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鈥淚 have no interest in right or wrong鈥� I will plot to rob you of your children and your dreams.鈥�

These words come from a , which has sparked a spat between people with autism across the US and a charity that aims to represent them.

The film contains clips of children with autism and their parents backed by a voiceover that suggests autism has no morality and breaks apart families (read the transcript here). The charity Autism Speaks, based in New York, first screened the film on 22 September at its annual World Focus on Autism event.

I Am Autism was made by two fathers of children with autism: Billy Mann, a Grammy-nominated songwriter, music producer and Autism Speaks board member, and Alfonso Cuar贸n, an Academy award-nominated film director. The narration is a 鈥減ersonal poem鈥� written by Mann, says Marc Sirkin, chief community officer at Autism Speaks.

鈥楨mbarrassing and offensive鈥�

But some people with autism say the film projects a damaging image of them. They are protesting online with a and a . A few have also taken to the streets to protest.

鈥淭his makes people afraid of us. What will people think about me and other autistics if they have watched this damaging video?鈥� says Elesia Ashkenazy, director of the Portland, Oregon, chapter of the (ASAN). She helped against the video in Portland on 26 September.

Ari Ne鈥檈man, president of ASAN, based in Washington DC, says the film is 鈥渆mbarrassing, offensive and inaccurate鈥�. 鈥淚t has practical consequences,鈥� he says. For those with autism and looking for a job or a relationship, or trying to fit in at school, he says, 鈥渢his adds to the fear and prejudice and stigma鈥�.

Ne鈥檈man particularly objects to one segment of the video, in which the narrator, representing autism itself, says: 鈥淎nd if you鈥檙e happily married, I will make sure that your marriage fails.鈥�

Ne鈥檈man points to a that contradicts this notion, carried out by the disabilities charity Easter Seals, based in Chicago, Illinois. Looking at 917 parents who have children without any special needs and 1652 parents whose children have an autism spectrum disorder, the survey found that that 30 per cent of parents of people with autism spectrum disorders were divorced, compared with 29 per cent of parents whose children didn鈥檛 have special needs.

Profit motive?

Sirkin admits that he knows of 鈥渘o evidence that having a child with autism spectrum disorder in the family leads to higher rates of divorce鈥� but says the film is 鈥渁 personal statement based on the viewpoint of the two parents who created the film鈥�.

Ne鈥檈man also accuses the charity of using 鈥渇ear and pity-mongering鈥� to raise funds. Sirkin responds that Autism Speaks did not pay for the film to be made, and that the film is not intended as a fundraiser, only to raise awareness.

The soundtrack to the spoof online video, , goes, 鈥淚 work hard to make people believe your children are suffering worse than cancer or AIDS victims,鈥� and, 鈥淵our money will fall into my hands and I will bankrupt you,鈥� and 鈥淵our advocates don鈥檛 have the money to fight me.鈥�

Right to speak

Meanwhile the set up in protest against the film calls it 鈥渁 grotesque travesty of a film, filled with falsehoods, bigotry and hate鈥� It does not represent our views on autism and autistic people. It vilifies autistic people, and we will not stand for it.鈥�

Sirkin says this is all par for the course. 鈥淲e have received both positive and negative feedback. Some parents have found the video inspiring and have thanked us for showing it. Others have been offended by it. We believe that all perspectives are valid and need to be heard and respected. No one perspective can ever be the definitive voice of autism.鈥�

, an autism researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, says the film could be destructive. 鈥淎ny organisation that claims to support individuals with disabilities and those individuals鈥� families should familiarise itself with the decades of research which has investigated the deleterious effects of fear-eliciting messaging,鈥� she says.

It鈥檚 not the first time that Autism Speaks has provoked anger from people with autism. In 2008, the charity demanded that an autistic blogger take down a parody of its website because it infringed copyright. This sparked outrage from ASAN and many autistic bloggers.