laytonesqueautistic

[laytonesqueautistic]

Slice of Life

Just another regular morning in Hell.

[laytonesqueautistic]

Sam and Max from Sam and Max hate Autism Speaks!

Requested by @radiosong-remade

[Image Description: Two images set to the background of a flag with three stripes; the upper and lower stripes are both light red, the middle stripe is a darker red. The first picture has Sam and Max, an anthropomorphic cartoon dog and an anthropomorphic cartoon rabbit. The dog is wearing a suit, tie, and a hat and has one hand in his pocket, with his other hand, he is holding the rabbit close to him. The second image has the Autism Speaks logo crossed out with a ‘no’ sign. End Description.]

[laytonesqueautistic]

Socks Heeler from Bluey hates Autism Speaks!

[Image Description: Two images set to the background of a flag with three stripes; the upper and lower stripes are both light red, the middle stripe is a darker red. The first picture has Socks, a drawing of an anthropomorphic blue heeler puppy with blue fur and navy blue, powder blue, and brown patterns. She has white eyebrows. She is sitting down on all fours like a regular dog, and smiling. The second image has the Autism Speaks logo crossed out with a ‘no’ sign. End Description.]

[laytonesqueautistic]

Don't support Autism Speaks!!!!

[laytonesqueautistic]

Bluey Christine Heeler from Bluey hates Autism Speaks!

[Image Description: Two images set to the background of a flag with three stripes; the upper and lower stripes are both light red, the middle stripe is a darker red. The first picture has Bluey, a drawing of an anthropomorphic blue heeler puppy with literal blue fur, in sky blue, baby blue, and navy blue patterns. The second image has the Autism Speaks logo crossed out with a ‘no’ sign. End Description.]

[laytonesqueautistic]

I don't know who needs to hear this but it is NOT normal to want to kill your children.

This doesn't include intrusive thoughts or informed decisions to discontinue life-sustaining care or have a DNR for a suffering and terminally ill child. Not what I'm talking about.

Wanting/planning/trying to murder your children because you believe their life is not valuable to you or society as a whole or because they are a burden on you is not normal. It happens to disabled kids more than you think. Being disabled is not a reason to be executed in the slightest.

[laytonesqueautistic]

Bingo Heeler from Bluey hates Autism Speaks!

[Image Description: Two images set to the background of a flag with three stripes; the upper and lower stripes are both light red, the middle stripe is a darker red. The first picture has Bingo, a drawing of an anthropomorphic red heeler puppy with orange fur, in dark orange, light orange, and yellow patterns. The second image has the Autism Speaks logo crossed out with a ‘no’ sign. End Description.]

[laytonesqueautistic]

My stance on Autism Speaks

So yesterday, my mother sent me a photo of a page on the Autism Speaks website. It said that they have removed “finding a cure for autism” from their vocabulary. On the same page they stated that they did not support eugenics.

I went on their page to do more research on what they’re saying now. They have a page addressing their awful (and quite traumatizing) “I Am Autism” video. They apologized for it and apologized to anyone that “was offended”.

So what am I saying here?

I do not support Autism Speaks. I never will. Despite their apologies, they do not acknowledge all their wrongdoings. Even if they did, nothing will be able to make up for it. So, that being said, my stance remains the same:

If you support Autism Speaks, GET OFF MY FUCKING BLOG.

[laytonesqueautistic]

I forgot to do this before now, but reminder that ASAN puts out a new fact sheet on Autism $peaks every 2 years. This one is from 2022, and I think it should be especially noted that during a pandemic, their amount spent on "Family Services" DECREASED.

[laytonesqueautistic]

With disability pride month being over I just want to remind everyone

A) fuck Autism Speaks

B) Disability is an inevitably

C) being Disabled does not make you immune to being ableist

Tagging some people I think would reblog this post

@neurodiversebones @sunnybugz @ndcultureis @thatadhdmood @thatautisticadhdfeel

[laytonesqueautistic]

[laytonesqueautistic]

No YOU can't cure Autism. I've personally sucked the autism out of hundreds of people and absorbed it all into myself. I've become more powerful than you could possibly imagine.

[laytonesqueautistic]

Did Sia insult topic of autism somehow?

Oh honey, it's sooooooooo much worse than that.

