Liz, I thought you'd be particularly interested in this. At first, I
didn't believe this actually occurred, but I did a Google search, and
came up with 30 good hits for the terms autism and "mad child disease."
The only good thing use of the term might do is to get more people
talking about autism and its potential causes.
Kendall Corbett
An unreasonable man (but my wife says that's redundant!)
The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one
persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all
progress depends on the unreasonable man.
-George Bernard Shaw 1856-1950
-----Original Message-----
From: Terri Sue Longhurst
Sent: Thursday, October 07, 2004 11:36 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: FW: Protest "Mad Child Disease" as description of autism
FYI
Terri
-----Original Message-----
From: Anne Finger [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Thursday, October 07, 2004 7:39 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Protest "Mad Child Disease" as description of autism
Recently, Dr. Boyd Haley, Chairman of the Chemistry Department at the
University of Kentucky used the term "Mad Child Disease" to describe
autism; a petition is being circulated to protest the further
dissemination of this degrading term.
>
> Excerpts from the petition:
>
> "We refuse to listen silently as autistic children are likened to
> diseased animals, by opportunistic speakers and journalists who seek
> to exploit autistic children by describing them in demeaning terms,
> who seek to inflame public emotions at autistic children's expense in
> their eager pursuit of political agendas and research funding."
>
> "Derogatory descriptions of individuals targeted by their race,
> gender, religion, nation of origin, or disability have no place in
> civilized society. We urge citizens of all nations to protest this
> disgraceful offense against autistic citizens' dignity and humanity."
>
> To read the entire text of the petition, and to add your signature,
> please visit:
> http://www.neurodiversity.com/mothers_for_dignity.html
I would strongly encourage people to visit this website and add their
name to the petition.
Anne Finger
SDS Board President
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