No One Here's Been Kidnapped

By now most of you have heard from me regarding the NYU Child Study Center's "Ransom Notes" ad campaign. This ad campaign is "designed as a provocative wake up to create awareness and spark dialogue about childhood psychiatric disorders". However, the format the organization has chosen to get this message to the public is one that is offending many people in the disability community. It portrays children with certain disorders (namely autism, Asperger's, OCD, ADHD, bulimia, and depression) as being kidnapped, and not as the unique, whole individuals we know them to be.

The ransom note signed "Autism" is particularly offensive. It reads, "We have your son. We will make sure he will not be able to care for himself or interact socially as long as he lives." Does this look like the face of someone who's been "kidnapped" by autism?


I didn't think so. This ad campaign is due to be launched this month, and I urge you to read about it and tell the folks running the campaign to rethink their approach. I haven't seen any major news organizations that have picked up the story, but it is being discussed on several blogs (just Google "autism ransom notes nyu"). This particular blog has a sample letter and the email addresses of those to whom you can voice your concerns. I urge you to do so.

To quote my dear friend and author of several books on raising kids on the autism spectrum, Ellen Notbohm, " View autism as a tragedy and that's what you will get. View it as a prison sentence, and that is what you will experience. But autism poses no inherent upper limits. Why not view it as a retractable-dome stadium? Right now, when you look up, all you see is the ceiling of the house. But pull back the retractable roof, and it's the same house, but the question now becomes - how high is up?"

We should all be so wise.

Thanks to all of you for your support of our family.