OPEN YOUR EYES TO AUTISM - London Rally
There was a protest march in London on Saturday. I am not talking about the tens of thousands who were protesting over the economic recession in advance of Wednesday’s G20 Summit in London. There was another march that day protesting about autism. I did not attend, but from the photos posted online it looks like a few hundred parents, children and their supporters turned up to march from the Embankment to a rally in Trafalgar Square.
The march was called by Open Your Eyes to Autism, “a parent’s initiative” that has strong links with The Autism File. This is a magazine founded by Polly and Jonathon Tommey to promote biological interventions for autism, especially dietary ones. They were the first parents in the UK to try secretin on their child. I once shared a platform with Jonathon Tommey at a conference for health care professionals. Lisa Blakemore-Brown was also there and spoke about the use of Munchausen’s by Proxy to discredit parents who insisted on biomedical treatments for their autistic children. I felt at the time that both had valid insights, but these were insufficient to support the weight of their arguments.
Still, it made for an interesting conference in which medical professionals, attending as part of their continuing professional development, were exposed to the alternative views promoted by Tommey and Blakemore-Brown alongside more orthodox speakers. My contribution was an early attempt to promote the idea that health care professionals can make a positive contribution to the support of autistic people and their families if they start out by accepting the autistic person instead of trying to cure them. You can read it here.
So I was interested to see that despite its biomedical, anti-vaccine sympathies the march on Saturday also welcomed representatives of the London Autistic Rights Movement, including Hub blogger Casdok who attended with her adult son and a placard that read “Acceptance Not Cure.”
This may be because the march seemed to offer something for everybody. Its flyer called for
Improving services for autistic children and adults.
Recognition of the endemic nature of autism worldwide.
Better educational services.
Valid Research to establish cause.
More support for autistic adults.
More help with the transition from child to adult:
Support for Dietary interventions on the NHS.
Recognition of the role of environmental triggers in ASDs.
And much more…
In this the march resembled its larger counterpart on the day. Both were coalitions who could agree upon some issues and disagree about others. The key questions yet to be answered are, “Should we try to build a coalition in which the points of agreement outweigh the points of disagreement? If the divide is too great can we at least maintain a constructive dialogue while pursuing our distinct agendas?” I am open to suggestions on both questions.
Comment by Socrates | March 31st, 2009
The Nation of Islam and the KKK formed a coalition in the 60’s:
The NOI and KKK are mutually antagonistic on the race issue. The only aim they hold in common is complete separation of the races. Malcolm himself unproductively negotiated with KKK leaders in January, 1961, for land where the NOI could set up its own businesses, commerce, and government.
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Page:1960_FBI_primer_on_Nation_of_Islam.djvu/19
Ummm… Should I share a platform with people who view me as fundamentally flawed? Not different, but diseased and disordered?
Where do these people draw the boundary between normality and pathology?
What are their criteria for these states?
As the Gonzo Girl said “This post may contain totally fucking insensitive sarcasm, that may hurt the feelings of mommies, who suffer from their children’s Autism!”
Comment by laurentius rex | March 31st, 2009
I nearly peed on my shoes the other day when my eyes were insulted by an ad from these wannabees.
The greatest reason not to have an autism awareness day (it is all bull) is so as not to give an opportunity for the maggots to crawl out of the cheese.
As for LARM, well all I can say is that Trotskyites often attempt to hijack marches with there preprinted banners and Socialist Worker newspapers.
Which reminds me I must keep off the kebabs, they are not flattering my waistline.
Are LARM trying to exceed there grasp?
Whilst some of us have been to sup with the very Devil himself, at least we made sure that he had to share a very unpalatable dish with us.
As for dietary interventions on the NHS!!!
No way Jose. They can pay for my swimming sessions first and call it “hydrotherapy”.
Comment by laurentius rex | March 31st, 2009
To elaborate, the greatest argument against awareness days, is the falsity of the notion that one day of acknowledgement pays for a lifetime of disregard.
