Thread by @Dave_Thibault

Sorry long thread incoming.

I'm sure a lot of people have seen this video by @MarkRober. On the surface, he seems to have good intentions.

Unfortunately the video is filled with so many harmful ableism stereotypes that need to be addressed.

CW // Abuse, Sexual Assault
1/25

I want to disclose right off the bat that I have no issue with Mark revealing his autistic son. If anything, I feel that's one part of the video he does right.

He's also correct when he says that not every autistic person has remarkable abilities.

But everything else ...

2/25

At 2:37 Mark talks about Carly Fleischmann. Who is a non-verbal autistic woman, who's short film co-written with her father launched her into public stardom. Best highlighted by the moment where she hosted "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert."

3/25

However what Mark fails to disclose is that Carly has been missing since 2019. In February of that year, she made a post alleging that a friend of her father sexually assaulted her.

There's a screenshot of the original accusation below.

https://twitter.com/NeuroRebel/status/1093111901683367936

4/25

The aftermath of this accusation was a mess, first with gaslighting. Deleting the claim. Then denial it even happened, with a post (from admin) claiming the account was hacked and Carly hadn't posted since 2018.

No one has heard from Carly since.

readunwritten.com/2021/01/14/fam…
5/25

At 3:19 Mark uses the term "People with Autism", otherwise known as Person First Language.

Studies have found that using PFL over Identity First Language (i.e Autistic People) is actually harmful to autistic people. The majority prefer IFL.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…

6/25

The academic industry also has a systemic ableism problem for its insistence on using Person First Language. Take a look at the responses to this thread to get a good example about what I'm talking about.

https://twitter.com/KristenBott/status/1379946385735225345

7/25

At 3:37, Mark talks about hearing sensitivity issues, and creates an example by raising the background audio of his video drowning out his voice.

Sensory Processing issues are common in Autistic people, but Mark makes some incorrect assumptions.

8/25

It's different in every single autistic person. (Some may not even have them at all.) Me for example, I have mild light and sound sensitivity issues, but more severe taste sensitivity. My wife on the other hand has severe sound sensitivity.

9/25

What's extremely important to know, is that excess sensory overload can lead to meltdowns or shutdowns, depending on the person. It's not a bothersome issue like Mark tries to make it out to be. Prolonged overload can lead to mental health problems.

medicalnewstoday.com/articles/senso…
10/25

At 4:53 Mark talks about how whenever someone is over at their house, his son will ask very important questions and we see video of this.

However instead of hearing his son actually ask these questions. Mark instead talks over his son, to the point where he isn't heard.

11/25

Talking over Autistic people is yet another common offensive gesture portrayed by neurotypical people. It has become such a problem that self-advocating agencies have been established to counter the narrative.

It's also why many offensive stereotypes exist.

12/25

At 6:30, Mark implies that "People with special needs may not be successful by benefitting GDP or getting a PhD to cure disease."

He doubles down later at 7:27 by saying his son may not: "Be a little league star, step foot on Mars, or find the cure to Cancer."

13/25

Not only are these claims highly offensive, but the idea that Autistic People cannot be highly successful, is simply not true.

Honestly I could post a whole series of examples of successful autistic people in a variety of industries. I'll post a few next tweet.

14/25

Sir Anthony Hopkins,
Tim Burton,
Dr. Vernon Smith, (Winner of the 2002 Nobel Prize for economics)
Satoshi Tajiri, (Creator of Pokémon)
Dr. Temple Grandin,

And most notably: Vice Admiral Nick Hine, Second Sea Lord of the British Royal Navy.

https://twitter.com/RoyalNavy/status/1371455249463009284

15/25

Autistic People are more likely to be successful in certain fields than neurotypical people, due to hyper-fixated interests. Normally this comes at the expense of struggling with other topics.

The education sector, needs to adapt to this.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29427546/#:~:t….

16/25

Mark's positive turnaround to this offensive myth, was even worse.

He claims that special needs kids are there, to bring joy and inspiration to the neurotypical people around them.

As if the only reason we Autistic People exist, is to make others feel better.

17/25

This objectification is what's known as "Inspiration Porn." And it can be harmful not only to autistic people, but for many other disabled people as explained by the late Stella Young in her Ted Talk in 2014.



18/25

Mark just because your son get's joy for making other people smile, DOES NOT MEAN all Autistic People are like that.

There's a common saying within the #ActuallyAutistic community that goes:
"If you've met one autistic person, you've met just one autistic person."

