Alison Singer is a non-Autistic parent of an Autistic, and a sibling of an Autistic.
Alison Tepper Singer is executive vice president for communications and awareness at Autism Speaks. Alison has been with the foundation since its launch in March 2005 and is a member of the board of directors, in addition to overseeing the strategic communications and development of the growing organization. She served as interim CEO of the organization from March through July 2005.
Prior to joining Autism Speaks, Alison spent 14 years at CNBC and NBC in a variety of positions, including vice president of programming in NBC’s cable and business development division, producer of CNBC’s MoneyWheel and MarketWrap programs, and, most recently, special projects producer at CNBC, where she produced the award-winning series, “Autism: Paying the Price.” She has a B.A. in economics from Yale University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Alison has both a daughter and an older brother with autism, giving her long-term, personal experience with the disorder. She lives in Scarsdale, NY, with her husband, Dan, a partner in the media practice at McKinsey & Company. They have two daughters, Jodie and Lauren.
via autism speaks
Timeline
1988 – 1989
WTKR News 3: Producer
1989 – 1991
CNBC: Producer
1993 – 1995
Knight-Ridder Financial News: Associate
1995 – 1999
NBC: Vice President, Cable & Business Development
Various projects at NBC, CNBC, MSNBC, NBC Desktop Video, NBC Professional, NBC Personal Financial Netwokr (PFN)
2000 – 2005
NBC: Special Projects Producer
2005 – 2009
Autism Speaks
Alison Singer served as Executive Vice President and a member of the Board of Directors at Autism Speaks.
2006
Combating Autism Act of 2006
Singer played a critical role in the passage of the Combating Autism Act of 2006, which authorized the doubling of current federal funding for autism research.
May 9, 2006
In the Autism Speaks sponsored documentary, Alison Singer described how she contemplated driving off a bridge with her autistic daughter, Jodie Singer, when faced with having to place her in a school for disabled children, saying “It’s only because of Lauren, because I have another child, that I didn’t do it.”
Four days after the film’s debut, Karen McCarron murdered her autistic daguther, Katie McCarron. The film may have prompted this parent’s choice.
A 13-minute version of Autism Every Day debuted at a fundraiser named “A New Decade for Autism” in New York City on May 9, 2006, and made its mainstream debut on Don Imus show on MSNBC the following day.
It was selected by the Sundance Institute as a special screening film at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival.
A 7-minute version of the film was also uploaded to Autism Speaks’ YouTube Channel, however as of 2021, the video was marked “Private” due to a change in YouTube policy that automatically marked private all “unlisted” videos dated December 31, 2016 or earlier.
May 17, 2006
Alison Singer pens an ’Article of Understanding’ on the word ’cure’ for Autism Speaks. This is a result of Autistic activists protesting Autism Speaks and their mission for us.
2007
Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC): Member
Singer was appointed by Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt to serve as one of six public members of the Federal Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) which is charged with writing a strategic plan to guide federal spending for autism research.
In 2007, Within the IACC, she serves on the services subcommittee and on the subcommittee for strategic plan review.
2009
Autism Science Foundation (ASF): Founder & President
Singer leaves Autism Speaks and launches Autism Science Foundation (ASF).
2007
Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee: member
The IACC is charged with writing an annual strategic plan in the USA to guide federal spending for autism research.
2012
The American Academy of Pediatrics named Alison Singer an “Autism Champion”
??? – Current
Yale Child Study Center Associates Committee: Board Member
Autism Baby Siblings Research Consortium: External advisory board member
Seaver Autism Center at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai: Executive Board Member
Marcus Autism Center at Emory University: Executive Board Member
Autism Research Center at University of North Carolina: Executive Board Member
CDC Center for Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities: External Advisory Board Member
New York State Immunization Advisory Committee: Member
Scarsdale Board of Education: Vice President
National Institute of Mental Health’s Alliance for Research Progress: Member
Mental Health News: Board member
American Academy of Pediatrics New York State Immunization Coalition: Member
International Society for Autism Research (INSAR): Public relations committee chairperson.
International Meeting for Autism Research (IMFAR): Program committee member Community Advisory committee member.
2016
Simons Foundation Spark! advisory board: member
SFARI launched Simons Foundation Powering Autism Research (SPARK), an online research initiative designed to become the largest autism study ever undertaken in the United States. For researchers, SPARK provides a large, well-characterized cohort of genetic, medical and behavioral data, and will result in cost-savings for researchers by reducing start-up costs for individual studies.
2017
Singer received the INSAR “Outstanding Research Advocate” award.
May 2018 – Current
National Council on Severe Autism (NCSA) : Board Member
2018
Singer received the New York Families for Autistic Children Research Advocacy Award.
May 2020
Recieved an honorary degree from Emory University
December 7, 2021
Article: Labels can harm, but they also can help.
Strides are being taken in autism terminology as the term “profound autism” has been officially recognized by The Autism Science Foundation (ASF) for the first time.
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Note/Warning:
Autistic people have fought the inclusion of ABA in therapy for us since before Autism Speaks, and other non-Autistic-led autism organizations, started lobbying legislation to get it covered by insurances and Medicaid.
ABA is a myth originally sold to parents that it would keep their Autistic child out of an institution. Today, parents are told that with early intervention therapy their child will either be less Autistic or no longer Autistic by elementary school, and can be mainstreamed in typical education classes. ABA is very expensive to pay out of pocket. Essentially, Autism Speaks has justified the big price tag up front will offset the overall burden on resources for an Autistic’s lifetime. The recommendation for this therapy is 40 hours a week for children and toddlers.
The original study that showed the success rate of ABA to be at 50% has never been replicated. In fact, the study of ABA by United States Department of Defense was denounced as a failure. Not just once, but multiple times. Simply stated: ABA doesn’t work. In study after repeated study: ABA (conversion therapy) doesn’t work.
What more recent studies do show: Autistics who experienced ABA therapy are at high risk to develop PTSD and other lifelong trauma-related conditions. Historically, the autism organizations promoting ABA as a cure or solution have silenced Autistic advocates’ opposition. ABA is also known as gay conversion therapy.
The ‘cure’ for Autistics not born yet is the prevention of birth.
The ‘cure’ is a choice to terminate a pregnancy based on ‘autism risk.’ The cure is abortion. This is the same ‘cure’ society has for Down Syndrome.
This is eugenics 2021. Instead of killing Autistics and disabled children in gas chambers or ‘mercy killings’ like in Aktion T4, it’ll happen at the doctor’s office, quietly, one Autistic baby at a time. Different approaches yes, but still eugenics and the extinction of an entire minority group of people.
Fact: You can’t cure Autistics from being Autistic.
Fact: You can’t recover an Autistic from being Autistic.
Fact: You can groom an Autistic to mask and hide their traits. Somewhat. … however, this comes at the expense of the Autistic child, promotes Autistic Burnout (this should not be confused with typical burnout, Autistic Burnout can kill Autistics), and places the Autistic child at high risk for PTSD and other lifelong trauma-related conditions.
[Note: Autism is NOT a disease, but a neurodevelopmental difference and disability.]
Fact: Vaccines Do Not Cause Autism.
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