-functioning people don't...low functioning people are just trying to get through the day without hurting, tapping, flailing, biting, screaming, etc. The thought of a gold pot of a potion with a cure really would be wonderful."<ref name=SueRubin/>
One study said that approximately 78% of spectrum sufferers are high functioning.<ref>Judith Barnard, Virginia Harvey. David Potter, Aidan Prior (2001) in "The reality for adults with autism spectrum disorders", published by The National Autistic Society, 393 City Road, London EC1V 1NG, ISBN 1-899280-61-8</ref> The research indicated that functional level is not a strong indicator of support services needed—in other words, being high functioning or even very high functioning did not ensure independent living. Two percent of low functioning autistics were found to have stable full-time paid employment, and only 12 percent of high functioning autistics have stable full-time paid employment. Rates of independent living amongst high functioning autistics is only four percent, with a further 13 percent able to live on their own with professional or family support. The impact on caregivers of low functioning autists is enormous, but the impact on caregivers of high functioning autists is, contrary to popular belief, almost as large. In a 2001 ''New Scientist'' interview about [[Asperger syndrome]], [[Simon Baron-Cohen]] (an autism researcher) said that Asperger's differs from [[autism|classic autism]] in terms of disability because, from the perspective of the person with AS, they may be different, but not disabled, while classic autism causes more difficulties.
When critics claim that the people in the movement have Asperger's and not other autism spectrum disorders, the people in the autism rights movement see this as an attempt to diagnose them via the Internet.<ref name=Dawson /> Michelle Dawson says that some parents tell her that she is different from their children because she can express herself and live independently and their children cannot. Michelle Dawson responds by saying that she could not live independently when she was a child either.<ref name=Woodford>Woodford, Gillian. [http://www.nationalreviewofmedicine.com/issue/2006/04_30/3_patients_practice05_8.html "'We Don't Need to be Cured' Autistics Say".] ''National Review of Medicine''. Volume 3 Number 8. [[2006-04-30]]. Retrieved on [[2008-02-10]].</ref> Phil Schwarz has responded to claims that the autistic advocates are higher functioning than autistic children by saying it is not always reasonable to compare the abilities of an autistic child with those of an autistic adult.<ref name=Allies/> A common complaint is that anti-cure advocates are clearly able to articulate complex opinions in writing, which is seen by some critics as inconsistent with a diagnosis of autism.<ref name=Dawson/>
Some autistic authors such as [[Amanda Baggs]] have claimed that this is not always the case that anti-cure autistics have mild difficulties.<ref name=BaggsToKit/> She says that when the critics assume that intelligent and articulate autistic people do not have difficulties like self-injurious behavior and difficulty with self-care, they affect the opinions of policy makers and make it more difficult for intelligent and articulate autistic people to get services. Baggs cites an example of an autistic person who was denied services based on having an IQ above 70.<ref name=BaggsToKit>{{cite web|author= [[Amanda Baggs|Baggs, AM]] |date=2005 |url=http://www.autistics.org/library/ambweintraub.html |title= To the Kit Weintraubs of the World |publisher=autistics.org |accessdate=2007-11-07}}</ref>
Some people also say the activists opposed to a cure are typically "high functioning" or have Asperger's syndrome.<ref name=Harmon/><ref name=Gal/> [[Sue Rubin]], an adult with autism who was the subject of the [[Academy Awards|Oscar]]-nominated documentary ''[[Autism Is A World]]'', is an example of an adult aligned with the cure group who says that the divide in the autism community is between [[high-functioning autism|high-functioning]] and low-functioning people; she says people with Asperger syndrome can communicate well and "pass for normal", while low-functioning people with autism are just "trying to get through the day".<ref name=SueRubin/> Autistic activists reply that they represent both high- and low-functioning autism, which are not easily distinguished.<ref name=Harmon/><ref name=Gal/>
===Status as a social minority group===
Amy Nelson of Aspies For Freedom wrote a proposal in 2004 that the [[Sociological and cultural aspects of autism|autistic community]] are a social minority group and therefore should be considered as such by the [[United Nations]].<ref name=UN>{{cite press release |url= http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/11/prweb179444.htm |title=Declaration From the Autism Community That They Are a Minority Group |date =[[November 18]], [[2004]] |publisher=PRWeb, Press Release Newswire |accessdate=2007-11-07}}</ref> The letter expresses concern about the possibility that if a cure were found, autistic people may be forced to use it.<ref name=UN/> In February 2007 a petition for UK citizens to Downing street was launched by Aspies For Freedom, expressing the need for minority group status.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/autismrights/ |title= Petition to: Give minority rights to individuals on the autistic spectrum |publisher= Her Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO)|accessdate= 2007-11-07}}</ref>
===Diversity in autism===
The movement has been criticized for its own failure to incorporate diversity, include certain subgroups within the autistic community and that some in the movement are insulting to [[neurotypical]] individuals.<ref>{{cite web |author= Smith, Joel |url=http://web.archive.org/web/20051027204905/http://www.autistics.us/library/autpride2005.html |title=Autistic Pride Day: Do We Celebrate It Right? |publisher= autistics.org |date= [[June 18]] [[2005]] |accessdate=2007-11-08}} (wayback machine version)</ref>
==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}
==External links==
* [http://www.autcom.org Autism National Committee] Promotes the right to self-determination
* [http://www.autisticsociety.org/ AutisticSociety.org] - Autistic Society
* [http://www.auties.org/ Auties.org] - Self employment and advocacy site for people on the spectrum
* [http://autreach.org.uk/ Autreach] - a network of UK Autism disabled people's organisations
* [http://aspergianrights.org/ Aspergian Rights] - official home of the aspergian rights movement
{{Pervasive developmental disorders}}
[[Category:Activism by issue]]
[[Category:Autism]]
[[Category:Disability rights]]
[[Category:Political movements by issue]]
[[Category:Social movements]]
[[he:תנועת הזכויות האוטיסטית]]
[[jbo:klutiksi'o pe le sezga'o]]
[[fi:Autistien oikeuksien liike]]