Exclusive: First Autistic Presidential Appointee Speaks Out

[babylonsister]

Exclusive: First Autistic Presidential Appointee Speaks Out

* By Steve Silberman Email Author
* October 6, 2010 |



When Ari Ne’eman walked onstage at a college campus in Pennsylvania in June, he looked like a handsome young rabbi presiding over the bar mitzvah of a young Talmudic scholar.

In truth, Ne’eman was facilitating a different kind of coming-of-age ceremony. Beckoning a group of teenagers to walk through a gateway symbolizing their transition into adult life, he said, “I welcome you as members of the autistic community.” The setting was an annual gathering called Autreat, organized by an autistic self-help group called Autism Network International.

Ne’eman’s deliberate use of the phrase “the autistic community” was more subversive than it sounds. The notion that autistic people — often portrayed in the media as pitiable loners — would not only wear their diagnosis proudly, but want to make common cause with other autistic people, is still a radical one. Imagine a world in which most public discussion of homosexuality was devoted to finding a cure for it, rather than on the need to address the social injustices that prevent gay people from living happier lives. Though the metaphor is far from exact (for example, gay people obviously don’t face the impairments that many autistic people do), that’s the kind of world that autistic people live in.

Now, as the first openly autistic White House appointee in history — and one of the youngest at age 22 — Ne’eman is determined to change that.

In December, he was nominated by President Obama to the National Council on Disability (NCD), a panel that advises the President and Congress on ways of reforming health care, schools, support services and employment policy to make society more equitable for people with all forms of disability.

Ne’eman spoke to Wired.com in July in his first interview with the media since his appointment.

more...

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/10/exclusive-ari-neeman-qa/all/1

[Canuckistanian]

1. Bravo!

My son is diagnosed on the spectrum as high functioning, but many of his schoolmates don't even consider him unusual.

I'm glad to see that Ne'eman achieved such a lofty position at such a young age. I hope my son can do the same.

[elleng]

2. ...

I think it was Ben Franklin who said, “We must all hang together or we’ll surely hang separately.”

GREAT!

[msanthrope]

3. Thank you, President Obama. n/t

[Hekate]

4. President Obama's outreach is amazing; everyone really is represented in his government

I'm sure Ari Ne'eman is going to be a great asset to the administration in his job at the NCD.

Hekate

[lumberjack_jeff]

5. Good stuff. Thanks for posting. n/t

[Leftist Agitator]

6. "Imagine a world in which most public discussion...was devoted to finding a cure for it..."

This is the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Autism is a disease that causes pretty profound impairment. Homosexuality is not.

Public discussion of autism *should* be focused on finding a cure for it.

[AtomicKitten]

7. Very proud of Pres Obama's diversity in appointments. nt