Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #ColorTheSpectrum
Most recents (10)
what does @NEXTforAUTISM really stand for? this essay by one of their board members who’s also part of producing #ColorTheSpectrum about how she abused and abandoned her autistic son for not being fun and making her feel loved makes it pretty clear! #AutismAcceptanceMonth #autism
read the whole thing yourself still up on their website bc apparently they’re proud of this shit
nextforautism.org/news/twenty-mi…
nextforautism.org/news/twenty-mi…
i knew that all they care about is having a kid who makes them feel loved and important enough but god damn she fucking admitted it in print. they’re not even ashamed of it. she describes HER SON like a curse or inanimate object that stole her chance at the son she wanted to have
We have one week until #ColorTheSpectrum. We're not going to stop it from happening but we could make it a PR disaster & that is what will stop them from doing these events in the future. I’m going to make YouTube videos & TikToks about it every day this week. Flood the hashtags
The livestream itself is going to be interactive. I don't know exactly how it will work, but we should be in there, interacting. There will be plenty of people tuning in on Friday who were not paying attention to the hashtag prior to that evening. It’s an opportunity for us. 
Keep trying to get people to drop out, the Youtubers are probably reachable. Try to get them to make public statements. The celebrities are probably involved bc of Robert Smigel, he and his wife made The Night of Too Many Stars & work with Next for Autism nextforautism.org/news/twenty-mi…
I USE STRONG LANGUAGE ON PURPOSE FOR POLITICAL REASONS. USING STRONG LANGUAGE IS NOT POINTLESS EMOTIONAL VENTING, IT IS HOW YOU GET PEOPLE TO HEAR YOU AND HOW YOU CHANGE CONVERSATIONS IN THE PUBLIC SPHERE.
Don't tone police autistic people using strong language to talk about the impact of #ColorTheSpectrum and don’t remind us that “they just don’t know better!” it’s classic white moderate respectability politics bullshit and you’re going to drag us back into the last century.
Have y'all noticed what actually creates change? It's not telling people that they are already good but you have a suggestion on how they could be better. It's telling people that they are causing harm. They must see themselves getting bad PR & want to avoid it. get cynical.
In light of everything going on with #ColorTheSpectrum I would like to take a moment to talk about why #AdvancedBehaviorAnalysis is abuse.
When supporting the #AutisticCommunity this should be the second thing you check you aren’t funding. After just erasing us from existence.
When supporting the #AutisticCommunity this should be the second thing you check you aren’t funding. After just erasing us from existence.
I personally went through #ABA myself. So do not tell me I don’t understand. And No, it is not the “old” version. It was very recent and incredibly dehumanizing. I am #ActuallyAutistic and my experience is not the exception it is the common one.
#ABATherapy addresses what is considered “problematic” behavior. Now let’s focus on that wording. BEHAVIOR not cause of behavior, the behavior itself.
The way one behaves is communication. Taking that away is problematic. This should never be done. Instead you should ask WHY!!!
The way one behaves is communication. Taking that away is problematic. This should never be done. Instead you should ask WHY!!!
Why do good people fall for bad autism charities & related efforts like #ColorTheSpectrum? A thread.
Mostly? "Our media conditions its audiences to fear & pity people with disabilities.”
medium.com/the-establishm…
#AutismAcceptanceMonth
#AutismAcceptance
#Neurodiversity
1/
Mostly? "Our media conditions its audiences to fear & pity people with disabilities.”
medium.com/the-establishm…
#AutismAcceptanceMonth
#AutismAcceptance
#Neurodiversity
1/
And it’s not just sensationalistic, clickbait media outlets that impugn the rights and basic humanity of autistic people. Respected, progressive publications and writers can be just as reactionary. 2/
But because we tend to trust “thought leaders” as both intellectually rigorous and socially fair, their ableism often goes unchecked and is far more dangerous than that of their unapologetically prejudiced counterparts.
3/
3/
Maybe my feeble autistic brain just doesn't get it, but how could any organization legitimately committed to helping autistic people not have included us from the beginning? Why would such an organization support a “therapy” we say is abuse and doesn't work? #ColorTheSpectrum
Maybe I am being a little shit, but neurotypical people don't think about these things because it doesn't occur to them to see autistic people as human beings. The autism industry hasn't been put on the defense until pretty recently and they don't handle it very well
My one talent for reading neurotypicals is I can always tell when an insecure person is talking shit out of their ego. Everyone around me makes excuses for them but I keep poking them in their ego until they melt down spectacularly and reveal what’s underneath. Every fucking time
I’m up thinking about #ColorTheSpectrum (the media event with non-autistic celebrities, scheduled for April 30th, to raise money for an organization called Next For Autism that’s funding research to “prevent” autism).
And I keep wondering why so many people think this is okay.
And I keep wondering why so many people think this is okay.
Not a single member of NFA’s team is autistic. Not one of them.
And the CEO, Gillian Leek, also founded The Center for Autism and The Developing Brain.
Donations to NFA will go to that center. So what’s in the mission statement?
Ah, I see. Eugenics.
And the CEO, Gillian Leek, also founded The Center for Autism and The Developing Brain.
Donations to NFA will go to that center. So what’s in the mission statement?
Ah, I see. Eugenics.
The most heartbreaking thing about this is that none of the celebrities participating in #ColorTheSpectrum are autistic, and none of the people who run NFA are autistic either.
How much longer do we have to scream, “Nothing about us without us!!” before people listen?
How much longer do we have to scream, “Nothing about us without us!!” before people listen?
Hi, non-autistic parents of autistic kids - I'm an autistic adult and I would like to help. I hear a lot how hard it is to raise an autistic kid and I would just like to say that yes, everything is difficult when you do it wrong. #AutismAwarenessMonth #autism #ColorTheSpectrum
This is not me being rude, it is the truth. When everything you're told to do by the “experts” is the absolute worst thing you could be doing, the entire process will be difficult & the results cannot ever be what you are hoping for. The experts are the ones making your life hard
The truth is, when allowed to develop naturally, autistic people develop all the same skills that you have but in a different way. If you stunt our developmental process with training like ABA, you are preventing your child from developing into their adult brain. You're doing it.
Sorry long thread incoming.
I'm sure a lot of people have seen this video by @MarkRober. On the surface, he seems to have good intentions.
Unfortunately the video is filled with so many harmful ableism stereotypes that need to be addressed.
CW // Abuse, Sexual Assault
1/25
I'm sure a lot of people have seen this video by @MarkRober. On the surface, he seems to have good intentions.
Unfortunately the video is filled with so many harmful ableism stereotypes that need to be addressed.
CW // Abuse, Sexual Assault
1/25
I want to disclose right off the bat that I have no issue with Mark revealing his autistic son. If anything, I feel that's one part of the video he does right.
He's also correct when he says that not every autistic person has remarkable abilities.
But everything else ...
2/25
He's also correct when he says that not every autistic person has remarkable abilities.
But everything else ...
2/25
At 2:37 Mark talks about Carly Fleischmann. Who is a non-verbal autistic woman, who's short film co-written with her father launched her into public stardom. Best highlighted by the moment where she hosted "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert."
3/25
3/25
Posting this here. Incredibly disappointed to see @MarkRober raising money for a charity attached to AS, and even more disappointed to see how many influencers and celebrities are attached to it.
There's a lot to be upset about in that video (implying every autistic person has a "superpower" or is a savant, the use of person first language, the implication that autistic people can't contribute anything of value to society except generic "positivity")
Not to mention there are almost no autistic people in the comments, just a flood of neurotypical people who know autistic people talking about how great the work he's doing is. Where are the autistic voices?
