When looking to donate to
 
autistic causes, it may be easy to
 
go for big, recognizable names.
 
However, much of the narrative
 
around autism can often be
 
controlled by neurotypical
 
people and may be harmful.
​
​

A good rule of thumb is to avoid organizations particularly run by allistic people.

​For example:

(trigger warning: sensitive content)
​

Autism Speaks: Perhaps the most well known and infamous organization on this list, Autism Speaks became famous for the wrong reasons. They have a history of producing fear mongering campaigns that hurt a lot of people and spread nasty misinformation. For example, they produced a poem titled “I Am Autism” that was written from the perspective of a personification of autism. The poem characterizes autism as a monster that destroys parents’ marriages and “work(s) faster than pediatric AIDS.” In the poem, the character of autism also says “I derive great pleasure out of your loneliness. I will fight to take away your hope. I will plot to rob you of your children and your dreams.” As another example, Autism Speaks put out a video campaign called “Autism Every Day” that features one of their board members talking. The woman talks about driving her autistic daughter off a cliff while her child is seen currently in the room with the woman during the interview. The organization also released a film titled, “Sounding the Alarm: Battling the Autism Epidemic”. First of all, the title alone is horrible and completely misrepresents autism by turning it into this evil being that infects “normal” people. The movie compares the neurotype of autism to a natural disaster such as a tsunami or an earthquake. They also offer a 100 day kit for the families of those recently diagnosed. The literature in the kit recommends that they go through the five stages of grief. Autism Speaks has misused funds raised for hurricane Katrina for their own personal gain. They have a history of getting rich off donations in general. For example, one executive in the organization received over $600,000 in 2008. Since they were founded, much of Autism Speak’s funds went towards finding a “cure”. Such as when they lobbied for the Combating Autism Act, now known as the Autism CARE Act, which aimed to cure autism. However in 2016, they finally removed the word “cure” from their mission statement, further content, and campaigning only after severe backlash. Remember, trying to erase any perfectly valid neurotype from the planet by way of “curing” it is eugenics. They have supported eugenics in other more direct ways as well such as building “One of the world’s largest open access autism genomic databases.” to “find the causes of autism” which would likely eventually result in prenatal screening and possibly abortion. In 2014 they told an autistic woman with children “You should not have bred! We do not need anymore people with autism. They have also lobbied for ABA and partnered with the Judge Rotenburg Center and white supremacist group Soldiers of Odin.

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Autism Society of America: The Autism Society of America was originally called the National Society for Autistic Children. One of their co-founders, Bernard Rimland, promoted biochemical intervention and blamed autism on things like pollutants, vaccines, and antibiotics. He also promoted dangerous “cures” and treatments like chelation therapy. Bernard Rimland also founded another organization titled Defeat Autism Now. Ivar Lovaas, the other founder of the Autism Society of America, was actually the father of applied behavior analysis.


AuitismOne: This organization is specifically driven by the parents of those with autism but not autistic people themselves. They generally treat autism as a disease and a poison. They want to “win the war against autism” and claim, “recovery is possible! Children get better!” They promote the use of supplements, detox, chelation, and even bleach to “cure” and “treat” autism.


American Autism Association (AAA): This organization was made for the parents of autistic people and has no input from autistic adults. They spread the myth that more boys are autistic than girls, which leads to under diagnosis and encourages the use of applied behavior analysis. They claim “the symptoms of autism are treatable!” and refer to autistic people as “individuals affected by Autism Spectrum Disorder.”


NEXT for AUTISM: The organization is not very reputable, being founded by a YouTube scientist, Mark Rober and a talk show host, Jimmy Kimmel. Mark has stated he sometimes has thoughts of his autistic son dying “because you wouldn’t want him to suffer like this all his life.” He has also shared that he believes all parents of autistics must share these such thoughts. He believes that his son was taken from him by autism. While the video and article where this was mentioned has been removed, they have not apologized or given autistic people a say in their organization. They also promote applied behavior analysis and put a large amount of their budget towards finding cures and causes for autism. Lastly, they have worked with Autism Speaks on several occasions.


The Autistic Community in Action (TACA): Formerly known as “Talk About Curing Autism” this organization has an intense focus on “curing” and “recovery” and have invited quack doctors and anti-vaxxers who use pseudoscience warned about on the Quack Doctors Watchlist.


National Autistic Society: Founded in 1962 as the Autistic Children’s Aid Society of North London, this organization once used a logo of a crying child trapped inside a puzzle piece, stating that autistic people “suffer from a puzzling condition.” They recently came under fire for the abuse and ensuing cover up at Mendip residential care facility, but managed to escape prosecution. They also promote the use of applied behavior analysis and biomedical treatments such as restrictive diets, hormone intervention and supplements.


Generation Rescue: Originally founded in 2005 by Lisa and J.B. Handley, Generation Rescue is now run by anti-vaxxer celebrity Jenny McCarthy who promotes pseudoscience, quack diets, and chelation. She believes autistic people can be “cured” or “recover.”


Autism Treatment Center of America: Founded in 1974 by Barry Neil Kaufman and Samahria Kaufman, this organization charges families $875 for unproven “treatments” he describes as an “at home autism treatment program.” They sell ableist novels like “Autism Breakthrough” and “Autism Can be Cured.” They also exploit and dehumanize autistic children calling their meltdowns, “tantrums.”


