Hold Placed on Neurodiversity Advocate's Nomination in Senate

An article in the New York Times yesterday reported that neurodiversity advocate Ari Ne'eman's nomination to the National Council on Disability was being held up in the U.S. Senate because of an anonymous hold placed by one or more senators.  While it is not certain as to why the nomination is being opposed, it may be reasonably supposed to be due to the fact that Ne'eman's support of an "accept-us-for-who-we-are" perspective has rattled conservative forces in the autism community who operate according to a "find the cure" methodology similar to that used in campaigns to fight heart disease, cancer, and other medical illnesses (Autism Speaks being foremost among such groups).  The New York Times article quotes Autism Speaks co-founder Jonathan Shestack as saying:  “Why people have gotten upset is, he (Ari Ne'eman) doesn’t seem to represent, understand or have great sympathy for all the people who are truly, deeply affected in a way that he isn’t...”  (Ne'eman has Asperger's syndrome, a milder version of autism).  Rather than offering a reasoned argument for his organization's position, Shestack instead uses an ad homimen attack on the person of Ne'eman, suggesting that he lacks sympathy for the disabled.  This, despite the fact that Ne'eman has worked tiredlessly on behalf of ALL members of the autism community in his roles as Vice Chair of the New Jersey Adults with Autism Task Force, Policy Workgroup Leader for the Youth Advisory Council to the National Council on Disability, board member of TASH and the Autism National Committee, and founder of the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network.  The real reason behind Autism Speaks' opposition to Ne'eman is that he propounds a philosophy of acceptance of individuals with autism and other disabilities, which challenges the medical model view held by Autism Speaks and related groups.  Neurodiversity suggests that people with mental health labels (including autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and other brain differences), are "differently wired" than so-called normal (or "neurotypical") individuals, and that their differences should be accommodated by society rather than being regarded as a "disease" that must be cured.  Neurodiversity is a civil rights movement proposing that individuals with mental health labels be protected against discrimination and prejudice in the same way that people of color, women, and other minorities are protected.  It is also akin to other parts of the disability rights movement which have pioneered substantial changes in society to accommodate to differences among the physically disabled, including curb cuts, wider stalls, ramps, and other architectural modifications.  Neurodiversity is a revolutionary movement that challenges the powers that be. These conservative forces, which serve to keep people with autism and other neurological conditions "in their place" through the medicalization of their differences, feel their power (e.g. their fundraising capacity, legislative clout etc.) threatened by this grassroots movement that Ari Ne'eman represents.  It is hoped that the senator or senators who have placed this hold on Ne'eman's nomination, will resist the lobbying efforts of Autism Speaks and related organizations, and approve his appointment to the National Council on Disability.  This move will ensure that the real voices of the mentally disabled (rather than their neurotypical surrogates) will be heard at a national level.