The purpose of this movement, Urban Families to Protect Autism, is to address and share the cultural, educational, medical, economic, and political issues that families with children diagnosed with autism in urban communities face everyday in order to raise awareness on reduce ignorance of these issues.

The framework of this movement is not based on avoiding autism or ‘healing’ it. Rather, the ideological focus is on raising awareness about autism, protecting against abuse against those diagnosed as autistic, and reducing the artificially-caused cases of autism, such as environmental destruction, vaccinations, poor medical services, etc.

There are hundreds of other autism organizations nationally and globally. However,
we feel what is unique about this one is its holistic framework, centering its analysis on culture and human rights, wholeheartedly tolerant of those already diagnosed with autism and protecting against the medical experimentation of vaccinations and prescription drugs that artificially increase the risks and symptoms of autism.

What is also unique is its bottom-up approach, gathering the urban community on a grassroots level to face the issue of ignorance that families in metropolitan areas struggle with.

We know that this movement will take time to really take form and do big things. But we're faithful that we can gather enough people on the grassroots level to really help us out on this. Autism has no discrimination and anyone can be diagnosed with it. This makes the movement that much more important because so many families from different walks of life, poor, rich, black, white, educated, non-educated, gay, heterosexual, struggle with the reality that their child may suffer from the symptoms of autism in a world that is increasingly antagonistic to this sensitive condition.

It is, thus, our responsibility as families and friends to raise awareness and protect autism together.

• Photo Post

An Outbreak of Autism, or a Statistical Fluke?- NY TIMES (image) Idil Abdull, with her autistic son, Abdulahi, said some children were sent back to Somalia in hopes of easing their autism. MINNEAPOLIS — Ayub Abdi is a cute 5-year-old with a smile that might be called shy if not for the empty look in his eyes. He does not speak. When he was 2, he could say “Dad,” “Mom,” “give me” and “need water,” but he has lost all that. He does scream and spit, and he moans a loud “Unnnnh! Unnnnh!” when he is unhappy. At night he pounds the walls for hours, which led to his family’s eviction from their last apartment. As he is strapped into his seat in the bus that takes him to special education class, it is hard not to notice that there is only one other child inside, and he too is a son of Somali immigrants. “I know 10 guys whose kids have autism,” said Ayub’s father, Abdirisak Jama, a 39-year-old security guard. “They are all looking for help.” Autism is terrifying the community of Somali immigrants in Minneapolis, and some pediatricians and educators have joined parents in raising the alarm. But public health experts say it is hard to tell whether the apparent surge of cases is an actual outbreak, with a cause that can be addressed, or just a statistical fluke. In an effort to find out, the Minnesota Department of Health is… read more»

An Outbreak of Autism, or a Statistical Fluke?- NY TIMES

(image) Idil Abdull, with her autistic son, Abdulahi, said some children were sent back to Somalia in hopes of easing their autism.

MINNEAPOLIS — Ayub Abdi is a cute 5-year-old with a smile that might be called shy if not for the empty look in his eyes. He does not speak. When he was 2, he could say “Dad,” “Mom,” “give me” and “need water,” but he has lost all that.

He does scream and spit, and he moans a loud “Unnnnh! Unnnnh!” when he is unhappy. At night he pounds the walls for hours, which led to his family’s eviction from their last apartment.

As he is strapped into his seat in the bus that takes him to special education class, it is hard not to notice that there is only one other child inside, and he too is a son of Somali immigrants.

“I know 10 guys whose kids have autism,” said Ayub’s father, Abdirisak Jama, a 39-year-old security guard. “They are all looking for help.”

Autism is terrifying the community of Somali immigrants in Minneapolis, and some pediatricians and educators have joined parents in raising the alarm. But public health experts say it is hard to tell whether the apparent surge of cases is an actual outbreak, with a cause that can be addressed, or just a statistical fluke.


In an effort to find out, the Minnesota Department of Health is… read more»

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