Medical Academy of Pediatric Special Needs (MAPS): Formerly known as “Defeat Autism Now,” the Medical Academy of Pediatric Special Needs is still dedicated to curing autism, saying it should be “battled.” They have partnered with Doctors Data Inc., which has been sued by parents of autistic children for their quackery and their false claims of heavy metals in stool samples to promote chelation. They have also partnered with The Autism Community in Action (formerly Talk About Curing Autism) and the National Autism Association.


National Autism Association (NAA): The NAA says that autistic people are “affected” by autism. They depict autistic people as diseased and broken. They have made false claims that autism can be treated with diet and that it can be “completely overcome in some cases.” The NAA also claims autism is an epidemic that is growing rapidly. They promote gluten free, casein free, and specific carbohydrates diets as well as applied behavior analysis. They also have had a list campaigns such as the Autism SOS Campaign, where SOS stands for “social avoidance,” “obsession and repetition,” and “speech delays,” which depicts an autistic child trapped in a baby bottle.


Autism Science Foundation: This organization funds research that seeks to cure autism and promotes various forms of applied behavior analysis.


Autism Hope Alliance (AHA): While this organization has input from parents, it has none from autistic adults. It is partnered with the Autism Recovery System whose website claims “yes, autism IS treatable, and in some cases, even recoverable.” AHA promotes supplements to treat autism as well as dangerous chelation therapy.
 
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Many of these organizations like to separate autism from the individual. Almost like it’s an alien species that invades the planet, steals children, and spreads like a plague. That is not how it actually feels to be autistic. You just are the way you are, and you know no other way of being. People with autism are humans that are just trying to make it through life like everyone else.
 
 


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​Instead choose organizations run by autistic people.

​such as:
​

Autism Self Advocacy Network (ASAN): The most famous self advocacy group, this non-profit seeks to “advance the principles of the disability rights movement with regard to autism” and believes that “the goal of autism advocacy should be a world in which autistic people enjoy equal access, rights, and opportunities.”  They do their work through “policy and legal advocacy, making educational resources, creating advocacy tools, and leadership training for autistic people to become self-advocates.”

Autistics for Autistics: A Canadian affiliate of Autism Self Advocacy Network that says “we are an autistic-led organization, meaning that neither our parents nor service providers advocate ‘for’ us. We are proudly autistic. We work in partnership with other disability groups to educate the public and transform Canada’s autism policies from a charity perspective to a RIGHTS perspective.” They work to “help autistic people achieve school inclusion, employment, housing, and access to health care.”

Neuroclastic: This organization is a collective of self advocates seeking to amplify autistic voices to help educate people about autism and autistic issues. They do this through their numerous resources including topics such as injustice towards people with autism. They strive for intersectionality and hope to achieve a more accepting world. They state “we believe that neurodiversity means that autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and other neuro-developmental types are naturally-occurring divergence from typical neurology, and that it is not a ‘diseased’ or ‘broken’ way of existing. Having a disability means that a person needs accommodations or supports. Disabled is not a dirty word. Disability does not mean inability.” 

Autistic Empire: Founded in 2018 by self advocates, this organization provides tools and services to the autistic community. It views autism as a civic identity and is built on the principles that:
  • “Autism is an ordinary variant of human neurology”
  • “All autistic people are one people”
  • “We do not need a cure; we want solutions”
  • “Autism does not disable us; societies disable us”
  • “Autism does not excuse us from civility or personal development”

Autism Inclusive Meets: This non-profit creates a safe environment for autistic people and allies of all ages to get together and socialize. They promote acceptance through education and they organize protests as well.

Autistic Women and Nonbinary Network: Their website which was interestingly archived by the Library of Congress for their contribution to womens’ and gender studies, has a news page, a blog, and resources such as a guide to healthcare for transgender autistic people and a welcome packet for parents and autistic adults. The site states that they also provide “financial aid, education and outreach, community and support, and publication of resources.” 

Association for Autistic Community: This organization is responsible for hosting “Autspace” every year. “Autspace” is a conference that hosts autistic academics and creators such as writers, artists, speakers, scientists, and musicians.

Communication First: The website for this organization states that this is the only non-profit dedicated specifically to nonspeaking people, and securing their civil rights. Their mission is “to protect and advance the rights, autonomy, opportunity, and dignity of people with speech-related disabilities through public engagement, policy and practice change, and systemic advocacy.” Their vision is “every person with a speech-related disability will have what they need at all times to communicate effectively, to be fully included in their community, and to be free from abuse.”

International Badass Activists: According to their website this is a “ peer-led organization focused on activism campaigns, stigma busting, divergent news and education, peer community development, Autistic-to-NT bridge-building projects and other badass initiatives to support the Neurodiversity Civil Rights Movement.” They focus on autistic activism, history, and politics, such as the issue of bringing about ABA (applied behavioral analysis) reform.

The Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism: This organization is a “one-stop source for carefully curated, evidence-based, neurodiversity-steeped information from autistic people, parents, and autism professionals” that aims to provide accurate information in a world full of stigma and pseudoscience. They have a list of resources, other organizations, and a neurodiversity FAQ page.

Autistics Against Curing Autism: This nonprofit based in Chicago Illinois split off from the Autism Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) and engages in education, meet ups and protests, and helps autistic people engage in self advocacy.

London Autistics Standing Together (LAST): This organization formed in 2016 seeks to change the lack of support for autistic adults. They run a peer support group and offer a “What About Us” neurodiversity lending library.

Autistics United Canada: This organization seeks to amplify autistic voices and has an intersectional approach to achieving better rights for autistic people.
 
 

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Sources:​