We believe there should and must be a place for all voices of those on the spectrum to be heard and we believe that Autism Daily Newscast and ASDigest are those places. However, this will not be at the expense of silencing any segment of the autism or autistic community – including those that differ from our own convictions.
While our staff may have personal opinions, it is our objective to remain officially neutral and present the news in as objective manner as possible without a bias. It is our mandate, as an independent entity, to report on all topics and any organizations that involve autistics, autism and the spectrum. We will publish press releases or announcements that may be of interest to some in autism and/or autistic community but these items may not necessarily reflect the views of Autism Daily Newscast.
That said, we will offer our editorial opinion on current events that are of importance to our readers.
It would be imprudent to say that the editorial staff can be or is neutral, particularly regarding some of the more controversial issues. Readers may assume that:
- we are pro vaccination
- we are pro research
- we do not see autism as an epidemic or disease and hence a “cure” is not necessary
Inclusion in our newscast should not be assumed as a recommendation or endorsement. While we do accept advertising, we are not associated with any organization.
Language:
- In an effort to be respectful to all, Autism Daily Newscast alternates between the use of the terms “autistic”, “person with autism” and “individual with an ASD”. Our preference is to use Identity First Language as “autistic” however we defer to the individual person on how they prefer to be identified. With regards to children, we tend to alternate.
- Autism Daily Newscast does not agree with the continuum of “high functioning” to “low functioning”. Autism is a spectrum. We reject this form of labeling and whenever these terms appear in our reports they should be in context and in parentheses.
- Autism Daily Newscast is struggling with the term “special needs” as there is no single term that can be used for our categories. We welcome suggestions.