The Newark Star-Ledger reports on Ari Ne'eman:
Today, after a swift and sometimes bumpy ascent in the realm of national autism politics, he is the first person with autism to be nominated for a seat on the National Council on Disability. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, he also will be the youngest person to serve on the board in at least 20 years, council spokesman Mark Quigley said.
Ne'eman, who has Aspegger Syndrome, is a spokesperson for the neurodiversity movement.
He’s tossed verbal firebombs at Autism Speaks, one of the nation’s best-funded autism groups, accusing the organization of insulting people with autism by directing most of the money it raises to researching autism’s cause rather than helping those who already have the condition. The exclusive focus on a cure, Ne’eman contends, amounts to medically engineering people like him out of existence. "We should be spending at least as much money on improving our quality of life instead of trying to get rid of us," he said. He occasionally complements his comments with guerilla tactics. Last month, he organized a protest outside of Carnegie Hall in New York City, where an Autism Speaks fundraiser was being held, he said. Ne’eman knows he’s a lightning rod, saying he’s received death threats. After one threat last summer, he said, he had to be escorted by police to speak at an event in New Hampshire.
