 | |
| Formation | 2004; 21 years ago (2004) |
|---|---|
| Founder | Amy Nelson, Gwen Nelson |
| Purpose | Disability advocacy |
| Website | www |
Aspies For Freedom (AFF) is a solidarity and campaigning group that aimed at raising public awareness of theautism rights movement. The aim of Aspies For Freedom is to educate the public that theautism spectrum is not always adisability, and that there are advantages as well as disadvantages.[1] For this purpose, the group organizes an annualAutistic Pride Day.[2] AFF provides support for the autistic community and protests attempts to cureautism.[3]
Established in 2004 by Amy and Gwen Nelson, AFF has received coverage from publications such asNew Scientist magazine.[4] As of August 2007,The Guardian estimated the group's membership at 20,000.[3] Rob Crossan, writing for the BBC, mentioned their belief that higher functioning autistics are often in possession of extraordinary talents in the fields of mathematics, memory, music or arts.[5]
AFF provides a chatroom[6] which provides support for autistics and their caregivers such as family members. AFF also helps organize and encourage meetups within the autistic community.
Gwen Nelson, the founder of Aspies For Freedom, has made internet parodies ofAutism Speaks, saying that they were silencing opposing views.[7] Aspies For Freedom petitioned theUnited Nations in 2004 to have members of the autistic community recognised as aminority status group.[8] A statement was released from the group titled 'Declaration of the autism community'. This article detailed reasons for seeking such official recognition from theUnited Nations and the work towards achieving this.[9] AFF was cited byThe Guardian as a resource for autism employment assistance.[10] Gwen Nelson and Aspies For Freedom have spoken out against prenatalgenetic testing forautism spectrum disorders, portraying autism as a difference as opposed to a disease.[3][11]
