BellaOnline Forums Health and Fitness Autism Spectrum Disorders Paying for Autism Information

Umm, yes...I did. If you need someone to spell it out for you I suppose I can do that.

She says people shouldn't have to pay for things that can be acquired for free - I agree.

She says people should not be "taken advantage" of by scam style websites - I agree.

She gives www.pecsplace.com as an example of a website that supports her point of view. So she is implying that we are essentially trying to scam people to pay for something that can be found for free.

This is a lie.

There - is that more clear now? Or do you need me to explain how the word "Imply" is defined? I think you are the one that didn't comprehend what the article was about.

I just got online and found the emails from you and then realized you have been posting here. I wanted to re-read my article to see if maybe it was misleading and perhaps include your site with the information I will be writing on teachtown.com and autismpro.com after doing their free trials, but based on what you have posted here and seeing my article states the following I really do not see the confusion:

"<i>Forest Moriarty is the father to two children on the spectrum and narrates the about us section of the site. The site is a pecs game and uses software Forest created."</i>

This spells out exactly what your wife said in her email to me.

"<i>Pecs
Place is a VIDEO GAME that kids can play which is what these people are subscribing to"</i>

I decided to add Pecs place to my article that was in process when someone in my yahoo group posted about it trying to get people to check it out and I came across some posts in other groups. So I went and checked it out and posted it is a game.

Two sites are about content, one is about videos and yours is about pecs game. I also mentioned the charities as well and the link to the site and the terms and conditions. People can make up their own mind on whether they want to join or not.

My yahoo group has 400 members and a few posted saying they would not be interested in this site after someone posted about it.

Everyone has an opinion and I shared what mine was based on sites that charge for a service. The title does not really tell the story, the article does.

The links below the article are for the sites to those who are adults on the autism spectrum. I was backing up what I said in the article about them being the true experts and giving a place for readers to find them as they are accessible.

I even mentioned the following in the article -

"<i>These websites tend to have a sample area for guests and visitors to read through before plunking down hard earned cash or input a credit card number"</i>


There are two paragraphs and one sentence on Pecs place and nothing else in the article pertains to your company. Again, it is my opinion based on my visiting the sites and seeing them being promoted in groups and advertisements online.

Here is a QUOTE from your article:"I share these with you, not to promote them, but to keep all within the autism community aware that these exist and if we bypass them maybe they will stop charging people to learn about autism."

You are telling people to bypass our site because in your opinion, people should not be charged for learning about autism. We agree. Pecs Place is unique and you cannot get the same game for free anywhere, nor are we charging anyone to learn about autism. The site is for children already having speech delay issues due to autism who may benefit from an alternate way to learn communication skills. You are purposefully directing people away from our site and creating a negative opinion based on FALSE assumptions. Stating your opinion is one thing, telling people they should stay away from a product based on false information is something else completely.
Gina Moriarty

The article has two links to your site, is that directing them away? I went to these sites and wrote an article based on my opinion. I specified your site is a game. I did not say anything directly about paying for autism information regarding your site. I urged people to read the terms and conditions of your site and did mention the charities. So actually that is three links to your site.

Does your site have a free trial like teachtown and autismpro? If so, I can do that and write a review of it like I plan to do for the others.

Let me know and I can remove that portion of the article or just include a sentence stating that autism information is free on your site.

Which would you prefer?

Please don't forget, teachtown.com's "free" trial charges you 9.95 for shipping and handling, then 39.95 a month, a far cry from $10 per month. Autismpro is $69.95/month
BUT
these are sold as therapy tools. Pecs Place is intended for fun - and if they learn something, great. There are tons of games online that people pay for monthly, anywhere from $10-up. In no way do we claim this is intended as therapy, and it states as such on www.pecsplace.com
Do we want to advertise and pique people's interest? Sure. This is a labor of love for us and our own children helped us design it. The services used to keep our site running are not free, as you may think.
You cannot hide behind the statement "it is your opinion" because you wrote incorrect information - that is not the same as having an opinion, it is called not doing enough research on the facts.

