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I've not seen this messaging - can you point me to an instance of it (print ad in a magazine, online video, etc)?
Also have you contacted them with facts which counter specific inaccuracies in their advertising?

Although I've not seen what you refer to... unfortunately, amongst organizations serving special populations, including gifted, some focus more on growing the industry and less on serving needs.

Indigo, if you google, you will find many critiques. I don't have time to dig them up for you.

See, for instance, http://www.forbes.com/sites/emilywillingham/2013/11/13/why-autism-speaks-doesnt-speak-for-me/

Are there any resources to aid in helping a child understand himself better, and learn to ask for help when needed? My son has a huge deficit in that area. He ignores problems and doesn't communicate what's going on. Huge disconnect between cause and effect. I wonder if a formal curriculum might help him increase proactive behaviors.

DS found this book very interesting and useful (when he was in 6th grade, I think).

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/be-different-john-elder-robison/1101558806?ean=9780307884824

So much of our help has come from allies within school-- the few people who are willing to teach instead of scold, again and again, until the job is done. Are there teachers or guidance counselor or someone who DOES get it? Can you enlist their help? DS has two adults within our school whom he trusts deeply, and whom he goes to for problem-solving help during the school day as needed. Because they are colleagues to the other teachers, they can "translate" and help DS navigate the particular situations arise.

The adults in Boy Scouts and martial arts have also been extremely helpful teachers/mentors for DS. It helps to have on the spot guidance when something goes wrong (or is about to go wrong). This kid really does take a whole village.

And a ton comes from us parents. Sometimes I am worn out from explaining the world to DS and DS to the world. I keep doing it anyway.

Thank you for sharing this link. In exploring its contents, I see the 2013 article begins with criticizing the symbol of the blue puzzle piece, and goes on to include this link to a 2009 article.
This article goes on to mention a specific video which was immediately pulled when some expressed offense.

From the article, evidently what was intended as an outreach (encouraging families to investigate quirks) and empathy (sharing personal experiences of the exhaustion and difficulty in dealing with ASD) came across to some as eliciting "fear and pity."

Possibly some ideas may have been better expressed by the organization in their video with fact rather than left open to interpretation. For example:
- Rather than stating the number of children being diagnosed, the video is described as stating: "I work faster than pediatric AIDS, cancer and diabetes combined."
- Rather than stating divorce statistics, the video is described as stating: "And if you are happily married, I will make sure that your marriage fails."
Many (although not all) people may prefer straight facts and numbers. Hopefully the particular organization has reconsidered its approach to raising awareness.

For future readers wishing to learn more about this controversy, it is discussed in some detail here.

So far, they have not. I've seen further videos since then. Sensationalism is apparently excellent for raising funds.

Unfortunately. Unfortunately. Amongst organizations serving special populations, including gifted, some focus more on growing the industry and less on serving needs. (So glad I did not mention that particular organization in my post to begin the thread on Autism Awareness Month.)

Indigo, if you want to debate the message of Autism Speaks, could you please take it to another thread? Eco, please copy and paste this one somewhere safe, so you don't lose it if it gets disappeared by the mods for ideological bickering.

There is no debate, for I am not taking an opposing view. There is simply request for clarification for statements made by other posters, expression of appreciation when clarification was provided, and agreement.

My posts seem to be on-topic as:
1) the request for clarification was based on another member's post,
2) the OP is considering ADOS for possible ASD diagnosis; Being aware of the better resources (and reasons why some resources may not be as valuable - or may be more controversial) may become important if an ASD diagnosis is forthcoming.

In the lower right-hand corner of the gray dialog box, there are various links to click on:
Reply - Quote - Quick Reply - Quick Quote - Notify - Email Post.

If you click on the Quote option, for example, you will find the post to which you are replying copied into an edit window, prefixed by
' [ q u o t e = author ] '
and with a suffix of
' [ / q u o t e ] '.
These can "nest" quoted conversation about 4 layers deep, if I recall correctly.

You may edit to remove all but the particular snippet you are addressing with your reply.

If you wish to address more than one snippet, you can edit to enclose subsequent snippets in similar quotes.

Each quote, and/or each nested layer of conversation quoted, requires a matching set of
prefix [ q u o t e = author ]
& suffix [ / q u o t e ].
In this example the '=author' is highlighted in a different color to show that it is optional; The prefix may simply be [ q u o t e ]

Note that in each e x a m p l e in this post, spaces were added between each character in order to prevent the example from being interpreted as an actual prefix/suffix creating a quote.