Campaigning about Autism is one of the most difficult things to do. Autism comes in many variants and it is hard to recognize the signs. The last I wrote about an Autism awareness campaign endorsed this again.
This new campaign from Canada is a much better attempt. And there is a reason for it. It comes from the personal story of Carly Fleischmann, a 17 year old who was diagnosed with severe autism at age 2.
Doctors predicted that she would never intellectually develop beyond the abilities of a small child. Although she made some progress after years of intensive behavioral and communication therapy, Carly remained largely unreachable. Then, at the age of ten, she had a breakthrough.
While working with her devoted therapists Howie and Barb, Carly reached over to their laptop and typed in “HELP TEETH HURT,” much to everyone’s astonishment. This was the beginning of Carly’s journey toward self-realization.
Carly Fleischmann:
“Autism has locked me inside a body I cannot control.”
“Everyone has an inner voice. I found a way to let mine out.”
A few days ago a dedicated campaign website was launched inspired directly by Carly’s writing. That’s one of the things Carly did, writing a book with her father about her life.
On page 362 of the book she describes how the simplest outing, visiting a coffee shop, can quickly becoming overwhelming for those with autism.
It is the scene in the video below. The website shows the same scene in a interactive web video format.
The webvideo is very confrontating. At least for me. And without any other information about Carly’s life it could be a very sad story. I have doubts about the campaign website. Is it inviting enough to read further?
What do you think?
Carly’s Voice website.
Carly’s Voice at Twitter.
Carly’s Voice at Facebook.
Carlys Voice Book Trailer:
Reacties (3)
Wow, indringend, nog niet eerder de overweldigende wereld die veel autisten moeten ondergaan zo vreselijk indringend uitgebeeld gezien. Mooi is niet het goede woord, maar heel indrukwekkend. Erg goed voor mensen die autistische medemensen in hun omgeving hebben en daar moeite mee hebben.
Is ze nog naar de tandarts geweest met die pijnlijke tand? Lijkt mij een hele uitdaging als je met zo iemand naar de tandarts moets.
De werkelijkheid van authisme (is een breed spectrum overigens, niet alleen he zgn. klassieke Authisme waaraan Carly lijkt te leiden) is heel ingrijpend (en regelmatig ontwrichtend) in het persoonlijk leven van mensen. Om ontwrichtend te zijn hoeft er nog niet eens sprake te zijn van een ernstige vorm. Zelfs lichte vormen hebben enorme impact op iemands leven.