Reply #13: Now meet the guys in the white hats: the Asperger's Association of New England

[KamaAina]

http://www.aane.org

The Asperger's Association of New England (AANE) is made up of individuals with Asperger's Syndrome (AS), their families, friends and professionals. We are dedicated to improving the quality of life for people with AS and related conditions. AANE is overseen by a Board of Directors. The Executive Director is Dania Jekel. Our mission is to foster awareness, respect, acceptance, and support for these individuals and their families.

That's more like it! None of that "rejection and loneliness" crapperoo.

The two groups are presently feuding at the Mass. legislature:

http://weeklydig.com/news-opinions/news-us/200710/bickering-well-others

Patrick's bill, HB2208, was drafted by a group called Families of Adults Afflicted (! - apparently they've dropped that in favor of 'affected') by Asperger's Syndrome (FAAAS). It would enact a "public education program" about adults with the disorder. The other bill, MB3838, was sponsored by L'Italien and was written by the Asperger's Association of New England (AANE). It would establish a pilot program that would "provide services which lead to paid, customized, sustainable employment" for adults with Asperger's. Ostensibly, the two bills have the same aim: increased awareness of and funding for adults with Asperger's syndrome, a neurological disease that's thought to be a milder form of autism. The need is real: Despite its lifelong symptoms of social discomfort and inappropriate behavior, the syndrome is only recognized as a childhood disease in the United States, with few resources dedicated to adults with the condition....

But despite the efforts of the sponsoring legislators, the two groups behind the bills have refused to cooperate, or even appear in the same hearings to support each other. At a hearing for one of the bills in March, there was a last-minute dispute over which group would testify, and FAAAS ended up staying at home. Two weeks ago, at a hearing for the FAAAS-sponsored bill, representatives of AANE were conspicuously absent.

"There is a philosophical difference between the two groups, which is a shame," says Harriet Simmons, a Wellesley therapist who serves on the board of FAAAS. "AANE is pretty much for individuals with Asperger's, and FAAAS is supporting families around the issue with Asperger's."

The rift between the two groups stems from fundamentally different opinions of Asperger's syndrome, which FAAAS views as decidedly negative. Karen Rodman, the founder and president of FAAAS, is a veteran of 43 years of marriage to a husband with Asperger's, who was only diagnosed relatively recently.

"Decidely negative", indeed! With friends like these, who needs enemies?