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Simon Baron Cohen

Kvothe

I am wondering why Simon Baron Cohen is associated with NAS after his opinions have been widely condemned by autistic people on a video.

The video in question is - the worlds leading autism expert https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJg2_EVheY4&t=1668s

in this video he basically compares autistic people to Elon Musk who i am not aware was formally diagnosed as Autistic, and basically says Autism is a blessing.

Here are some of the comments from that video:

*OMG I spent most of this podcast rolling my eyes. I have ADHD and autism and it's something I would cure in a heartbeat. It makes my life hard and exhausting. I'm constantly overwhelmed. I have no friends. Wanting to prevent autism is good, not eugenics!

* He said autism doesn't cause human suffering and we shouldn't try and prevent it. He's an expert in the field yet lives in a fantasy world where autism always means interesting quirks. As a parent of a severely autistic child who is none verbal, I see daily how much suffering it can cause. Something as simple as walking past a shop with their door left open will change a happy child into a child having a two hour meltdown while scraping the skin off his own face and trying to smash his own head on the concrete. I see this daily and it's terrifying and heart-breaking.

* I’m so sick of people acting like being neurodivergent t is a blessing. As someone who has this myself, yes I have some abilities others don’t. But it is still debilitating. It’s like saying a blind person is lucky because their sense of smell becomes better. We need to find a cure for those who want it

* My son has autism, if there is anything we could have done to prevent it, we would have risked life and limb to do so. There is an incredible amount of suffering related with it.

*This interview is a disservice to all those negatively impacted by autism.

*I’m glad to see I wasn’t the only one shocked and rolling my eyes as the over-corrective “acceptance” mentality of this expert. It’s one thing to be compassionate and highlight the strengths of autism, it’s another thing to not want to prevent it or package it as simply an almost cosmetic difference. Ridiculous.

These are just some of the comments on that video and there are 6840 comments.


Do the National Autistic Society stand by him? He seems to not understand the plight of autistic people at all and i am wondering why thy NAS has him as a Patron, do they agree with his stance on autism or disavow it?

I prob wont be able to reply to most messages on this post as i find this site and the NAS too overwhelming, but will try if i can.

Parents

  • I also have some interesting quirks but they don't compensate the suffering. The inability to function socially, to find friends, well paid job etc. It does not compensate being told constantly by everyone that there is something wrong with me.  

    There are autistic people,  who love being the way they are (at least stayed that) and they say, they would never change or cure their autism if there was a medication to that.

    For me, I'm not proud of who I am, who I was born.  I'm only proud (sometimes) of my achievements. 

    There are various views, some people emphasise the "super powers" others get angry because of autism being romanticised. I lack strong opinion, but agree on that autism is a disorder,  disability,  not just a quirk and causes many people lifelong suffering. 

Reply

  • I also have some interesting quirks but they don't compensate the suffering. The inability to function socially, to find friends, well paid job etc. It does not compensate being told constantly by everyone that there is something wrong with me.  

    There are autistic people,  who love being the way they are (at least stayed that) and they say, they would never change or cure their autism if there was a medication to that.

    For me, I'm not proud of who I am, who I was born.  I'm only proud (sometimes) of my achievements. 

    There are various views, some people emphasise the "super powers" others get angry because of autism being romanticised. I lack strong opinion, but agree on that autism is a disorder,  disability,  not just a quirk and causes many people lifelong suffering. 

Children
  • in reply to Alien0n3arth

    The superpower thing, does bug me, but so does the idea that it's a quirk, it does cause difficulties some more disabling than others, it depends on how you're effected. I just wish there'd be more acceptance that all autists are different, we're not all bouncing around with our pants on the outside of our trousers brandishing our superpower, we're not all seriously affected either, most of us just bob along getting on with life.