Download pdf - Protesters question mission of Autism Speaks | Amherst Wire

10/23/15 8:48 PMProtesters question mission of Autism Speaks | Amherst Wire

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By Paul Bagnall

Autism Speaks held its seventh annual awareness fundraiser and 5K run on April 12 at Kendrick Park. The

outreach effort was a success for the non-profit organization, raising nearly $31,000 for autism

research. But for a group of local autistic protesters, the event marked a second year speaking out

against the Autism Speaks mission.

The Don’t Speak For Me demonstrators arrived in time for event registration. Rebecca Binns, a substitute

teacher at Nonotuck Community School, led the group, calling out and into her small megaphone

that Autism Speaks is a hate group that supports eugenics.

“I am autistic and many of the people who came with me are also autistic,” Binns said. “[Autistic people]

don’t want to be ‘cured.’ We think our neuro-diversity is a valuable part of human diversity. Just as race

or gender.”

Binns has Asperger syndrome (AS), one of many disorders on the autism spectrum. Asperger’s is often

characterized by social impairment, repetitive behaviors, difficulties with outward communications, and

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trouble reading body language. Binns said that, despite some difficulties, she loves the life she leads.

She discourages the use of social programs like Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) and said that typical

school settings with understanding teachers work best for those living with autism.

Binns once supported Autism Speaks, but recently, through online bloggers like Lydia Brown of Autistic

Hoya, discovered the “disturbing” language the organization uses to represent her. She encourages

people to donate to other organizations, like the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN).

Autism Speaks was founded by Bob and Suzanne Wright in February 2005, three years after their

grandson, Christian, was diagnosed with autism. In 2010, about 44 percent of the funds raised went

toward continued research into the brain functions and genetics of the autism spectrum.

So far, research has yet to yield answers to the causes autism. It was once theorized that vaccinations for

certain diseases like measles caused it, a myth debunked by the Institute of Medicine. What research has

discovered is that, at some point, a certain trigger goes off, allowing autism to develop. This genetic

abnormality can be hereditary in families with histories of mental disabilities, but is still not a definite

cause for it.

The autism spectrum is a range of verbal and non-verbal autistics. Mild diagnoses, like Asperger’s, are

considered high-functioning forms of autism.

“More often, the case is that we have difficulty expressing what we’re thinking and feeling, and so people

interpret that as not having any reaction,” Binns said, her voice competing with the shouts of Autism

Speaks volunteers from UMass Amherst.

As children with autism enter into adulthood, the level of risk for anxiety or depression increases.

Often, individuals living with non-verbal autism don’t speak very much. In some cases, this silence can

last for years.

Kate O’Neil, one of the senior directors for field development at Autism Speaks, said that as far as she

knows, the protest group is the only one in New England. Amherst is the only town where O’Neil has

personally witnessed vocal protesters.

“I don’t really understand what their argument [is],” O’Neil said. “I wish we could talk to them, so we

could [have] a real conversation about it.”

Members of the protest group did manage to speak with several curious fundraiser attendees,

explaining why they protest the organization’s events.

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“All [disabilities] should be valued as part of human diversity,” Binns said. “A cure by definition would be

eugenics. A cure means that they’re going to look for the genes that cause autism [and] they’re going to

try and eliminate it.”

Paul Bagnall can be reached at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @paulrus19.

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