1. Preventing acts of eugenics and genocide of ASD people and it's culture by opposing pre-natal testing for ASD's and preventing it's implementation.

With appropriate support services available, all ASD people are perfectly capable of living their lives within the community. However, sensationalistic media coverage and intentional pity campaigning and panic creation have given rise to the public opinion that ASD's are a "tragedy", and that everyone with an ASD has no chance of achieving anything. With this in mind, a pre-natal testing program would cause the death of an entire culture. The ASD culture.

Studies have shown that at least 91% of unborn babies that are found to be Downs Syndrome are aborted. As ASD's are genetic in origin, if these figures were replicated for a pre-natal test for ASD's, the population of these people would be crushed.

The majority of ASD fund-raising supports genetic research. If this money were to be diverted into support services, ASD people would have a much better chance of living happier lives.

Aspies For Freedom opposes funding for genetic research that leads to pre-natal testing and other preventative measures.

2. Eliminating physically or psychologically harmful "treatments" that target ASD people.

The inaccurate public perception of ASD's has resulted in a lot of unethical treatments. These include physically harmful practices (e.g. Aversion therapies or restraints), psychologically harmful practices (e.g. 40 hours a week ABA, halting of harmless stimming and other ASD coping mechanisms), dangerous and unapproved medical treatments based on false theories (e.g. chelation) or religious beliefs (e.g. exorcism), and other torturous therapies that would be illegal if they were used on non-autistic children (e.g Electroshock "behavioural" devices - which have already been banned in Australia).

Aspies For Freedom opposes all physically and psychologically harmful therapies and treatments.

3. Promoting the Autistic Spectrum as a single condition.

There are a number of different labels used for people on the Autistic Spectrum. The main labels include "High Functioning" Autism (HFA), "Low Functioning" Autism (LFA), Asperger's Syndrome and PDD-NOS. Differences between these labels are often blurred, and are commonly based on childhood development. This is not applicable to the ASD adult.

A major hold back to accessing support services is the usage of these labels to assign support, instead of examining the needs of the individual on a case by case basis. For instance, someone with HFA may be refused housing support, but someone with LFA may be classified as not fit for activities that they are capable of.

The Autistic Spectrum covers a wide range of people. One size does not fit all. These labels hold back understanding of the condition as a whole. The people in the aforementioned groups are all on the Autistic Spectrum, and generalising the labels within the spectrum is counterproductive.

Aspies For Freedom supports the single view of the Autistic Spectrum and opposes the use of labels on individual groupings.

4. Opposing "curing" ASD's.

The main issue with the public perception of ASD's being a bad thing is that it promotes the idea that a person is somehow able to change from being on the Spectrum and that there is a "normal" person trapped and unable to get out.

Being on the Spectrum is something that has an influences on every aspect of who a person is - from the special interests we have, the cognitive systems we use, the way we view the world around us, and the way we choose to live our lives. The Autistic Spectrum is a part of who we are, just like any other culture you care to name.

To "cure" someone of this condition would be to take away the person they are, and replace them with someone else. This is tantamount to murder.

Funding for "cure" research will never produce a result. This money is being wasted and is better used elsewhere.

This mentality contributes to the treatment in society of ASD people. Parents are known to focus solely on curing their child, and in the process neglect the actual help and support they need. Teaching children that they are "not normal" and have to be "cured" has appalling long-term consequences for their mental health, something that such parents appear to have little regard for.

Aspies For Freedom opposes the "curing" of ASD's, as a real cure would be morally unethical, and a myth - and therefore harmful.

5. Seeking ethical treatments that are beneficial.

As much as Aspies for Freedom oppose unethical treatments as indicated above, there is some merit to some treatments in a minor form. Quality control is a major limiting factor in this with treatments being using incorrectly leading to the very harm mentioned above. Techniques that reward rather than punish would be a far more beneficial form of therapy and the usage of techniques like ABA in this manner should be encouraged. Therapies should also not be invasive of time and if they don't work should be discontinued immediately. The focus should not be on "normalisation" which as indicated above is impossible, but rather improvements within the limitations of the individual. More positive results are far more likely with such an approach.

