Friendship Circle, Opinion

Is Friendship Circle Part of Communication Shutdown?

Do you know how it feels when you have no way to communicate your wants and needs? When you see a world where everyone is going about their daily lives and can do nothing to enter it? That is how a child with autism feels. A 24 hour campaign has been launched called Communication Shutdown. This campaign is designed to help the general public better understand the communication needs of individuals with Autism. Their mission is to “simply encourage a greater understanding from people outside the autism community. Social network users have become reliant and even addicted to platforms like Facebook and Twitter. And if they shut down for 1 day, they will feel a sense of disconnection and a sense of frustration. By creating a little empathy, we hope to encourage a wider understanding and acceptance of people with autism - an understanding we recognize those in the autism community already have.” The campaign takes place today (November 1st) and aims to raise money for autism services in more than 40 countries. Several celebrities are part of Communication Shutdown including actor Steven Seagal. Promoted through Twitter, Facebook & YouTube, organizers are hoping for thousands of people to hold off from using their social media accounts for twenty four hours. While most everyone agrees that the mission is a noble one there is some disagreement if non-communication is the most effective way of raising awareness (You can see a list of dissenters here). Blogger Stuart Duncan (who has a child on the autism spectrum) explains why he is not on board with Communication Shutdown: “I feel it’s pretty insulting to think that not visiting a couple of websites could ever give you any insight into what it’s like to have Autism. That’s like saying that because you were in chess club, you know what it’s like for children in bad neighborhoods to get mixed up in violent gangs.” Here at Friendship Circle, we were blissfully unaware of both the Communication Shutdown campaign and counter-campaign. We were busy laying the groundwork for an awareness campaign of our own, also slotted to begin (coincidental or not) November 1st. The Friendship Circle’s campaign is called Magnet Madness. The mission is to capture pictures of the Friendship Circle magnet out and about in your town. 25 challenges will be revealed over the next week on our Facebook page. The first fan to complete a challenge will win a prize. The goal of the challenge is to spread the message of working towards creating an inclusive society - a society that welcomes and advocates for all individuals regardless of their disabilities. The Friendship Circle logo has become a symbol of exactly that. And by spreading the logo we spread that message. So the question remains - if we would have known about Communication Shutdown in advance would we have participated? I’ll answer that question with a bit of history. Right after the Holocaust, a group of Jewish Community leaders visited the Lubavitcher Rebbe - Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. They were considering initiating a campaign to memorialize the Holocaust victims on that upcoming Passover by having everyone place an empty chair at their Seder to remember the many victims of the Holocaust. When the delegation asked the Rebbe his thoughts on this idea, he suggested that perhaps instead of another empty chair at the table to remember the Holocaust, perhaps a drive to have another full chair and another guest who wouldn’t otherwise have been at the Seder would be a stronger response and eternal memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. Instead of showing awareness through silence show awareness through action. Enlighten more people about the importance of acceptance and inclusion. Make a difference!