Tell Lindt Chocolates that Autism Speaks Doesn't Speak For U

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I wasn't expecting a personal reply from Lindt - it's a petition (that's why they ask for your street address - to make sure you're a real person.)

According to the information on the Change.org page, "The campaign ends on Jun 05" - so I don't expect the petition will be sent until then. At that point, I'll start looking for a press release from Lindt (or not, if they don't agree with the petition.)

Don't we all have better things to be doing? When they discover a genetic test for autism it will blow up in their faces so spectacularly. To be honest, I can't wait for the fun to begin.

I chose to send a more personal letter to Lindt about the topic you were raising.
Internet form letters may be easy to disregard, but I hope a more polite and
more personal letter may yet be more persuasive:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Douglas MacNeill
3115 109th Street NW
Edmonton, Alberta
Canada T6J 4N6

13 March 2009

Subject: http://www.lindtgoldbunny.com/our-partn ... y-ears.php

Dear Sirs:

I was recently informed that Lindt Chocolatier is taking up "a noble cause"
by joining with Autism Speaks in a publicity campaign aimed ostensibly against autism.
However, as a person with a mild form of autism (specifically Asperger's Syndrome),
I have found that Autism Speaks shows signs of opposing persons with autism as well
as the disorder itself.

Allow me to present a bill of indictment against Autism Speaks:

First count: Although Autism Speaks claims to speak for autistic people, not one person with autism
is on its board of directors or leadership. This deviates from the principles of advocacy for
persons with a disability; in such advocacy movements, individuals with disabilities work on the same team
with family members, professionals and others to achieve quality of life and equality of opportunity.

Second count: Autism Speaks advertising is highly derogatory against persons with autism and their families:
its advertising compares a life on the autism spectrum to life after a car accident, being struck
by lightning, a terminal illness, and other desperate plights. Autism Speaks' advertising suggests
that the very lives of persons with autism are mistakes and burdens. Equally objectionable,
Autism Speaks encourages the public to think that pity, shame and fear are the appropriate responses
to persons with autism; persons with autism would prefer a response of quiet, calm encouragement that
they may pursue all the success and independence they can obtain in this life. To cite one personal example
of such success and independence:I graduated with a Master of Arts in Sociology degree from the
University of Alberta in November of 1997.

Third count: An important part of the fundraising done by Autism Speaks supports controversial genetic research;
this research is aimed at developing a prenatal genetic test for autism spectrum disorders that can be used
for the purposes of eugenics. Since the development of a genetic test for trisomy-21, 92% of fetuses that
have tested positive for this genetic condition are selectively aborted prior to birth (trisomy-21 is better known as
Down's Syndrome); if a genetic test in utero for persons with autism is ever developed, persons with autism are
justifiably concerned that their future colleagues may also be selectively aborted. This is an issue of discrimination
against persons with disabilities, wholly separate from typical abortion politics.

For these reasons, I personally refuse to associate with Autism Speaks in any manner. If such a refusal requires me
to cease purchasing from Lindt Chocolatier, so be it.

Awaiting your careful reflection on this matter, I remain

Yours sincerely,

Douglas MacNeill

I had the dubious honour of receiving a reply in my in box.
_______________________________________________________________________
Dear Douglas,



Thank you for your email. We appreciate your concerns about our partnership with Autism Speaks, and thank you for taking the time to share them with us.



Lindt supports Autism Speaks for its efforts in raising funds for autism advocacy and is happy to provide support for its continued research efforts. We also recognize the importance of directly supporting people impacted by autism and recently launched a recognition program to honor two individuals who are touched by the effects of autism in their family, home or community. For more information about the program, please visit LindtUnsungHeroes.com.



Thanks again for reaching out to us. We value your opinion.



Sincerely,



Lindt Consumer Affairs
_________________________________________________________

Unfortunately, I visited the website in question, finding this:

Nominations for Unsung Heroes of Autism Already Closed

Continued pressure and advocacy against specifically Autism Speaks remains in order.

Fight the good fight, with all thy might...

I wrote a letter with my signature:

***

Sent letter to Lindt Chocolates (Lindt Chocolates)
"Good Afternoon--

I am sending this letter to you as perhaps you might not have been aware of the position Autism Speaks takes. I'm sure your company had nothing but good intentions when they tried to start a fundraiser for what appeared to be a good cause. While raising funds for autistics is a great cause, I'm sure you would want those funds to be used where they would be most effective.

I'm speaking not only as a self-advocate, but as a mother of 2 autistic children and wife to a fellow Aspergian. With a positive attitude and proper education, we have seen personal growth after learning what to call our difficulties, and have seen our children grow in both self-esteem and intellect. My 6 year-old daughter is reading at the 3rd grade reading level and can solve 2nd grade math problems. My 3.5 year-old son was tested at the cognitive functioning level of a 5 year old.

Let me ask you this. After reading this, and many other letters from my fellow autistics-- Does this still seem like something that should be erradicated, or rather a unique way of thinking that should be nurtured? Providing autistics with extra education for success is worth more than the tragedy of eugenics, don't you think?

Thank you for your time.

Kind Regards,
Ann Ackley-Hafner"
***

My mother and step-mother also signed the petition.

Lindt is a large company. Autism Speaks (unfortunately) is the most recognized fundraising organization for autism. They want to look good, so they go with what's big and not with what's right. There are a lot of great advocacy groups out there that give proper representation, but not many outside the autism community and their families have heard of them. No one's gonna go racing to the store to buy extra chocolate bunnies for a small group they've never heard of, but they will for some media-overblown "charity" like Autism Speaks because it's everywhere (unfortunately). It's all about face and sales and nothing about real support of autistics. It's sad, really...

Oh, well. It's better to have tried and failed then to sit back and have said nothing at all. Good letter, Douglas. ^_^

Do you have a source for that statistic? It wouldn't suprise me; but, I would want to know where it came from.

If you look at the Autism Speaks website walk section there are quite a few sponsors--to add to my boycott list.

When I was in Miami Beach days ago I noticed that a local Starbucks had contributed to the local autism walk in February. The autism spectrum has become quite the tool for other causes and extraneous profit motives. So they walk around under the low-brow guise of "raising awareness" while evangelizing cult notions. Since they have been busy "raising awareness" I'd be tempted to ask one of those local entrepreneurs if they can name one molecule involved in the spectrum. Since I had been down there participating in a triathlon with a local social services/mental health beneficiary this whole shebang does give me pause when social service organizations benefit (i.e. does the organization listen to its purported clients).

Thanks for keeping us informed.

I think I will address this and/or a related issue in an upcoming blog entry.

And that's just how marketing works...

Thanks for sharing your e-mail with us Douglas MacNeill, I found it to be very revealing and rather disturbing. It appears that Lindt does know what Autism Speaks is all about and supports them.

By the way, that link you posted is flawed (there are two http's in it;) I was able to delete one of them and get there and found this statement concerning their Unsung Heroes of Autism:

I wonder why they don't post a date for the event. Could it be that they are afraid that autistic people in the New York area might picket it?

Yep. Pretty much.

Unfortunately, once recognizing AS in myself and learning that there were things to be read between the lines, I lost all gullibility and gained a rather objective and cynical view of the world. There are times when someone displays a genuine a ray of hope for humanity every now and then, but...