Autism marginalized in charity event for Autism

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Recently, NoGutsNoGalaxy, a gaming fansite for the video game MechWarrior Online, hosted a charity event on twitch for the Autism Science Foundation.

Being an Aspergian, and somewhat of an expert, I was interested enough to have a look. Yet to my shock and horror, the discussion became saturated with imagery straight out of medieval changeling myths. Of course I tried to (very patiently) clear up these misunderstandings, but was met with arrogance and stern intransigence, and was eventually banned, the excuse given was that I was off topic while I was talking about Autism. I think that bears repeating: An AS person was banned from a charity event for Autism, because they were spreading awareness of Autism.

I will post the link for those interested in reading, but I should warn others not to have anything in their hands that is throw-able, as it does run the gamut.

I'll also outline the language and tone of NGNG:
Autism is abnormal.
Autism is a defect.
Autism is a disease.
Needs to be "cured."
Eugenics, and the parental rights to abort Autism.
Is an epidemic.
Is a problem for parents.
Is a burden on society.
They suffer (from their Autism)
They do self-harm.
Wander off and accidentally kill themselves.
Are a danger to society, and may kill others. The person hosting the charity also repeated this one over the twitch live stream with "We're training them not to kill people."
Choke hold maneuvers for meltdowns.
Some others I may have forgotten, but you get the idea.
There were also those on the thread publicly humiliating those they live (or relatives) with, that have Autism, and for the world to see immortalized all sorts of sordid details about their most embarrassing moments.

I need five posts under my belt before I can share the link, perhaps there's a way to do it through messenger?

As it's a forum, you're more than welcome to sign up and tell them what you think of this, though, even if your tone is kind it will probably result in a ban.
I'm also at a loss as to how to achieve acceptance in society, if anyone has some suggestions?

I read the forum http://www.nogutsnogalaxy.net/forum/ind ... pic=2176.0 and the negative stuff was there but the vast majority of the posts were refuting the negative stereotypes. Very heartening to read.

Yes, that's the one. I don't think I got through to anyone. It was entirely shocking to see prominent figures push these ideas in the media, no ethical responsibility required, and for others to agree with that. What bothers me the most is I just don't have a voice to disagree with the views, they can simply censor by removing the person instead of rebutting the arguments.

Actually, I can't decide which is worse.

That organization is hardly autism speaks!

They talk about "better treatments" but not eradication or war on autism or that stuff.

I think you came on a bit strong and that elicited a strong response. You probably could have found common ground with those people, and influenced them toward your view and not been banned if you had been a little less emphatic in your first posts.

That is not equivalent to autism speaks or a call for eugenics.

No, I came on really soft, and was really patient. The only way I could have been less soft is by not posting. What would you have posted? I wasn't banned for harassment, quite simply they didn't want their views challenged, as they don't have merit, and can't stand up to criticism.

I didn't mean the organization was like that, not talking about the organization. I only mentioned that their home page has creepy connotations on first glace, which it does. It's hard to image people not being able to empathise with that. The organization never went down that path, but prominent and influential community members did, that's what I'm referring to.

But here's the thing: the other people in the forum don't know what you are thinking, only what you wrote.

What you wrote was:

They are thinking something like "why is this guy attacking us for trying to help autism?" "Is he a troll?" "Is he nuts?"

And they are probably asking themselves "What is creepy about discovering the causes of autism and developing better treatments?"

Now you have your own ideas about this, but they only know what they see on the screen. And they are responding to that.

Then they think "Asperger's and Autism is completely normal, there's nothing wrong with them." and they think--this isn't true. There is something that is not normal about them or they wouldn't be an issue. The question of whether there is something "wrong" with this neurological difference is different. You seem to be saying there is no neurological difference and they are reacting badly to that.

The problem is perspective taking. You have to try to understand what is going on the minds of the people you are communicating with in order to communicate clearly and avoid misunderstandings. The only way is to be as clear as possible, not assume things and when the react badly, try to understand why.

Otherwise everything escalates and everybody talks past each other and no communication happens. I know this because I have plenty of experience.

Don't let this get you down. It was mostly misunderstandings.

Are you sure they would have thought that? Read minds? That is as clear as possible. You read it, and it's the categorization of these terms. "Asperger's is normal", "Autism is normal", "Neurotypical is normal". When you read those things, there's no other context to put it in, no other way to interpret it.

Too late, these are people I looked up to, as did others. You can't go back from talking about parents aborting their kids, and banning because you want to believe this stuff. I'm not going to go outside.

was going to give input but cant cope with back-forth chat so it woudnt be worth it.

what was this about moromillas;

and also the part about self injury.
am guessing are very unfamiliar with the spectrum outside of aspergers, almost all of us who have classic autism have some level of intelectual disability and self injure in the way of head banging/flesh biting/self punching as well as cutting as a communication and emotional regulation tool,no wonder a lot of people are getting defensive when are basing a whole spectrum on the wants/needs/views of HFA.

however,am not in agreement with their views of LFA,just because we are LFA doesnt mean we need curing,we need good support, specialist equipment and good understanding to live a life we can be proud of.

Wasn't talking exclusively about HFA, I wasn't exclusively talking about kids. The way he described it, was that Autism was about cutting yourself until a doctor or medic came over and patched you up. I can't agree with that, I certainly don't see adults doing this, and don't see LFA with good support cutting. I don't think going over all the embarrassing things AS does as kids is a respectful representation, am I wrong on that?

No. There are other ways to interpret.

You won't successfully communicate with people until you try to see that.

Ok, if I say "Bananas are yellow" how can that mean "Bananas are lemons" for others?

But you didn't say that. You said "autism is normal" and defining normal is a much more complicated thing than defining a banana.

I did elaborate on that, that there was nothing wrong with them, I did define how I was using the word, and that's how others used it. Abnormal, as in damaged or defective. Would you have said nothing?

Edit: Autism is even referred to as a disease, it's pretty clear what they think of Autism. I was as patient as I could be.

You understand what you think and mean, but you don't understand what they mean or how they are thinking about what you say.

No, I do understand it.

Not the way I read that thread.

You talk about all the participants of the thread as if the most objectionable things said by one of them represented them all. You don't in anyway engage them on the issues that they raise, but instead lecture them about your positions, which they don't understand.

I don't think your assessment of what happened is accurate and I think you are alienating people you might have educated.

But I could be wrong. Maybe I am not reading it correctly.