[Note: Shared for #AutisticHistory archive purposes. This is NOT An Autistic Ally.]
Pete Wright to Speak at National Autism Rally
WHAT? Rally for National Autism Awareness
WHEN? Saturday, April 8, 2000, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. (rain or shine)
WHERE? Washington D.C., on the Mall between 3rd and 4th Streets (details follow).
WHY? To increase knowledge and awareness of autism; improve educational and treatment methods; secure additional funding of research into effective treatments; search for a cure for this disorder. (See related story “Experts: Autism May Not Be Developmental Disorder” from PR Newswire below)
WHO? The Rally is co-sponsored by “Open Your Eyes to Autism” & “Hear Their Silence” (ARK). (For more about this grassroots advocacy group, read “The Story Behind the Story” below)
SPEAKERS: Attorney activist Pete Wright will speak at the Rally, along with many others (list follows). Speakers include medical researchers, autism specialists, parent activists, and Congressman Dan Burton.
* Congressman Dan Burton
* Joanne Fradkin
* Shelley Reynolds / Nancy LeGendre
* Carol Fruscella
* Thomas McKean
* Dennis Debbaudt
* Dr. Bernard Rimland
* Dr. Edward Yazbak
* Dr. William Shaw
* Andrew Bauman
* Ms. Bobbie Gallagher
* Ray Gallup
* Dr. Michael Goldberg
* Dr. Vijendra Singh
* Cathy Pratt
* Pete Wright
* Dr. John Martin
* Julie Donnelly
* Jean-Paul Bovee
* Pastor Braden Daniels (NOTE: The speaker list is subject to change.)
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE RALLY, go to
http://www.ark-inc.org/rally_information.htm
The Rally is a grassroots event; there is no fee. Please register for the Rally (this will help the sponsors plan) at this page –
http://www.ark-inc.org/registrationform.htm
CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS (April 6, 2000)
On Thursday, April 6 at 10:30 a.m. (EDT), the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform will hold an daylong hearing called “Autism: Present Challenges, Future Needs — Why the Increased Rates?” (for more about “increased rates” see the PR Newswire story below)
At this hearing, the first of its kind to dedicate an entire day to the subject of autism, Congressmen will hear from parents, researchers, government officials, and health professionals.
Witness panels include “Autism: A Parent’s Perspective”, “Autism – The Vaccine Connection”, and “Autism: Treatment Options and Research “. The hearing will begin at 10:30 am in Room 2154, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C.
People who will be in Washington on Thursday, April 6, before the April 8 “Hear Their Silence Rally” are invited to attend the hearing.
For those who will not be in Washington, the hearing will be broadcast from start to finish live on the Internet at
(NOTE: To hear and view the hearing, you will need Real Player. You can download Real Player at the same site, but you should download the program before the hearing begins.)
If you want to see the hearing live on television, you must let C-SPAN know. You can ask them to televise the hearing by sending them an e-mail (events@c-span.org) or by calling 202-737-3220.
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.
International Badass Activists 
2 responses to “Pete Wright to Speak at National Autism Rally | April 8, 2000 #AutisticHistory”
Some “Et tu” moments among the speakers, Eve!
Donnelly and Bovee for two.
[Donnelly I have a memory that she wrote a book].
[Bovee has been in some Autism Society of America presentations and panels and some TEACCH books].
And Tom McKean. [what I had said about Gallup applies to some degree to Thomas McKean. With different emphases and alternative “treatments”].
Ray Gallup – if one read his posts over the previous 8 years on the St Johns Autism List [which were disseminated on newsgroup bit.listserv.autism and the more recent one alt.support.autism – the latter of which was formed by Actually Autistic people – like Martijn Dekker].
And should there be a web.archive because the links may not be valid for 2022?
[this is nearly always done on Wikipedia’s historical links].
Rimland had been out of the mainstream of the Autism Society of America since … 1987ish [if not a bit earlier].
Dennis Debbaudt came to Australia in 1998 and 1999. [I know he came in 1998].
If it wasn’t a developmental disorder, WHAT WAS IT?
The Rally does seem something like a pyramid scheme or a multi-level marketing organisation.
Wrightslaw – is that the legal education organisation run by Bob and Patricia/Pamela Wright?
[or a tag referring to the Autism Speaks founding family?]
And the pages were made – or archived – AFTER the event.
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