Autism CARES? Oh, It Cares All Right – Just Not About Most Autistic People!
Filed under /sarcasm
Wow! Hold on to your hats, everyone—the U.S. House passed a $1.95 billion autism research bill last month! That’s billion with a B. Just imagine what they’ll do with all that money! Actually, don’t worry, I’ll save you the brainpower: they’ll pour it straight into figuring out how to make autistic people... well, less autistic. You know, the stuff that really matters! Never mind the pesky issues like employment, housing, or the fact that 83% of us won’t see a penny of this money. Why would we need that when we’ve got the Autism CARES Act to show just how much they “care” about us?
But wait, folks—it gets even better! This bill is laser-focused on the most urgent crisis of our time: profound autism! That’s right, out of the goodness of their hearts (and maybe a few backroom deals), the Autism Moms are here to make sure that those with IQs below 50 get all the attention. Because, you know, autism is only a real problem if it’s profound. The rest of us? We’re doing just fine, apparently. Sure, we’re facing an 80-90% unemployment rate and fighting just to be treated like actual human beings, but hey, why sweat the small stuff when we can fund another decade of research into how to prevent us from being born in the first place? Isn’t that the dream?
Oh, but let’s not forget the real stars of this show: the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC). You know, the folks who are supposed to coordinate all the autism-related efforts in the federal government, but somehow manage to mostly coordinate autism right off the agenda. Their new mission? To “reflect the entire population” of autistic people... but mostly focus on the ones who fit their neat little boxes. The profoundly autistic, those are the ones they’re really interested in. For the rest of us, it’s business as usual. What, me worry?
Now, don’t go thinking this is all just a pointless exercise in throwing money at research no one asked for. No, no, no! This bill passed with a bipartisan vote—because nothing screams ‘working across the aisle’ like ignoring the actual needs of millions of autistic people in favour of some feel-good PR about “therapies” and “prevention.” Bipartisanship is alive and well, as long as it involves a group hug over how much we all love medicalising neurodiversity. And let’s give a round of applause to Behavioral Health Business for covering this so earnestly! Because what we really need is more glowing articles about how much progress we’re making, whilst the entire autism community collectively facepalms.
Ah, but don’t worry, they didn’t forget about the advocacy groups. No, Alison Singer from the Autism Science Foundation is positively thrilled about this bill—well, sort of. She’s a bit disappointed that it didn’t go far enough to funnel even more cash into researching profound autism. But hey, she’ll take the scraps. It’s all about compromise, right? And what better way to celebrate compromise than by cheerfully ignoring the nearly 90% of autistic people who are out here just trying to survive in a society that won’t hire us, house us, or even listen to us?
Now, let’s get real for a second: this isn’t just some minor oversight. This is an intentional, well-oiled machine designed to keep the focus on a small, photogenic group of autistic people—the ones who make for great tragic news stories, the ones the Autism Moms can parade around as symbols of why we need even more therapies and treatments. The rest of us? We’re not even on their radar. And why would we be? We’re just the inconvenient autistic people who can speak for ourselves and might, heaven forbid, demand things like human rights and autonomy instead of a never-ending stream of ABA therapy and “cure” research.
And then there’s good old Behavioral Health Business. What would we do without their hard-hitting “news?” You’d almost think they’re some kind of propaganda outlet, given how gleefully they churn out stories that align perfectly with the interests of Big Autism (yes, it’s a thing). What, you think they’re going to write a scathing critique of this bill? Ha! Not a chance. They’re too busy putting a nice glossy spin on the fact that we’re all still fighting for basic support services whilst the government pats itself on the back for throwing more money at research that benefits almost no one.
But hey, what’s $1.95 billion between mates? At least we’ve got the Autism CARES Act to remind us that caring about autistic people means throwing money at the problem and hoping it goes away. Who needs actual change when you’ve got headlines and handshakes?