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Autism Speaks

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Organization

The Resume

    (February 11, 2005- )
    Born in New York City, New York
    Autism awareness, advocacy and research organization
    Co-founded by General Electric vice-chairman Bob Wright and his wife Suzanne Wright

Why they might be annoying:

    They have a negative perception of autism spectrum disorder, often portraying it as a disease, and in the most extreme cases a fate worse than death.
    They're pursuing the development of a 'cure' for autism as well as pre-natal screening for autism, which could be seen as steps towards the genocide of autistic people.
    Their demonizing perception of autism was shown in two short videos they produced, 'Autism Every Day' (2006) and 'I Am Autism' (2009).
    One mother's testimonial in 'Autism Every Day' claimed she once thought about committing murder-suicide with her autistic daughter.
    They have mostly ignored adults on the autism spectrum during their early years, seeing autism exclusively as a children's and parents' issue.
    They've spent far less money towards autism awareness and research than smaller autism-focused non-profit organizations have, with much of their money paying their own employees instead.
    They once viewed vaccines as a contributing factor to the growing autistic population, adding fuel to the anti-vaxxer movement.
    They've pushed for using abusive pseudoscience and alternative treatments on autistic patients.
    They hired Yoko Ono to be their global autism ambassador.

Why they might not be annoying:

    Despite their own negative views of autism, they can still be credited for inspiring the formation of newer, more inclusive autism awareness and acceptance movements.
    In later years, they've opened up more to supporting adults on the autism spectrum.
    Together with the United Nations, they've helped establish the month of April as Autism Awareness Month, and April 2nd as World Autism Awareness Day.
    In 2017, they've claimed that after years of extensive research that the idea of vaccines being a prime cause of autism has been ultimately discredited.

Credit: Tim the Slipperman


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 6 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 438 Votes: 62.10% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 137 Votes: 57.66% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 28 Votes: 64.29% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 44 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 260 Votes: 46.15% Annoying