Never Give Up: National Autism Association Hacked on Facebook
By Cathy Jameson
“Never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.”
-Winston Churchill
You’ve probably seen a shortened Churchill quote a few times in this community. If you’re on FaceBook and have “liked” the National Autism Association page, you’ll have seen that quote referenced quite a few times. Their infographics, memes and messages frequently remind us to keep our chins up.
Not every day is an easy day for some of our families, but with the encouragement of my friends, including several NAA members I’ve gotten to know, I do find myself able to look at the bright side of things. Life is easier when I find something, even if it’s one tiny small thing, positive.
Sadly, a few days ago, it came to my attention that something negative had happened to our friends at the NAA. Their Facebook page was hacked. Presumable taken over by internet trolls, the admin of the National Autism Association page can no longer access their FB page. Worse, whoever had access to the page this weekend posted inappropriate posts.
Who does this? Who cyberbullies and publicly attacks an organization who’s dedicated their time and energy to helping families in need? Not just any family, but families caring for individuals with autism?
The NAA’s mission is “…to respond to the most urgent needs of the autism community, providing real help and hope so that all affected can reach their full potential.” They’ve carried out their mission well and helped many of us in the autism community. They’ve gone out of their way to help me and my son directly.
A recipient of The Big Red Box, http://nationalautismassociation.org/big-red-safety-box/ Ronan is safer because of the NAA’s efforts to reduce autism-related wandering. The NAA has helped thousands of families.
Today, it’s our turn to help.
In trying to get the attention of Facebook to remedy the situation and to get control of their page again, the NAA sent this message via Twitter:
https://twitter.com/NationalAutism
Every minute the NAA’s page is under attack, families lose out on potential help and that ever important encouragement. Please, if you tweet, go to the National Autism Associations’ Twitter page and RT their message.
Just like we rallied in April when the NAA was bullied and lost out on a national fundraiser http://thinkingmomsrevolution.com/big-big-thank/ meant to raise funds for The Big Red Box, it’s time to give the NAA encouragement to push through.
Internet trolls may once again have tried to sideline the NAA, but with our support, we can make things better. It’s in these times that we need to come together, to remain positive and to never give up.
Cathy Jameson is a Contributing Editor for Age of Autism.
People suck.
Posted by: Lara | September 29, 2014 at 11:32 PM
Why would anyone hack NAA? NAA is godsend. NAA is saving lives. My son bolted again yesterday (Sunday). While I was out out, he snuck out while my sister was babysitting him. She was vacuuming and while her back was turned, he quietly opned and slipped out through the sliding glass door, he ran across a busy street and over to a church fair then he cut back across the busy street (nearly got hit) and ended up 3 blocks away running around a culdesac in his underwear. He wears a LoJack bracelet on his ankle 24/7 but I am trying to get him a GPS bracelket too and have insurance pay for it. Today I've been on the phone with Blue Cross/ Blue Shield insurance to see if they would pre authorizze payment for a GPS tracking bracelet- I was told my request may be declined if the BC/BS insurance reviewers determine the bracelet is not medically "neccessary". I have also been on the phone with LoJack Safety net and the Plymouth County Sheriffs office about this bolting incident.
Posted by: Autismmom | September 29, 2014 at 03:53 PM
Thank you, Cat! xoxo
This is killing our ability to reach out to families in need of assistance, and we are just about to start a new grant round of Big Red Safety Boxes. We're going to need a lot of help getting the word out to families whose children are at risk so we can get a box to them. This is sickening. How many kids are going to miss out on potentially life-saving resources? :-(
Posted by: Wendy Fournier | September 29, 2014 at 10:40 AM
And I remember half-a-dozen year ago the crooks taking out the recently created VAP website complete with articles by Brian Hooker, Ed Yazbak, myself and probably others. Shame.
Posted by: John Stone | September 29, 2014 at 10:04 AM
Bravo! I got a Big Red Safety Box from them and have recommended them to others with wanderers. In fact a family with a soon to be diagnosed child contacted me for help and among their issues is their child leaving the house. They have a newborn in the hospital out of town and the boy's safety is at risk with different sitters while the parents go back and forth to the hospital. What a shame they can't get help from an organization that is here for the individuals with autism instead of for money. NAA and AoA are the first places I send people to for help and info. I hope they are up and running soon, I retweeted their message. We're too loud, we're too strong, we're winning and they are afraid.
Posted by: Lori Stella | September 29, 2014 at 09:15 AM