I am creating a petition to end the presence of autism speaks on the Queen's University campus in Kingston, Ontario.

I am not targeting it because I am upset about there being a club on campus to help autistic people and educate others about autism. I myself am autistic, so I among hundreds of thousands of other autistics recognize the harmful mindsets it perpetuates and have been advocating to have it dismantled for years!

Only 1% of funding from autism speaks goes directly to autistic people or their families. 

27% of their funding goes to researching the "cure" for autism. But autism is not a disease and therefore cannot be cured. It is simply a different neuro type. They have also spent resources researching the false connection between vaccines and autism, which does not exist and only creates more fear towards vaccinations.

The symbol for this group is also the puzzle piece which creates the idea that autistic people have something "missing" from them that must be cured. The new symbol for autism is the infinity symbol to show how it is a spectrum that affects all autistics differently! 

Intentions:

-Have a statement issued by the autism speaks branch at Queen's recognizing the harm this organization perpetuates towards autistic people

-Dismantle the autism speaks branch on Queens campus 

-Create a new club for autism awareness that is supported and backed by actual autistic people. Organizations such as autistics for autistics or the autistic self advocacy network recognize that there is no underlying issue in being autistic

Please read and share to educate yourself and others on the negative impacts of Autism Speaks!