What exactly does this mean:

"<i>we have notified the other companies of your libel actions"</i>

I reviewed websites that I visited. They do charge a fee and I stated what I found on their sites. I have received emails thanking me for the article.

Some of them were advertising with google adsense, which is how I found them and one is on this site advertising, so I investigated to find out what the autism materials were and still not really sure as I am not going to pay to find out.

I have nothing to do with advertising on the site and wanted to look into the companies that are all over the internet advertising. That is what prompted the article.

I have had people ask me about teachtown so I was going to test it out and review it. I was giving you a sample of other sites that I will be reviewing, not that they would be in the same article. I review books, toys, CDS, software, videos, games, and food items.

The information I posted about pecs place consists of two paragraphs and one sentence. This included three links and a quote from the site. What part of that is incorrect information?

Here is a QUOTE from your article:"I share these with you, not to promote them, but to keep all within the autism community aware that these exist and if we bypass them maybe they will stop charging people to learn about autism."

This is the incorrect information, telling people we are one of "these" that are "charging people to learn about autism"
This is incorrect information. I'm not sure what is being misunderstood here.

You can't hide behind "it's my opinion" - That simply doesn't work when you are doing two things.

1. Lying or providing false information
2. Presenting information that is trying to ruin our reputation.

Libel Definition:

A False publication, as in writing, print, signs, or pictures, that damages a person's reputation.
B. The act of presenting such material to the public.

You have done both and by law you can be held Libel for both.

The premise of the entire article is that there are websites that are taking advantage of families with autism by charging for information that is free.

Your Article:

"There seems to be a trend within the autism community. Have you noticed advertisments through google about autism materials? I was surprised the first time I clicked on a link to find that websites are charging membership fees to gain insights into autism.

I wonder how many newly diagnosed families of a child on the autism spectrum have spent money thinking this is the only way to access data in relation to autism. Who are these people running these sites and who benefits from your membership dollars?

I am a whiz at using google for many odd terms to find information about autism. I have yet to come across any of these so called articles that are on the fee-based sites in any search I have utilized. In fact, there are some interesting terms used on this site's search engine that readers have entered!

food for autistic children
reading about autism
whats the behavior of autism
pecs and pics

I will use these searches on this site as an example to help find material easier. There is a section at this site entitled, food items reviewed. For reading I would suggest looking under book reviews. There is an entire subject devoted to behavior issuesand the same for PECS.

There are keywords that sites use to get into searches and help people find their articles and websites. I would have never considerd these four examples as keywords for any of my articles. When looking for information you will need to be a bit more broad in your wording to find suitable matches.

While it is your money to spend how you please, I really urge families to use google to their advantage to find information that is out there free for all to peruse and benefit from. Take the time to set up a google alert on the subject of autism and get your news and media stories in one daily email to save in a folder for set times to review.

Why should anyone pay for autism resources that can be found online for free in a matter of minutes. Feel free to post in our Forum any questions you may have.

These websites tend to have a sample area for guests and visitors to read through before plunking down hard earned cash or input a credit card number. Please use caution before you consider utilizing a website that has a subscription fee. Remember the autism experts are those who have lived with autism, speak around the world on the subject and study it as well. I classify those people as Temple Grandin, Stephen Shore, Donna Williams, William Stillman, Dawn Prince-Hughes and Jerry Newport. Many of these adults have columns in autism publications and can be seen at autism conferences around the world. They are easily accessible.

I share these with you, not to promote them, but to keep all within the autism community aware that these exist and if we bypass them maybe they will stop charging people to learn about autism."

Then you list our website as one of the example websites.

You need to remove our website from this list immediately and send an apology for the error. This will satisfy my desire to take any further action.


If you want to review the game, go to the FREE DEMO.

Feel free to post whatever your opinion is, without any false information.

As far as to your opinion on whether or not people should charge for service, information, or products in regards to Autism...

Perhaps you should take all the advertising down surrounding your article and the link where you are selling anything directly. After all you make money off those marketing items don't you? Perhaps that leads then to biased opinions?