Comments on: What Autism Awareness Means at Autism Speaks

By: fish

fish — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 21:36:28 +0000

Just watching this makes me uncomfortable. She obviously doesn’t want to make eye contact, so why can’t you respect that and leave her alone?! Instead, seems like the message is, “If someone isn’t looking you in the eye, you should do everything you can to force them to. What a fun game! But it’s so frustrating if you can’t win, right?” Ugh.

By: Roxy

Roxy — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 14:12:12 +0000

Think they got the text on the floor a little bit wrong here… Should read:

“This girl is neurotypical. You’re not. Feeling a little uncomfortable? Unwelcome? Imagine nearly everyone you meet reacting to you this way at first. At best.

Autism Acceptance – It Starts With You.”

By: PCFree

PCFree — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 06:39:03 +0000

This is a great idea. While attending a workshop for teachers, the presenter gave an oral test to the group. But while she was speaking the questions, the had a loud hum playing over loudspeakers making it very difficult to hear her. Afterwards, the explained that this is what it is like for a child trying to listen and learn in a classroom. Your idea is very similar. In a milder form, I have heard that looking someone in the eyes is just so distracting because you start looking AT the eyes and the face around it where you can’t focus on the conversation. The face becomes a distraction. But I can see where in a more extreme case, your description sounds very valid. I was taught to look at the bridge of a person’s nose. It makes it easier to not look at eyes and the other person can’t tell you are not looking at their eyes.

By: Carrie

Carrie — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 22:42:00 +0000

This makes me ill. I shouldn’t be amazed at the insensitivity… yet somehow, I am.

By: Jules

Jules — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 19:44:16 +0000

Why haven’t I ceased to be amazed? Why do I continue to be shocked? I don’t know. I do know that this video makes me ill. It’s triggering in that it reminds me of childhood when I had to endure my parents’ social lifestyle and what felt like the nearly constant questions, judgments, and demands to smile, make eye contact, and be less sad looking. Y’know, I’m actually enraged at this! Seeing these so-called normal people, drinks in hand, trying to maintain this holy grail of eye contact and failing! Oh, the pain of it! Shame on them. Wow. I really am horrified. . .and I’ll stop babbling now, even though I feel like I have a right to my horror and a surplus of words and feelings in the face of this ridiculous waste of resources and proof of idiocy.

By: Endersdragon

Endersdragon — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 16:59:31 +0000

This gets them more donations. If they were actually to do something to help autistics, what would that achieve?

By: Brenda

Brenda — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 16:55:17 +0000

This study? http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2011.02481.x/abstract

By: Brenda

Brenda — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 16:51:31 +0000

FAIL.

By: What Is Wrong With Autism Awareness Today | Towanda Threadgoode

What Is Wrong With Autism Awareness Today | Towanda Threadgoode — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 16:44:23 +0000

[...] What Is Wrong With Autism Awareness Today [...]

By: Nathan

Nathan — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 15:18:03 +0000

I think it really says a lot about Autism Speaks that instead of getting an actual autistic person to talk about eye contact, they built a fucking COMPUTER SIMULATION of one.