Read on Twitter
i’ve been researching the connection between the anti-vax movement and the mainstream medical & cultural misunderstanding of what autism is and it is horrifying. the right wing made autism a boogeyman so they could sue vaccine companies & push ABA. it’s an evil scam
the original study that linked autism and vaccines was later found to be false and the study’s author, Andrew Wakefield, had his license taken away. turns out he was paid $665,000 for the study by a group of lawyers who wanted to sue vaccine manufacturers https://www.forbes.com/sites/theapothecary/2014/04/28/the-anti-vaccine-movement-and-a-trial-lawyer-funded-climate-of-fear/
it was in the interest of the anti-vax movement to make autism seem like the worst, scariest thing that could happen to your kid. look at this ad from 2008 from the hate group Autism Speaks (TW: it’s fucking disturbing) - this is pro-genocide propaganda
Autism Speaks has been the main source of disinformation about autism - but they STILL are seen as a reputable source for information and “advocacy.” They are both a money-making scam and a hate group pushing misinformation
https://www.rootpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/AutismSpeaksFlyer_color_2017-1.pdf
https://www.rootpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/AutismSpeaksFlyer_color_2017-1.pdf
So let’s talk about that research and “awareness”/lobbying. Autism Speaks pushes ABA, which the adult autistic community overwhelmingly agrees is abuse. They fund research to support ABA - and 86% of those studies’ authors also got money from ABA companies https://bit.ly/2NWPZpX
Autism Speaks puts all that money into lobbyists who push for ABA. Because of all this lobbying money ABA is covered by insurance in all 50 states and is the main “therapy” recommended to parents of autistic kids. They are torturing kids as a scam.
https://pdf.sciencedirectassets.com/271821/1-s2.0-S0277953619X0009X/1-s2.0-S0277953619302278/am.pdf?X-Amz-Security-Token=IQoJb3JpZ2luX2VjEBkaCXVzLWVhc3QtMSJHMEUCIQCDPhxRdzTae%2FHTNMRedBbmOUYxtTB8voevSnRbHZhY%2FQIgDMbl0iDyk%2BokVxzEsnEw8HwNKXTS19YtFBA%2FSq4REccqtAMIEhADGgwwNTkwMDM1NDY4NjUiDMWfVK3odfemyfVXziqRAzrCCZR21Nl1rycp8E%2FBgAojKYEY2DnaHw8EUt%2BR3YD75WIhuPdx4WDCLXyMWNOh9B7u9aAVdcZ%2FcJO4Vt%2FOBCl%2Fts39flNB%2FFxbtK98sP1A9ugBK09dSTs%2Fcy8I%2F3UQLm75ww7zg3%2BB1pGO9ydYYY0DgScafRAPCKL%2FOWfpZ2WkEkIELxWLl5rR%2FNznBcBmWdmg52MR5h3T6FPpAZ58U0keibtSmYf34RXexFb4W2Hehs7SQZhgQ1B3LuYfCyFZE%2FpnxdCJGuZBqZYo2BmcPrJHAc0NL%2FtbVPxzCGEWa3mWYo3midFSTDyaZCeHs2v6UlakY2wWDZ2B9GXlXd5jrcHJBoR2rB35ddGoCOQuGkY0zbq%2BeD9od06P3RmpyIGBPssmGVPUHoaoQEbB4bW1XmZufhjSfWKNTN6KMBfKj6Kyi%2FtoYuW0oNje8SmegPfDjJvF%2FmoR0T51%2BaHqXDorMrFDjHO3hF9jX6ZV6vGMrapUBq62Uqta2HGv8S%2FSkVap6rtKvTiJ0Y73MtmblO8fbTNvMJTn7oAGOusBn2Ocdm2hD3mvXCA9hlS1MfqsxncBw2vbwcw8GJA8tKKgew%2FH37NLo4DVAgCHW2R2lGt5Ee%2BNVjb4nKB1yvpeTyWRXZG3UGE6CToQuul8vPSJf9V41j7oZbnDCeGRAG405M%2BGTepI3nCf3tu5f41Mq%2B2rR95OZl%2Fd9PGXASu2bP5PIZzTCQkWlhuOFA4G1dkYgpgI44WSQKSqvg1AcvCWm1wDa8CaIOMm6xa5kOwoKuFZKmNGXHca%2FVQ6TewQo5OD3yZWDk8HrZx%2FNDshYs4rBM6XtbjwuTbWwo24lxxMHODf9ybev21n01%2F6fQ%3D%3D&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Date=20210204T094313Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Expires=300&X-Amz-Credential=ASIAQ3PHCVTY6TOPSWGI%2F20210204%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Signature=3ff54bb1fcf6f3970aecce6d7db9c2365111d76ed0585ce0455ff2c23957e757&hash=e4eb83c30d71de0a937f6509a865ac6fc05268578cbec5b82607a5207fec4ce8&host=68042c943591013ac2b2430a89b270f6af2c76d8dfd086a07176afe7c76c2c61&pii=S0277953619302278&tid=pdf-afb4f6b9-3d41-40fa-b7a6-aea0a6d41c25&sid=ce19de0d5cec534ae88a9228a0759ab0e316gxrqa&type=client
