by Violet McGinnis

There are two sides to every coin. Granted, you won’t oftenfind the tails side of a coin loudly denouncing the actions of the head side;that’s where the analogy rings untrue, especially in the case of the heatedbattle between one national organization and it’s greatest detractor in Second Life.

Autism Speaks is anorganization that supports research into the causes and treatments of autism,as well as finding a cure for autism. They’ve merged several autism organizationsfrom all over the country and are heading up several projects. Some suchprojects are the Autism Genetic Resource Exchange, a DNA repository and familyregistry of genetic information, as well as the Autism Tissue Program, anetwork of researchers that studies brain tissue donated for autistic research.

Autism Speaks Doesn’t Speak For Me is an organization that believesthat autism is not negative and not necessarily a disability. They state:

We know that autism is not adisease, and we oppose any attempts to "cure" someone of an autismspectrum condition, or any attempts to make them ‘normal’ against their will.

The autism spectrum they refer to ranges fromhigh-functioning autistics (such as those with Asperger’s) to thelowest-functioning types at the other end.

Autism Speaks Doesn’t Speak For Me believes that AutismSpeaks and its supporters want to genocidally wipe out autism and anyone whohas it, as well as believing that those diagnosed with autism should be treatedin all respects—including most medical ones—no differently than ‘normal’ people.They believe that Autism Speaks’ eventual goal will be to cull the autisticpopulation until autism is non-existent.

I spoke with Gareth Ellison, former member of the SecondLife branch of Autism Speaks and present head of the Second Life chapter of AutismSpeaks Doesn’t Speak For Me and the Aspies for Freedom site, to gain alittle perspective in the matter :

Gareth Ellison: [My issue with Autism Speaks is that] the type ofresearch they are doing will inevitably result in a form of autistic genocidethrough either abortion (prenatal testing) or the possibility of a drug"treatment" which would almost certainly be pushed onto autistics – Irefer you to anti-psychotics for schizophrenia for example. 

A source from Autism Speaks who wishes to remain anonymous hastheir own understanding of the group that rallies against them:

Autism Speaks Source: [Autism Speaks Doesn’t Speak For Me] believesthat the "research" that Autism Speaks is doing is to either A) cureautism or B) research on how to prenatally test for Autism so that the mothercan abort any Autistic children. […]There is no cure for Autism, so trying tofind one is just a waste of money and time. […]The purpose of Autism Speaks is*not* to find a cure, but to help research ways to make their lives better.

The anonymous source claims that any attempts atcommunication with Ellison tend to devolve into “them comparing me to Hitler.“Ellison himself doesn’t make any effort to refute the allegations:

Gareth Ellison: […]I think that the current situation where we arebeing registered (on mandatory state registers in some parts of the US), havebeen assigned a symbol (the puzzle piece) and are being told "it’s foryour own good" by people who wish to ensure we don’t reproduce too much inthe future is hauntingly similar to the persecution of the Jews leading up tothe Holocaust.

Gareth Ellison: The secondissue [I have with Autism Speaks] is the type of propaganda they put out -they’re known for being over the top and giving parents of autistic children a"doom and gloom" message. Some of this propaganda has been linked tomurders – such as "autism every day" in which one of their directorsopenly discusses how she wanted to drive off a bridge with her daughter.

What Ellison is referring to is a documentaryabout families dealing with autism. One mother of an autistic child, when facedwith the horribly inadequate schooling situation in her area, said that afterseeing the schools she contemplated driving her and her daughter off a bridgerather than sending her there.

Gareth Ellison: Their goal is (as stated) the elimination of autismfrom the human genepool. "Prevention or cure", "a world withoutautism". That’s some of the phrases they like to use in public.

The mission statement on Autism Speaksdoesn’t actually use any of these phrases. They mention things like “bringing hope to all who deal with the hardships of thisdisorder.” Also, “Autism Speaks aims to bring the autism community together asone strong voice.” They also provide resources, financial and personal supportfor the families of autistics on their site.

As opposed to people living with a disease or ‘conditionallifestyle,’ Gareth sees autistics as a minority group no different from homosexuals.

Gareth Ellison: I see autism as quite simply a different neurologicalmakeup – and autistics as a minority group. […]If you are stigmatized and toldwho you are is wrong constantly, depression is to be expected if you can notovercome it with your own self-esteem. […]What I see constantly in the newlydiagnosed is akin to someone who’s gay and experiencing homophobia. Once youaccept that your neurological wiring (or sexuality) is alright, you becomehappy.

Autism Speaks supports a number of non-medicinal solutionsto try and lessen the potential hardships caused by autism, such as the glutenfree/casein free diet.Ellison views these solutions as “quackery”:

Gareth Ellison: Most exclusion diets seem to pose a major risk tothe person’s nutritional intake. The pattern I see is where one parent triesone with their child and sees months later some kind of developmental milestone[and] they put it down to the diet. Then other parents copy it.

In the end, Ellison’s message to Autism Speaks is a simpleone:

Gareth Ellison: Autism is not the horrendous disease you claim itto be, and you know it[…]. Please think of the lives you are affecting withyour rhetoric and please respect those with different neurologicalconfigurations from you.

Depending on where you stand, either side could be said tohave a decent point to be made. Is what Autism Speaks advocates really genocideor simply families and physicians of autistics trying to make a difference intheir lives? Perhaps the solution isn’t even truly up to us to decide. Onething is for certain, however; though the coin has two sides, this is onedebate that will likely not be decided by calling “heads” or “tails.”