Sia wanted to make a movie about an autistic girl that manages to connect to people/feel safe and confident through music. So far, nothing outrageous, just a simple concept that would obviously put Sia's music front and center while doing something nice and educating people on autism.

There was controversy about her not casting an autistic actress as it would have been nice representation, but she could have totally gotten away with that since, come on, hollywood hasn't even figured out Rain Man isn't exactly true to life, they're not ready to have an autistic person playing an autistic character. Baby steps.

The real problem started when Sia started promoting the "charity/support group" that was helping "educate" her on the topic to make the movie. The "charity" in question was Autism Speaks - which is absolutely HATED by the autistic community for things like:

1 - Spreading the myth that autism is a mental illness that one can develop/catch like the freaking flue and potentially be cured of, instead of a neurotype, aka something starts in the woomb and cannot be "cured" because to do that you'd need to replace someone's entire nervous system, which is impossible.

2 - Using that myth to get outrageous amounts of money from people so they "search for a cure" - that doesn't exist and will never exist because curing autism is biologically impossible, AND despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of autistic people don't even want to be "cured" (plus, since said "cure" would essentially mean giving the person a new brain, it leads to the question of "Would I even be the same person, or would that just kill and replace me?")

3 - Using the myth of "We don't know what causes autism" (we do, it's genetic) to, of course, get MORE money from people so they can "do research to find the missing puzzle piece" (if you ever see autistic people complaining about a puzzle piece being used to represent the condition, that's why, it was started by Autism Speak's massive disinformation campains).

4 - Falsely "confirming" things like soy milk cause autism with one of the world's most ridiculous "research", losing only to "vaccines totally make kids autistic, buy MY vaccine instead, guys, I am totally not an unbelievably biased person, it's ALL the other doctors/scientists lying to you. GIVE ME MONEY!"

5 - Pushing the narrative of "autism is inherently a tragedy" to distract from the fact that all the money they waste on stupid shit could be used to help autistic people and their families. Instead, they focus on creating more and more panic, making parents in particular despair even more - to the point that one of their "awareness videos" includes a mother talking about how she wants to murder her autistic daughter and then kill herself... while sitting right next to said daughter.

6 - Promoting ABA "therapy" - which was created by the same guy responsible for the attrocity that is gay conversion "therapy." Both have led to unbelievably high rates of confirmed PTSD and suicidal ideation in patients (victims), and ABA in particular has been compared to literal dog training. Very fitting since it was created by a guy who famously did not believe autistic people truly counted as thinking, feeling human beings, and said as much several times. Despite that, it is still praised by some utter bastards because "it makes the patients act less autistic when they're not crying in the corner or trying to jump out a window"

So yeah, working with these guys is a genuinely horrible thing to do since they're basically a scam/hate group pretending to be a charity - and people were STILL willing to give Sia the benefit of the doubt, since Autism Speak uses all their resources to make sure they're the first thing people see when looking up how to help autistic people.

Lots of Sia's fans, both autistic and allistic, warned her repeatedly, politely, that she needed to supporting them IMMEDIATELY as their goal was the exact opposite of the one she claimed to have - aka raise awareness through an accurate portrail of autism. People were even kind enough to name organizations like ASAN as replacements to help her fix any damage done to the project.

And instead of being a decent human being, Sia decided to cry on twitter about how the mean retar-I mean, autistics were bullying her even when she was so kindly using them for her vanity project.

Because yes, that's how the movie turned out. An unwatcheable piece of garbage, with the autistic "character" being so fucking bad even the people who actively use "autistic" as insulted being offended on our behalf - and of course, she was used just a prop to show how awesome Sia's character was.

Seriously, it was so bad the actress playing the autistic girl was sobbing in between scenes because she knew how it was horrible and she didn't want to insult anyone, but Sia is literally her godmother and helped her career by putting her in nearly all her music videos so she felt obligated to go along with it.

So yeah, fuck Sia and fuck Autism Speaks.

