Wednesday of this week, Jan 18th 2006 Suzanne Wright of Autism Speaks will be a guest on The View. This is an ABC show that airs in Los Angeles from 10-11 am on channel 7.

http://www.autismspeaks.org/inthenews/view_suzanne_wright_alert.php

Autism Speaks Co-Founder Suzanne Wright will appear on ABC's Emmy Award-winning daytime talk show “The View” on Wednesday, Jan. 18, to discuss Autism Speaks' work to increase public awareness and raise funds to facilitate research, as well as the importance of early diagnosis.

Check here for your local time to see The View and/or tape it on Wed:

http://abc.go.com/daytime/theview/

The segment was the last one and seemed very rushed and the information was sporadic. Nothing new and not really sure what the purpose was besides sending people to the Autism Speaks website.

It seems like some people are melodramatic about autism, and not this way about life threatening illnesses, cancer and diseases.

Do others see that the ones in the media discussing autism make it seem like such a dire life the child will have and something has to be done now before we lose the child.

Then people wonder why general folks don't understand autism since many describe it so differently, like it is the end of life for the family and suffering never stops.

I have never once cried over autism - maybe it is different if you have spent your life around disabilities.

Here is the transcript of the show for those that missed the air date:

http://www.autismspeaks.org/inthenews/view_suzanne_wright_transcript.php

I saw the show and it was rushed.. but I guess their "Hot Topics" took top billing... Anywho......

Glad to know it was not only me that thought it was a rushed segment. Welcome to the site Lynn.

I got home after errands and put on ABC. I noticed this segment was on again, so maybe since the President was on this morning CA time at 7 am the show was pre-empted and they showed this repeat.

I wrote down two things she said that really bothered me

1. A community of hearbreak and sorrow.

2. Then we got this terrible diagnosis.

That really is an insult to those who have had the diagnosis and living for years. Then Barbara Walters was asking her what she wanted people to do at her website and she said first donate. Like why should we donate to their company when they are loaded and can get celebrities to events and pay instead of middle America.

I really found the segment in poor taste and not helpful at all to spreading Awareness. This woman acted like it was the freaking end of the world and at the very end of the show Barbara said that Suzanne wanted folks to think of autism in similar terms to AIDS.

I do not know too much about AIDS, but isn't that a terminal illness, unlike autism which is a life long disability.

I am going to remove myself from their mailings. I am not interested in anything they do.