I’m not going to speak for autistic people here, so go watch that video! But basically, Mark Rober is doing a charity for autistic people, however, the proceeds are going to an organization established/supported by Autism Speaks. Seems like no autistic people are actually involved either.
Okay update guys- the organization collaborated with Autism Speaks at one point but here’s what they said: “We are not currently engaged with Autism Speaks.” But that’s clearly a cover lol. And very weird and vague. A lot of their statements/articles are also about parents raising/helping autistic kids, not from autistic people themselves.
Here’s an article:
another article (not about Next For Autism but about something they support- they support ABA)
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Ugh this is so frustrating! It’s like watching someone try to hit a button that shoots rainbows into the air and instead slowly inch their way towards the bomb button, and nobody is telling them to stop! I don’t have twitter but people should tweet at them! This sucks! One of my favorite creators is supporting this as well! I don’t hate my favorite creator because they didn’t know, but like Mark Rober in establishing this really really messed up. Ugh!
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I also want to mention that I myself don’t know anything about the organization, only from that one youtuber but what she says makes sense and I agree with her and also thought it was weird that Mark Rober wasn’t saying that autistic people can have high level jobs like literally anyone else, he was just like, oh they’re just special because they can be that light in everyone else’s life. Like no. I mean yeah, but like also - just cuz they’re autistic doesn’t mean that they can’t do what literally everyone else can!
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Very popular youtuber known for videos about science since he used to work for Nasa.
@Discussions what do you guys think about this?
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Guys, I wanted to check myself and hoped I was wrong but went on the NextForAutism site…
“Our partnerships with groups such as Autism Speaks have been limited exclusively to that mission…”
ummmm ummm NO
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It does say that it doesn’t support trying to “cure autism” however there is this weird bit in there that I don’t understand:
"NEXT partners with and funds various organizations across the country to fulfill our mission of expanding access to programs and services. Our partnerships with groups such as Autism Speaks have been limited exclusively to that mission. Anyone using these partnerships to draw a line from NEXT to eugenics or anything related to the prevention and cure of Autism is doing an enormous disservice to the people we serve by spreading this gross untruth.
The programs we support use a range of methodologies designed to meet the individual needs of people with autism. A behavioral approach is one of those methodologies. Applied Behavior Analysis has been modified many times over since its inception in the 1960s, and its evolution has spawned multiple variations that bear no resemblance to the kinds of conversion therapy treatments some are falsely claiming NEXT supports."
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Are you freaking kidding me?!
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Can someone who’s autistic go on that site and tell me if what they’re doing is okay cuz I’m autistic and idk. The fact that they collaborated with Autism Speaks tho…
“And now, thanks to this new report, we have data that confirms there is a significant population of adults with autism, whom need quality services and supports to ensure they too can lead high-quality lives.”
This sounds a bit weird as well!
Like, they say that they’re not trying to like “cure” autism but idk they also say stuff like this? Sounds a bit weird to me but again I’m not autistic.
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Well this is good at least:
We are not currently engaged with Autism Speaks.
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Here’s an article about the site that I found:
yeah, still bad.
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Well um here’s something from the article:
" It is also important to mention that autistic people aren’t just angry about the connection to Autism Speaks or NEXT for AUTISM’s dubious connections to prevention and cure ideology. We are also opposed to their support for and use of Applied Behaviour Analysis or ABA. For years now autistic people have been fighting against the ubiquity of ABA therapy which for far too many who have experienced it has led to lifelong trauma.
ABA was first conceived of by Ivar Lovaas as away to control the behaviour of autistic people through negative reinforcement. They would be asked to complete a task or cease a particular behaviour and if they failed to comply, they would be punished repeatedly. ABA therapy is also the basis for gay conversion therapy, which is now generally considered torture."
Seems good on the site, but then when you read this…
But then again I’d have to research into what ABAs are doing now and if they are changed/different. NextForAutism claims it has but haven’t provided any evidence to show for it.
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