In 2009, Autism Speaks released the following video.
WARNING: Ableism.

The video starts with ominous music, the kind you may expect to hear in a tacky horror movie before the minority character is killed off.

A deep voice speaks over the music. The video shows children sitting or standing alone.

The voice (representing autism) proclaims to be ‘invisible to you until it’s too late’.

Too late for what? I suppose this references Early Intervention and the fact that many professionals recommend starting therapy for autism as early as possible to help children. Implying those of us diagnosed later cannot be helped?

‘I know where you live. And guess what? I live there too’. See I find this kind of funny. It reminds me of people who describe autistic people as ‘living with autism’. I just imagine myself having a roommate (aka Autism) who stims in the corner, listens to music over and over, and often forgets to shower. That’s not what autism is. We are not neurotypical (non-autistic) people who are trapped by an autistic person. We are autistic. I’m not living with autism, autism is a part of me that influences everything I experience.

‘I hover around all of you’. Bit creepy to be honest. Also implies the whole ‘everyone’s a bit autistic’ thing. 🙄

Then the voice states that it knows no colour barrier, no religion, no morality, no currency. The first two points are actually good; autism occurs in people regardless of sex, skin colour, gender, sexuality, religion, class, income, etc. Of course, no morality… I don’t even know what they could imply there other than that autism has no morality (which is a confusing concept).

‘With every voice I take away I acquire yet another language’. Pretty sure that’s not how learning a language works. Though it would have made GCSE Spanish much easier… Plus, speech is not the only method of communication.

‘I work very quickly. I work faster than paediatric AIDS, cancer, and diabetes combined’. Wow. The voice compares autism to AIDS, cancer, and diabetes. Well first of all, autism doesn’t kill you. Autism is, in my opinion, not in any way comparable to these diseases. Autism is a disorder, not a disease. Autism is a difference in your brain that can cause you to struggle in this non-autistic world. It can disable you.

It is still not comparable to those diseases. And it’s offensive to people who have gone through those diseases to suggest so.

‘If you are happily married, I will make sure that your marriage fails’. Autism can cause stress in parents of autistic people, and in the autistic people themselves. This stress could cause a marriage to become strained. People may divorce because of the stress. But autism is not a sure cause of divorce. Evidence: my parents are happily married. Whilst parents of autistic kids are more likely to get divorced, it is far from a sure thing and should not be portrayed as such. '

‘Your money will fall into my hands and I will bankrupt you for my own self gain’. Autism can be expensive due to therapies, the high rate of co-morbidities that may need treating (such as epilepsy), sensory/stim toys, and other aspects. But it’s not the fault of the autistic child. There needs to be more support for autistic people and their parents/caregivers.

‘I will make it virtually impossible for your family to easily attend a temple, a birthday party, a public park, without a struggle, without embarrassment, without pain’. So not being able to go to these places is comparable to having AIDS, cancer, or diabetes? I think not. I struggle to go to birthday parties because the loud noises cause me physical pain. So I bring headphones and make sure I have an escape plan just in case. Also, you have to love how they are focused completely on the parents pain and embarrassment, rather than the child’s physical pain from being forced to go to these places. The embarrassment is not the fault of the child, it is the fault of judgemental people who do not understand or accept autism.

‘Your neighbours are happier to pretend I don’t exist. Until of course, it’s their child’. Autism isn’t infectious… my neighbours kids aren’t gonna turn autistic just because I am. And pretending autism doesn’t exist is generally due to lack of understanding and acceptance. People don’t like to discuss horrible things, so when you phrase autism as this horrid thing that has taken your child of course they don’t want to hear it. If you talk about it openly, and if the media actually portrays it accurately then maybe it will no longer be seen as something to be ashamed of and ignored.

‘I have no interest in right or wrong’. That is actually often incorrect. Many autistic people have a strong sense of morality, and many (such as myself) deal with great anxiety over doing something ‘wrong’ or breaking rules. Gotta love the spread of misinformation.

‘I derive great pleasure out of your loneliness’.

…you can tell they didn’t consult with autistic people on this. Why on earth would someone’s loneliness bring me pleasure? If someone feels lonely, I don’t feel happy, I feel sad. Why would they even think this? Because autistic people need to be alone to calm down from sensory overload? That is not a malicious attempt to make you feel lonely. That is us taking care of our overworked sensory systems and trying to calm ourselves down.

‘And to autism I say: I am a father, mother, grandparent, brother, sister… we will spend every waking hour trying to weaken you’. Guys, autism isn’t the boss at the end of a video game. You can’t attack it and weaken it by decreasing it’s HP and then win the game. It’s a part of us.

‘Autism, you forget who we are. You forget who you are dealing with. You forget the spirits of mothers and daughters and fathers and sons…’
I honestly don’t understand this line. Autism is a part of your child, they know who you are. This is confusing.

‘We search with technology and voodoo, prayer, herbs, genetic studies’. This is how we get fake ‘cures’ and products that fool parents of autistic kids. No offence to people who believe in some of these things, but they cannot cure autism. Nothing can. So claiming they can just costs people money and energy.

‘You think that because my child lives behind a wall, I’m afraid to knock it down with my bare hands?’
We don’t live behind a wall. We live in this world, but perceive it differently. It’s overwhelming. So sometimes, we have to block it out. Destroying that block is only going to hurt us by exposing us to the overwhelming world our there. The noises and lights don’t hurt you, but they hurt me.

Stop assuming that everyone experiences the world the same way as you do, and that autistic behaviour has no purpose.