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[heydude6]

Honestly, if I experience myself doing something amazing, I'd rather chalk it up to myself just being awesome than aspergers anyway.

The thing a lot of people don’t understand about Aspergers is that it’s not just something you have, but it’s also something you are. There is no neurotypical person buried under the disorder just trying to break out and be free, it’s aspie all the way down. If neurologists somehow devised a treatment that reshapes the brain into a more neurotypical configuration, the patient would end up turning into a completely different person. It would be like killing one person and replacing them with another, and as you can imagine, people with Asperger’s don’t like the idea of being killed off.

[misko27]

And yet my mother, despite having a daughter with Aspergers, still goes on occasional rants about people who don't like Autism speaks.

[Dunamisdeos]

I've always found them to focus less on the lower end of the spectrum (like Asperger's) and more on severe cases. Make no mistake, severe cases of autism are not a thing a person should have to live with. We aren't talking about something like homosexuality, a thing where the solution is literally "basic understanding from society". Even moderate cases are not something a person should have to work through to succeed. The level of disadvantage those things can bring are real.

That said if that's how their upper management functions, that is certainly not ok. I still say they have an overall positive effect. And their literature they put out on their website does not show ignorance. There's not actually anything wrong with being a group that focuses on supporting/educating families and also funding research. Both of those are good things.

I don't think anyone is talking about mandatory treatments for curing adults/children living with Asperger's. My understanding is that preventing autism entirely is the main focus of modern research, since we aren't totally sure what even causes it. They suspect things like O2 deprivation, a chemical imbalance, etc, but there's no real consistency in cause.

[scourge728]

Also: There's the part where they sue people who mention their name on say t-shirts

[Dunamisdeos]

Didn't the breast cancer awareness pink ribbon lady do that.

That is awful to do.

[Descan]

Honestly, most of the 'big name' charities and foundations claiming to speak for and assist people in various states are kinda shit. I think it's almost inevitable, corruption sets in and administrative costs balloon. I haven't exactly written a thesis about it, just something I've noticed.

[TamerVirus]

I'll only donate to the Human Fund. Its money for people, so its a good cause

[MrRoboto75]

I'd rather found the "Take-A-Wish" Foundation

[Dunamisdeos]

They are the only ones I actually donate to.

[NJW2000]

Honestly, most of the 'big name' charities and foundations claiming to speak for and assist people in various states are kinda shit. I think it's almost inevitable, corruption sets in and administrative costs balloon. I haven't exactly written a thesis about it, just something I've noticed.

You want something small and effective, try "Give Directly". It's just small cash transfers to the ultra-poor in the middle of nowhere. They use satellites to look for thatched roofs, an indicator of extreme poverty.

[Descan]

Yeah, like I said, it's something I've notice specifically in big charities. It's also possible the smaller ones are as bad or worse on average, and just aren't subject to the same scrutiny. In which case, the idea that them being Bad because Big is Bunk.

[heydude6]

Honestly, most of the 'big name' charities and foundations claiming to speak for and assist people in various states are kinda shit.

I don't fully agree with this.

I think it's almost inevitable, corruption sets in and administrative costs balloon. I haven't exactly written a thesis about it, just something I've noticed.

But as a person who is close with someone who works at a charity, I can at least tell you that you are on to something. An important thing to understand is that for a lot of charities the majority of their income doesn't come from the cumulative donations of the common folk (though the amount made from there is nothing to scoff at), but rather through the donations of a few large donors (specifically the government and rich people). As you can imagine, these wealthy few do have a certain level of influence on the organization. This isn't watergate though. They'd probably wish it were, but in the grand scheme of things a charity is not that powerful of an organization. The worst I've ever heard from my friend is that sometimes they'll hire the relative of a wealthy donor on the staff, and though they might not be as qualified as an individual from a humbler background, they're still doing charity work so it can't be that bad. Rich people do genuinely want to give back to their community, at least a little. It isn't just the tax break.

[TD1]

I don't remember doing this

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

We are the many-headed rivulets
Which run into the gloomy Bay of Twelve,
A deep and lonesome place where darkness sets
And creatures of the welcome twilight delve.
Our hearts run into many obstacles
Along the pathways deep below the earth
Where death yawns wide and kindness kills
All things which once for us held any worth.
We drink and smile and hope and die and live
Who meet as waters meet below the seas;
And though for certainty much would we give
Uncertainty comes to us with much more ease.
So listen, you who does not track the depth,
To rivulets together joined and merged
And know with blinding certainty the breadth
Of the insanity which here emerged.

The hell was I high on??

[Kagus]

The hell was I high on??

Sobriety. That most terrible of afflictions.

[Loud Whispers]

A fey mood