 by Monika Brooks Last weekend I was on a Tech Break... I came back to emails and Posts asking me about how I felt about Joe Scarborough. My First Reaction was that he probably said something about the election. Although he didn't want to make "a generalization," MSNBC's Joe Scarborough assumed that James Holmes, The accused person in the Aurora, CO Shooting, was on the "Autism Scale.." and apparently told people so on his show "Morning Joe." sigh Joe Scarborough is given credibility because of his previous position in US Congress and the fact that his Son is diagnosed on the Autism Spectrum. He is a noted author and claims to be a supporter of education programs across the country. Scarborough is someone that has pull in places where Celebs don't... His phone calls on the Hill get answered. So Let's play a game. Lets give into Scarborough's assumption that folks on the "Autism Scale" (in this case Mr. Scarborough pointed out 'Asperger's') "have this Trait. Now let me give you the information that my son was diagnosed on the Autism Spectrum at age 4. Now add the fact that People of Color are being harassed, arrested and Shot at alarming rates around the country. Let's add the information that Blacks/Latinos are the least diagnosed and most suspended in the US School System. Now understand that Scarborough used to be in the position to create laws... Yeah, that's why he is worse than Denis Leary and 50 Cent Combined... It is unacceptable that Scarborough is allowed to provide a half-hearted apology and a say that he will continue to work with the Autism Speaks organization and have folks think its OK. His work so far has not provided him any additional awareness so far, Don't let this slide. His words are no more powerful than yours  In addition to her position as co-founder of the Mocha Autism Network, Monika Brooks is a Leadership and Diversity Consultant, radio host, and Advocate for Parents with children on Autism Spectrum. She can be reached by email here.
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 by Monika Brooks So I’m watching Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta (Yes, I do watch it. Fight me…) and reading the live tweets as usual and the following tweet comes up: “#LHHATL I think Stevie J may be on the autism spectrum. Serious.” For those of you that are above watching the show, I will explain: He is a musician that says he has 5 Children by 5 different women. He is also a womanizer and a narcissist that you would not only not want near your daughter, you would pretty much not want her in the same state with him. One woman corrected him, pointing out that just because he’s a horrible person, a link to the autism spectrum should not be made. Very good point as some folks can just be horrible with no diagnosis at all. The original poster noted that because of Stevie J’s Inability to check for social cues, that Asperger’s is his guess. The woman was unmoved and said simply: "Because Stevie J is an idiot.....that should not be compared with autism" Completely valid and handled with dignity and poise. No fanfare, no mass promotion. Just a simple correction of someone that heard of Autism and not experienced it first hand. Handled exactly how it should be. Because the post I saw came from someone considered an academic, and he is basically well liked, and is considered a voice of the people, there will be no 50 Cent style outrage. There will be no “this is what Autism looks like” twitter stream of beautiful children and adults on the autism spectrum. There will be no letter from Holly Robinson Peete broadcasted on every form of media and Social Media. Just like there was no protest of the movie “21 Jump Street (which featured a cameo of Mrs. Robinson Peete)” that had a similar “Are you Autistic?” joke. I’m not mad at all. There are specific reasons why certain things are noteworthy and others aren’t. I am personally not mad at the fact that the person posted something that made him seem uninformed. And I am not going to launch a huge protest and here's why: It’s what I call the “Politics of Protest.” There is no “money” in protesting a random person. There is believed to be no more political capital gained in defending folks on the Autism Spectrum to this person as it is for us to defend them against the grandparent, preacher or random parent that tells us parents of children on the Spectrum that we should pray or spank the Autism away. As parents/advocates, we somehow feel more comfortable correcting celebrities than we do folks we know. We go all in on folks like 50 Cent, while folks like our teachers, relatives and neighbors are left uninformed. The presence of social media makes things easier as there is a safe level of distance between us and those we protest. We won’t get the look of disbelief or cynicism that we normally get when we explain the spectrum and our child’s place in it. I would offer that there is more to Autism Awareness than to go after celebrities. We must be strong everywhere starting with the elder that doesn’t understand how you “allow” meltdowns to happen. Then spread out to the teacher that incorrectly calls your child a disciplinary problem instead of looking deeper. Individual protest is needed daily to provide the “protest” we seek for Autism and other Invisible challenges (ADHD, Dyslexia, Etc…). And to that young lady that spoke out because she felt she should speak for those that can't speak for themselves, Thank you! You are part of the solution. About the Author:  In addition to her position as co-founder of the Mocha Autism Network, Monika Brooks is a Leadership and Diversity Consultant, radio host, and Advocate for Parents with children on Autism Spectrum. She can be reached by email here.
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