https://pdf.sciencedirectassets.com/271821/1-s2.0-S0277953619X0009X/1-s2.0-S0277953619302278/am.pdf?X-Amz-Security-Token=IQoJb3JpZ2luX2VjEBkaCXVzLWVhc3QtMSJHMEUCIQCDPhxRdzTae%2FHTNMRedBbmOUYxtTB8voevSnRbHZhY%2FQIgDMbl0iDyk%2BokVxzEsnEw8HwNKXTS19YtFBA%2FSq4REccqtAMIEhADGgwwNTkwMDM1NDY4NjUiDMWfVK3odfemyfVXziqRAzrCCZR21Nl1rycp8E%2FBgAojKYEY2DnaHw8EUt%2BR3YD75WIhuPdx4WDCLXyMWNOh9B7u9aAVdcZ%2FcJO4Vt%2FOBCl%2Fts39flNB%2FFxbtK98sP1A9ugBK09dSTs%2Fcy8I%2F3UQLm75ww7zg3%2BB1pGO9ydYYY0DgScafRAPCKL%2FOWfpZ2WkEkIELxWLl5rR%2FNznBcBmWdmg52MR5h3T6FPpAZ58U0keibtSmYf34RXexFb4W2Hehs7SQZhgQ1B3LuYfCyFZE%2FpnxdCJGuZBqZYo2BmcPrJHAc0NL%2FtbVPxzCGEWa3mWYo3midFSTDyaZCeHs2v6UlakY2wWDZ2B9GXlXd5jrcHJBoR2rB35ddGoCOQuGkY0zbq%2BeD9od06P3RmpyIGBPssmGVPUHoaoQEbB4bW1XmZufhjSfWKNTN6KMBfKj6Kyi%2FtoYuW0oNje8SmegPfDjJvF%2FmoR0T51%2BaHqXDorMrFDjHO3hF9jX6ZV6vGMrapUBq62Uqta2HGv8S%2FSkVap6rtKvTiJ0Y73MtmblO8fbTNvMJTn7oAGOusBn2Ocdm2hD3mvXCA9hlS1MfqsxncBw2vbwcw8GJA8tKKgew%2FH37NLo4DVAgCHW2R2lGt5Ee%2BNVjb4nKB1yvpeTyWRXZG3UGE6CToQuul8vPSJf9V41j7oZbnDCeGRAG405M%2BGTepI3nCf3tu5f41Mq%2B2rR95OZl%2Fd9PGXASu2bP5PIZzTCQkWlhuOFA4G1dkYgpgI44WSQKSqvg1AcvCWm1wDa8CaIOMm6xa5kOwoKuFZKmNGXHca%2FVQ6TewQo5OD3yZWDk8HrZx%2FNDshYs4rBM6XtbjwuTbWwo24lxxMHODf9ybev21n01%2F6fQ%3D%3D&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Date=20210204T094313Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Expires=300&X-Amz-Credential=ASIAQ3PHCVTY6TOPSWGI%2F20210204%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Signature=3ff54bb1fcf6f3970aecce6d7db9c2365111d76ed0585ce0455ff2c23957e757&hash=e4eb83c30d71de0a937f6509a865ac6fc05268578cbec5b82607a5207fec4ce8&host=68042c943591013ac2b2430a89b270f6af2c76d8dfd086a07176afe7c76c2c61&pii=S0277953619302278&tid=pdf-afb4f6b9-3d41-40fa-b7a6-aea0a6d41c25&sid=ce19de0d5cec534ae88a9228a0759ab0e316gxrqa&type=client
The current mainstream perception of autism among doctors and laypeople alike has been created by anti-vaxxers. Even people who don’t believe the anti-vax lobby’s false conclusion is still going off of their false premises, bc most autism research & lobbying is based on it.
There is a community of adult autistic people speaking out online, but we don’t have billions of dollars of research and lobbying money to make our voices heard. The anti-vax movement is highly negative & combative towards autistic adults bc we invalidate their narrative.
It’s also not hard to find out why the anti-vax / pro ABA movement detests autistic adults - they perceive us to be leftists. They would rather torture their children with ABA than have them grow up to be leftists.
The anti-vax movement has become a big issue on the right bc it’s like abortion - something everyone can agree on. But even better than that, the anti-autism movement is a goldmine. “Autism mamas” hock “cures” ranging from probiotics to bleach concoctions https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/moms-go-undercover-fight-fake-autism-cures-private-facebook-groups-n1007871
How do we know that it’s rightwing money behind the anti-autism lobby? Well, Autism Speaks states on their own website that they launched with $25 million from billionaire founder of Home Depot, Bernie Marcus - who also hates socialism and loves Trump.
The same rightwing propaganda machine that made a third of the country believe the election was stolen has created the moral panic around autism, spread a false picture of what it is, and convinced a generation of parents to torture their autistic children for “therapy.”
Autistic people are having genocide committed against us through therapies that essentially lobotomize children and an ableist society that causes autistic adults to burn out, hide who they are, and suffer a myriad other traumas. Autistic people must survive this.