Aspies For Freedom supports ethical usage of new and existing ASD treatments.

6. Increasing funding for ASD support and ethical treatments, and improving access.

There are lots of treatments that can help ASD people. Ethical use of things like speech therapy, non adversarial behavioural therapy, and psychological counselling support. Long term support can help ASD people live better lives. Appropriate housing, specialised psychological and general medical services, and if appropriate employment support.

Aspies For Freedom supports the increase of funding for support, and the fund raising efforts of reputable and correctly focused ASD charities.

7. Opposing campaigns that paint ASD's as a negative thing.

Most of the awareness and fund raising relating to ASD's come from campaigns that promote ASD's as a bad thing. They state that ASD's are a disease, a tragedy or an epidemic that requires a quick solution. This viewpoint has been promoted through talk shows like Oprah and Larry King, news stories, magazine features and many other forms of mainstream media.

This tactic is achieved through the presentation of nothing but videos of alleged ASD children having meltdowns and so forth, and then videos of parents speaking negatively about their experiences. You rarely see videos of an ASD child happy and enjoying themselves, and you never see videos of an ASD adult in a similar scenario.

ASD people's rights are being seriously compromised by this tactic, way beyond any funds that result could justify. Examples are discrimination in the work place, social exclusion, and parents decided to give up on coping in favour of chasing the non existant cure.

There are organisations who go the extra mile, using emotional and inaccurate language to describe ASD children. Example are "Soul-less", "Brain Damaged", "Worse than (insert a fatal disease here)", "Incapable of love". The biggest guilty party of this is Autism Speaks, who went as far as to devise a video where a woman talks about wanting to drive herself and her ASD child off a bridge. She said this while her child was right there with her.

This tactic is based on intolerance, prejudice, and intentional misrepresentation, and they must be stopped for the sake of the children.

Aspies For Freedom demands an end to negative promotion, and a stop to misrepresented and false media coverage of ASD's.

8. Promoting an accurate and positive image of ASD's.

One of the main missions of Aspies for Freedom is to try and foster a positive view of ASD people, by demonstrating the things we can actually do and achieve, and heavily promoting uplifting stories about ASD groups and individuals. ASD people by nature are a very diverse group from all walks of life, and these differences are essential to the diversity of the human race.

The word "accurate" is included because although ASD people have major achievements in art, science, maths, creative writing, and other endeavours of this nature, these are exaggerated to insinuate or state that all ASD people are geniuses. This cause the assertion that in order for an ASD person to be considered worth something, they have to be a genius. Which is completely untrue. Likewise is the assertion that ASD people have some sort of mystical qualities, dehumanising ASD people in the process.

ASD people are everywhere. You could work with an ASD person and not even realise it. ASD's aren't a bad thing or something to be feared or pitied, nor is it a guarentee of genius. It's a unique difference that is entitled to be valued.

Aspies For Freedom seeks to destroy negative stereotypes to foster a positive and realistic view of what it is to be an ASD person.

9. Opposing prejudice and bigotry - except in self defence.

Most of the problems that come with a diagnosis on the Autistic Spectrum are caused, or made worse, by prejudice. This is a reflection of prejudice itself, an issue that goes a long way further back than just the recent issues of ASD awareness and lack of understanding.

Therefore, Aspies For Freedom opposes all forms of prejudice and bigotry - except those that are in self defence and return prejudice is the only way to expose such behaviour to the mainstream.

This includes bigotry against the ASD culture, such as:

*The idea that neurotypicals (not ASD, or any other neurotype) are "better" than ASD's in general.
*The idea that ASD's are "better" than neurotypical in general. (Note: The idea is that we are equals in general and when it comes down to it no one is better)
*The idea that there are ASD labels that are appropriate, but others are bad things.
*The idea that Asperger's Syndrome and PDD-NOS shouldn't be part of the Spectrum.
*The idea that individuals have no right to self-identify as autistic - unless it involves the provision of government services, where a formal diagnosis should be essential.

FORUM
BACK TO ASPERGERS