[laytonesqueautistic]

[laytonesqueautistic]

Autism Every Day

The Boycott Autism Speaks movement is gaining momentum. I see the posts on my dash and I feel hope for the future and pride in my community. Tonight Autism Speak’s infamous video, “Autism Every Day”, went across my dashboard. I’ve seen it before, and I cried then, but tonight I can’t even watch it all the way through. I press play, and I try, but I get to the part where that mother is talking about wanting a bagel and I just break down. We’re supposed to watch the video’s opening sequence, a long line of video clips depicting Autistic children crying, having meltdowns, being “uncooperative”, stimming, and otherwise looking too disabled for their parent’s taste, and we’re supposed to feel for the parents. Oh, how awful. Oh, what a terrible thing to have to deal with every day. Autism Every Day. What a pity. I was an Autistic child. My mother was never like these mothers, and for that I thank God every day. But I am Autistic. I know what it’s like to grow up in a world that actively despises me and seeks out to destroy my neurotype. And when I watch this, all I see is child after child being mistreated. Yes, mistreated. No, don’t tell me I should not presume to judge these women.

When the needs, well-being, and happiness of a child is put second to the emotional issues of their mother, by their mother, that child is being mistreated.

When a child is said to be a burden, a tragedy, the cause of their mother’s suicidal ideations– and when this is all said in front of the child in question– that child is being mistreated.

When the child, who is actually disabled and who deals with much more daily pain, anxiety, and frustration than their non-disabled parent ever will, is pushed aside, stepped on, and forgotten in their parent’s frantic search for attention and pity, that child is being mistreated.

All I see is children who are misunderstood, and whose parents are making no effort to understand them. All I see are children who need acceptance, but who are openly resented. All I see are beautiful, Autistic, disabled, bright, frustrated, loving, deeply hurting children who are surrounded family, but who are really all alone.

Autism Speaks. You say we are the tragedy. You make us out to be monsters, monsters who snatch away unsuspecting parent’s pre-birth dreams of a normal, non-disabled, neurotypical child. Monsters who tear apart marriages and drain bank accounts, and who just exist, unabashedly and undisguisedly disabled. Different. No. You are the tragedy, and the monsters are the ones who perpetuate this hatred, this fear, this hopelessness– all for the purpose of scaring up cash.

I hope, for the sake of these beautiful children, that monstrousness is a state of condition, changeable and non-static. I hope for every one of the mothers in this video, and for every one of Autism Speaks’ CEOs and board members and administrators and video producers and disciples and advocates, that the state of monstrousness can be overcome and transformed with truth and love. Because I’m tired of seeing Autistic children mistreated. Abused. Murdered.

I don’t usually speak so forcefully or write using such strong words. Many of the readers of my blog are the parents of Autistic children, so I always step lightly, type carefully. I try to change minds with love. Well, tonight, here’s the truth. I think we need both, love and truth, to right the wrongs and make a change.

[laytonesqueautistic]

Changed it so it’s slightly more readable (my handwriting is the worst) and so it’s more obvious who we are talking about here…

Image description: a light bulb labeled “A$” illuminates pale blue. Six ghostly blue puzzle pieces float over three scared children, shouting mean things at them. The word bubbles say: “You’re why we can’t have nice things or have any fun!” “We don’t hate you, we just hate your autism!” “Mommy would have killed you were it not for your normal sister!” “Worse than AIDS and cancer combined!!” “Anyone who puts up with you must be a saint!!” “Hands down!” The three children are afraid and worried as they sit on the floor, assaulted by the words. One covers hear ears, squinting her eyes shut. Another covers his face partially as he cries. The adolescent in the middle looks serious as they display a sign reading “and you say that we are the scary ones.”

#boycottautismspeaks #lightituptrue #walkinred

[laytonesqueautistic]

Image description: A youtube comment posted by user “grandmasbabees”. Their avatar is a family portrait featuring a white multigenerational family. The message reads: You paint with too broad of a brush. You may not want a cure but the family that struggles with their aged out of the system non verbal in diapers and severe self abuse DESERVE A CURE. Open up your world and see others before you say Autism should not be cured.

Above is a youtube comment that I recieved on my What’s Wrong With Autism Speaks? video. Below is my response:

Hi grandmasbabees. Firstly, I did not say Autism should not be cured: I said it can not be cured, and that many Autistic people and their families do not think that Autism needs a cure. My opinion is that focusing on a cure for Autism is harmful and unhelpful, but opinions mean little when what our science knows of Autistic neurology says that Autism will never be curable.

