Just got this story in my inbox: After objections, autism billboard coming down.
As has been discussed here and elsewhere, ASA-York had a billboard that, well, was offensive to many autistics.
“It seems to send a message that we aren’t fully present in our own bodies,” said Ari Ne’eman, president of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network. Autism York might have been shooting for an “edgy” message, but its billboard was eerily reminiscent of the NYU Child Study Center’s ransom-note-style advertising campaign in 2007, Ne’eman said.
ASA-York has agreed to remove the billboard:
Autism York has agreed to take down a controversial billboard on Route 30 after disability rights advocates said the sign unfairly compares autistic people to kidnapping victims.
I appreciate them pulling the billboard.
It’s good they weren’t stubborn, unlike several other organizations I could name. It looks like we’re making some headway in our efforts, and I salute those who wrote some very effective letters which prompted their backing down. I hope whoever came up with that idea lost his/her job over it.