There are only 365 days in a year, and indeed the co-incidence of this particular event in London, with something far more important that will effect all our lives NT and ND for the next generation, should not be forgotten.
Sure I would like my autism acknowledged but I would like to see a world fit to live in first, because without an economy there is going to be nothing to pay for services.
You cannot divide the calendar up neatly between causes, and as I say, those who can afford to bang the biggest drum will always take the opportunity to do so, drowning out the rest.
If I were to carry a banner it would state. Autism is for life not just for awareness day’s.
Comment by Gonzo Galore | March 31st, 2009
Yeh, like International Women’s Day, that one always makes me cringe. I’m not even sure if a year has enough days for every marginalized group to have its own recognition day, so I suggest one single International Patronizing Day for all marginalized groups of people.
It’s not even April, yet, and I’m already nauseated by what’s coming ahead, the ribbons, the puzzles, the 1 in 150 panic signs, the whole “ZOMG, epidemic!” schtick.
Ugh.
Comment by Mark | March 31st, 2009
Mike
thanks for writing about our march.
you failed to mention a group of us met with Alistair Darling on the invite of his wife and we asked him some very direct questions about ALL aspects of Autism in the UK.
The LARM were very welcome to our march infact I had contact with them before and talked to one of their members on route and found I had much common ground with him!
I was also impressed when the LARM dealt very directly with street sellers with whistles who approach the march.
I also took on-board comments from AFF and changed much of the wording on the website.
The March was not without indecent. the LARM wanted an opportunity to speak and as this had not been pre arranged and was not possible due to time restrictions. If we organise another march we may seek autistic adults to speak as we had none come forward despite a request on the website.
I would like to thanks ALL the representatives of the ND community for attending especially because of the threat of noise and disorder from the G20 world poverty rally on the same day.
Comment by Mark | March 31st, 2009
Larry
You make the banner and I will help you carry it next time
Comment by Chun Wong | April 6th, 2009
Surely, like other marches and protests, the march’s objectives were to raise awareness rather than promote any particular type of treatment or intervention? Isn’t it a good thing to raise awareness of autism, in the hope that government’s will do more research and do more to support families?I know that we’re all divided on what we think causes autism, whether it can be treated or cured, acceptance versus treatment etc. but I think we are all seeking to rid the world of preconceived ideas and stereotypes, and to het help.
Comment by Roderick Cobley | April 22nd, 2009
I’m afraid I find Mark’s comments above to be highly misleading. The message from every single one of the speakers was that vaccines causes autism, and when I went up to try and get a few minutes at the microphone as chair of LARM in order to put a pro-neurodiversity message, I was told that our message was not welcome there. I was told in no uncertain terms by one of the other speakers, a Scottish man whose name I have forgotten, that he was against the whole concept of neurodiversity and the autism rights movement, saw no common ground between us and him, and regarded LARM’s presence as unwelcome.
LARM took the decision to attend because they seemed open to inviting all comers, and therefore we saw an opportunity to put our message across. However, in fact it was an Autism File event - and the Autism File makes clear that their goal is to eliminate autism. This is a goal that is simply incompatible with inclusion and acceptance as far as I am concerned. It appears the marchers’ organisers are only happy with the presence of autistic activists if they help legitimise their anti-vaccine campaign, and were not really looking for an open march at all.
Comment by Sarah Faulkner | December 3rd, 2009
I agree with Roderick’s comment April 22nd 2009.
I am the Project Leader of Assert(B&H) - a Brighton charity supporting adults with ‘high-functioning’ autism and Asperger syndrome. Assert(B&H) had a small group in attendance at the march.
The focus of this march was ‘vaccines’. This was disappointing and also rather confusing as the flyer for the march stated that other topics were to be addressed, such as:
More support for autistic adults
More help with the transition from child to adult
Improving services for autistic children and adults
I was present when Roderick was turned away from the speakers stand. Many people (autistic and NT) were very disappointed at this. The result was that all of the speakers at the (ahem) autism awareness march were (I think) neuro-typical!!ӣ$%^&