The reason that Autism will never be a curable condition is because it is a developmental disability. Autism is a neurological condition, not a disease. Diseases and illnesses can be cured. Developmental disorders can not. There is no way to change the physical and neurological structure of the brain of a living human being, and so there will never be a cure for developmental disabilities.

Secondly, you say that the families of “ non verbal in diapers and severe self [abusive]” Autistic people deserve a cure. I say that the insistence on searching for a cure for Autism is not only futile, it is unfair to the very Autistic people that you mention.

By making discussions of a theoretical “cure” all about  the families of Autistic people– by focusing only on how hard it is for the neurotypical family members and by insisting that they deserve a cure– you are erasing the experiences of all the actual non-verbal Autistic people. You say family members deserve a cure– I say that Autistic people, and their families, deserve better.

Autistic people deserve to have all those millions of dollars that currently go to research to be redirected towards services and accommodation for Autistic people and their families. All that “research” is focused on finding the “Autism gene”, or developing a prenatal test for Autism. Meanwhile, one in a hundred people on this planet have ASD, and many of those people are non-verbal and frustrated. Many of these people are being mistreated or even murdered, and their families are struggling. A pre-natal test for Autism wouldn’t help any of those Autistic people or their families.

The thing that we all need to understand about self-harming behaviours in non-verbal Autistic people is that it Autistic people don’t self-harm because it is an inevitable symptom of Autism, or to make the lives of their loved ones more difficult. Self-injurious behaviour is an expression of a frustration that is unimaginable to neurotypical people. 

Non-verbal Autistic people who can’t speak with their mouths and who have no other way to communicate will self-harm out of deep frustration and in an attempt to control their environment. Now, what would happen if those millions of dollars currently going towards “research” (which isn’t helping any existing Autistic people or their families at all) was instead poured into programs to help non-verbal Autistic people communicate via alternative methods?

Text-to-speech, AAC, the rapid prompting method, sign language– all of these alternative methods have the potential to give non-verbal Autistic people the chance to express themselves. And the interesting thing about self-harming behaviour is that it decreases exponentially as a person’s ability to communicate and make their needs known increases. Self-harming behaviour is not inevitable in Autistic people, it is an expression of being frustrated, misunderstood, and (as Carly Fleischmann has said) “trapped in a body [they] can’t control”.

Along with providing the teaching and technology needed to allow non-verbal Autistic people to communicate via alternative methods, putting the money that now goes towards “research” towards the area of “family services” would provide more and better therapies, accommodation, and education for Autistic people. That money could also provide services, financial assistance, and respite care for the families of Autistic people.

Autism can never be cured, and since the best we could hope for is a pre-natal test to detect Autism in fetuses, it doesn’t really matter who does or who doesn’t think Autism “should” be cured. So instead, instead of spending millions of dollars trying to find a genetic marker or pre-natal test (a goal that we may never achieve anyway), I believe that we should focus on helping actual Autistic people who are alive now.

You are right. I don’t think that Autism needs a cure, even if it could be cured. I think that Autistic people need understanding, acceptance, and accommodation.

I believe that Autism organizations should be putting money towards providing what Autistic people need to communicate, learn, and grow into healthy, happy Autistic people, and on providing the assistance and services that the families of Autistic people need to thrive and be healthy.

I know that Autism Speaks does a terrible job of being a charity, and that their message of ignorance, fear, and hate actively hurts Autistic people, and that Autism Speaks perpetuates cure culture and the search for cure or medical treatments for Autism to keep parents desperate and generate money.

I also know that messages like yours come from a place of emotional hurt, so I don’t take them personally. While acceptance is the hardest topic for the neurotypical family of Autistic people to understand and accept, I am glad to have the chance to address it.

Speaking of worlds opening up, I feel like you probably haven’t read any of the writings by the “severely autistic” non-verbal Autistic advocates that I linked to in my video description. If you are interested in opening up your world and seeing what the Autistic community is saying about Autism Speaks, cure culture, and acceptance, you can use the resources below as a starting point:

Amy Sequenzia http://nonspeakingautisticspeaking.blogspot.ca/ Amanda Baggs http://ballastexistenz.wordpress.com/ Henry Frost https://ollibean.com/tag/henry-frost/ Dora Raymaker http://doraraymaker.com/doraraymaker.com/ Carly Fleischmann https://www.facebook.com/carlysvoice Ido Kedar http://idoinautismland.blogspot.ca/