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Autism Speaks: A Look Inside<br />
Written By: Ben Goldberger<br />
A<br />
utism Speaks, founded by the<br />
vice chairman of General<br />
Electric Bob and his wife Suzanne<br />
Wright, is a trechant 5 autism advocacy<br />
organization within the United<br />
States that sponsors autism research<br />
and conducts awareness and outreach<br />
activities aimed at families, governments,<br />
and the public. This organization<br />
was founded in 2005, a year<br />
after their grandson was diagnosed<br />
with autism, as a way to abridge 6<br />
the time it takes to make the proper<br />
diagnosis. Ever since then, they been<br />
rhaposodized 7 in remarkable work as<br />
they “are dedicated to funding global<br />
biomedical research into the causes,<br />
prevention, treatments and a possible<br />
cure for autism.” Although some<br />
people may attack Autism Speaks as<br />
a hate group, or believe that people<br />
with autism do not support the organization,<br />
or that they cater to the parents<br />
of autistic children rather than autistic<br />
children themselves. Some people<br />
even believe they are bad for wanting<br />
to <strong>fin</strong>d a cure for autism, but all these<br />
ludicrous claims do not tarnish their<br />
goal. Visiting their website greets you<br />
with the sight of their logo which is a<br />
puzzle piece, although it is controversial.<br />
The origins of the puzzle piece,<br />
trace all the way back to 1963. It was<br />
created by Gerald Gasson, a parent<br />
and board member for the National<br />
Autistic Society, which was formerly<br />
The Society for Autistic Children,<br />
in London. The board believed autistic<br />
people suffered from a ‘puzzling’<br />
condition, hence their decision to take<br />
up a puzzle piece as a logo. They adopted<br />
the logo because it didn’t look<br />
like any other image used for charitable<br />
or commercial use. Included<br />
with the puzzle piece was an image<br />
of a weeping child. The weeping child<br />
was used as a reminder that Autistic<br />
people suffer from their condition.<br />
If you visit their website at www.autismspeaks.org,<br />
you will <strong>fin</strong>d information<br />
about the signs to see if your<br />
child has autism spectrum disorder,<br />
and what to do if you have recently<br />
received a diagnosis for autism. There<br />
is also information on local fundraiser<br />
walks, events, corporate sponsors<br />
you can support, and also contact<br />
information for an advocate in your<br />
state. According to the website, “The<br />
4 TIME May 31, 2017 Fig 3: “Autism.” Pinterest. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 May 2017.
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