Autism Speaks

Autism Speaks is an autism awareness and treatment 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

Bad qualities

 * Many autism advocates have criticized Autism Speaks for treating autism as a disease that needs to be cured. Advocates have argued that autism is not necessarily an illness, disability, or disease, but is instead a difference in brain function that should be accommodated instead of pathologized.
 * They once threatened to take legal action against an autism rights advocate who created a website called Getting the Truth Out, alleging that the use of the Autism Speaks name and logo would confuse people looking for information on autism. This is a claim that was disputed by autism advocates.
 * There have been claims that Autism Speaks compensates executives at unnecessarily high pay rates.
 * Earlier on in their founding, they were involved in anti-vaccination ideals, to the point of spending donor money on studying the possibility that vaccinations cause autism. Scientists criticized this as wasteful and claimed that it could incite fear of vaccines. Autism Speaks abandoned this position on vaccinations somewhere around 2017, stating that they strongly encourage vaccinations instead.