19/25

This brings me to the charity Mark promotes, Next For Autism. Immediately this drew criticism for the organization's support of ABA Therapy.

ABA Therapy has ties with Gay Conversion Therapy. And has been linked to PTSD, trauma, and even suicide.

20/25

twitter.com/i/events/13806…

Shoutout to @AutSciPerson. They discovered that NFA have ties to a centre, who's mission statement in clear print: Is to "Prevent Autism."

Autism is not a disease, to use it in similar language like one is dangerous. It's a eugenics position.

https://twitter.com/AutSciPerson/status/1383500749523456000

21/25

Horrifyingly since this revelation. Some people on twitter have been defending this eugenics position.

Autism defines our interests, our personalities, our desires, our goals.

To say that Autism needs to be eradicated, means you're advocating to eradicate who we are.

22/25

This all culminated in Mark and @jimmykimmel announcing #ColorTheSpectrum, a livestream event set to take place next Friday, April 30th.

It claims to "Support the Autism Community." ... however not a single star on the lineup is Autistic (That I know of).

23/25

I want to reiterated that famous Autistic celebrities and influencers do indeed exist. But the fact that none of them are here, highlights the issue of NT talking over Autistic people that I mentioned earlier.

24/25

I see that Mark had pure intentions. But I feel the majority of these issues could have been avoided, if he had talked to some adults who are #ActuallyAutistic prior to announcing #ColorTheSpectrum.

Please RT and share this thread.
#AutismAcceptanceMonth
25/25

UPDATE: A few things have been brought to light in regards to "Next For Autism".

For starters, they released a statement denying many of the accusations and claiming they "recently" launched an Autism Advisory Board.

Plus using Person-First language and gaslighting.
1/12A

The defence that "ABA has been modified since the 1960's" has been disputed with studies from 2011. It shows intent on forcing children to stop what are completely innocent habits.

2/12A

https://twitter.com/martin_hamilton/status/1383827272629592064

They hid behind their telethon "Night Of Too Many Starts" as their signal of doing good.

Well ...

Their 2017 show had 43 stars, of which only 2 were Autistic.

Other autistic people did appear, but were relegated to Inspirational Porn segments.

3/12A

The post claimed that they "would never support any group seeking to prevent or eliminate Autism."

But that is simply not true. As evident from their site dedicating a whole webpage to the foundation that caused this outrage to begin with.

4/12A

AFTER NFA's response, "Center for Autism and the Developing Brain" attempted to gaslight critics. By silently removing "prevent Autism Spectrum Disorder" from their mission statement.

See below the before and after. 3rd Bullet Point.

https://twitter.com/Barbedtwo/status/1384512555687755779

5/12A

The post also tries to distance themselves from the group "Autism Speak" stating that their partnership was "In services mission only."

Autism Speaks is highly despised by the Autistic community, TLDR; Their founders saw Autism as a goal to "cure"



6/12A

Once again, receipts prove gaslighting.

Their website had a tribute to Autism Speaks' late co-founder Suzanne Wright, proving the two organizations had a closer connection than stated.

That page was also silently removed following the backlash.

https://twitter.com/NeuronSale/status/1384539967947382793

7/12A

It's also since been discovered that Next For Autism Co-Founder Harry Slatkin, once stated in a documentary called "Autism: True Lives" that he wished his autistic son would drown in a pond.

Please see @Jovviial's full thread.

https://twitter.com/Jovviial/status/1384157988303216640

8/12A

Thankfully some guests who were scheduled to appear in #ColorTheSpectrum have already taken notice. Rhett & Link of @Mythical and @MirandaSings have both announced that they have withdrawn from the event. And to them I say; Thank you for listening.

https://twitter.com/Mythical/status/1383979082891759623

9/12A

Also @Jack_Septic_Eye and @KarlJacobs_ have both stated they have requested a change in the charity the money is going towards.

Which I too can also support. Karl even said if a change isn't made, he would withdraw too.

https://twitter.com/Jack_Septic_Eye/status/1383841890248794112

10/12A

As for Mark himself, he made a post last night further supporting the event. Completely ignoring the criticism from thousands of #ActuallyAutistic advocates. Myself included.

https://twitter.com/MarkRober/status/1384375043728183303

11/12A

For now, I'll leave you with @PrincessAspien's petition to stop #ColorForAutism. At time of writing, the petition has over 11,000 signatures. Please consider signing it, even if you are not autistic yourself.

Thanks for reading

12/12A

change.org/p/autistic-peo…