There's a lot of disinformation out there, and worse, half of it is being put out by autism charities. That "ransom notes" campaign, for one... Ridiculous. Nobody's kidnapped us; we're still here. It makes "autism" sound so much more scary than it actually is.

It's like they insist that there's a "real child" somewhere, and the child with autism isn't really the way they were meant to be, like we're fairy changelings and treatment is meant to switch us back. But we're real people--autism and all--and we're not nearly as closed off or unapproachable as the so-called "awareness" campaigns claim.

First they say, Autism is horrible; then they say, This is not the real child. That's quite a stigma to put on a young innocent child who happens to have problems communicating. It says, This is not the way you are supposed to be. We don't accept who you are. You have to change. You have to be a "real child". It makes me hope that these ad campaigns aren't seen by autistic children... they are so, so hurtful.

If only the public could know what autism really is, and know that we are so very human despite our differences, that we feel love and happiness and frustration and anger and defiance... We are not changelings to be feared; we are human beings to be loved.