In last month’s autism news I said that in the lead up to World Autism Awareness Day, February’s autism news was likely going to be light on substance. As it turns out, I was far from correct, as February brought a heap of breakthroughs, announcements and other exciting advancements within the autistic community.

Divided by priority and featuring everything from Autistic Models to Wizarding worlds, here are the autism headlines from February 2018 (as always, links to the full stories can be accessed by clicking on the bold red in the bullet points):

Developing Stories Within the Autistic Community:

  • An Incredible new autism test was discovered: Last month, researchers from the University of Warwick (U.K.) announced that they had made progress on an early autism diagnosis test, which uses blood and urine to cofirm whether or not someone is autistic. I’m not going to pretend I understand how these tests work (something to do with measuring blood plasma and proteins… I think), however, if these findings can confirm autism in children – as they are said to, then this discovery could make a colossal difference in getting early support for people who, in the past, may have had the invisible condition missed.
  • A barely credible new autism test was created: As well as the amazing work which has been done in Warwick, there have also been reports this month that Rutger University (U.S.) has developed an autism test, which can detect autism within 2 minutes, with an accuracy of 88%. ‘So what is this astonishingly precise test?’ you may ask, ‘and why did you not lead with this piece of news instead?’ you may say. Well, as it turns out, this ‘astonishing test’ is simplely a ‘yes and no’ questionnaire. I don’t really know what else to say about this questionable questionnaire, other than, I am dubious to say the least. Once again I must repeat that I don’t have the academic credentials/understanding to fully evaluate this test, however, if I played the stocks, I would definitely put my money into the University of Warwick.
  • Nicholas Cruz may have had autism: On February 14th 2018, a mass shooting took place at Stoneman Douglas High School, in Parkland Florida, with perpetrator being named as Nikolas Cruz. At the time of writing this, Cruz has not yet given a motive for his actions, however, this has not stopped many news sites linking his actions to him being on the autistic spectrum. Although, I am yet to find any conclusive evidence that Cruz is indeed autistic (as much of what I have found online mostly comes down to he said, she said), it must be stated that Cruz’s actions are his and his alone and not something which autism is anyway responsible for.
  • Harry Potter and the Cursed Child to receive Autism Friendly Showing: Possibly the most exciting news to come out in February, is the announcement that, this Summer, the Palace Theatre in London will be hosting an autism friendly production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child! It’s at this point where I should probably tell you what Harry Potter and the Cursed Child actually is, however, I have avoided reading any and all information on it, to avoid accidentally ruining the plot for myself. But honestly, it’s a live performance of Harry Potter. This means that as well as an incredible original story, written by J K Rowling, there will be actual magic going on in front of your eyes. What more could you want!? Currently tickets aren’t on sale, however, the National Autistic Society is operating a mailing list which you can join, to be messaged, when tickets do become available (click link for more details).

(Photo Credit: Harry Potter the Play)

The Autism News ‘that happened’ (and I have nothing else to comment):

Like my excitement for February’s ‘snow-maggedon’, here are the news articles which were hard hitting when they happened, but for one reason or another, I quickly pushed them to the back of my mind. By no means am I saying that these articles aren’t important, however, when all is said and done, I likely have nothing left to say about them which hasn’t been mentioned:

(Photo Credit: Omaze)

Naming and Shaming Articles on Autism:

In this month’s name and shame article, I want to discuss the controversy surrounding the events which took place at Mendip House in May 2016. Although, these events didn’t actually happen in February 2018, they have once again made the headlines this month after the subsequent Safeguarding Adults Review was published, on the 8th – which publicised further details of what happened.

In short, Mendip House was a care home for autistic adults, run by the National Autistic Society, which came under investigation in 2016, after it was discovered that many of the staff at the home were bullying the autistic residents.

At this point it must be stated that, without a doubt, the people most at fault here, are those who carried out the attacks at Mendip House. However, in the aftermath of the incident, 2 groups of people have shown less than appropriate behaviour, which is what I want to highlight today:

1. The National Autistic Society: I believe that the National Autistic Society has done everything in their ability to give full transparency regarding this issue during and up to the time of the Safeguarding Adults Review this month. I also believe that the charity is doing everything in their power to ensure a similar incident never occurs again. However, I can’t help but feel that the N.A.S. has made somewhat of a pig’s ear of things this month, when, after the publication of the report, the charity opened up a separate Twitter account to deal with the negative feedback.

I understand that the creation of this account was to separate the mass of complaints from everything else that may have been missed as a result, but, it was an action which could be (and was) viewed as a way to detract any negative publicity from the main account.

2. The people who mobbed towards the National Autistic Society: I understand that people are frustrated with the events which took place at Mendip House, however (to paraphrase an article regrading a similar situation): ‘giving up on [the National Autistic Society] because of the people responsible at [Mendip House], would be like giving up on the NHS after the atrocities of Harold Shipman.’

What took place at Mendip House is disgusting. But, the National Autistic Society are the very people who fight to stop this from happening elsewhere. Placing blame on the National Autistic Society for what took place in 2016, is not helping to solve one problem, but, possibly opening up our autistic community to many more.

What’s New for Autism in March 2018:

Here are the upcoming events which are sure to be discussed over the coming weeks:

(Photo Credit: Michael Morpurgo)

Carry on the Conversation:

So, as we leave February on a cold and snowy note, let me know what your favourite moments were from the month gone by. These can be both headlines news or a personal achievement. Whatever it is I would love to celebrate it with you in the comments below.

As always, I can be found on Twitter @AutismRevised and via my email: AutisticandUnapologetic@gmail.com.

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Thank you for reading and I will see you next Saturday for more thoughts from across the spectrum.