But, you also need 2 other pieces about Autism Speaks.
Autism Speaks had this status on their Facebook page on Sept. 20th (my bold):
"Status Update
By Autism Speaks
There has been some misinformation involving Disneyland's Guest Assistance Card program. Autism Speaks has been working with Disney. We'll have updates."
(I tried to post a link, but there are no links to individual Facebook posts. You can scroll down their Facebook page and find it though)
Since their update was update was about the Guest Assistance Card a Program.
I do know that after that post, there were many negative responses from parents, asking how could Disney have come up with the plan that was then in the news from MiceChat. Many said they would no longer support Autism Speaks because they wanted GACs not to end.
An article on yahoo news on Monday, September 23, quoted a spokesperson for Autism Speaks (my bold):
Disney reached out to us, Autism Speaks spokesperson Michael Rosen told Yahoo Shine. A large segment of our population with autism has sensory issues, so having patience to wait on noisy lines is a really hard thing.
When Rosen has taken his own son, who has autism, to Disney World, for example, he would start crying and screaming when we stood on a line, because he didnt realize that in 25 minutes he would go on a ride. He had no idea why he was standing on a line, and that really takes away from the fun.
Rosen said Autism Speaks has been urging parents concerned about the change to be patient and wait for the official release of the new policy from Disney. We worked with them so they would make it as comfortable an experience as possible for our community, he said.
Link to article:
http://shine.yahoo.com/parenting/di...abled--wait-in-line-161946185.html?nopharma=1
The video you posted had an air date of September 26.
So, on Sept. 20 and 23, Autism Speaks was saying they were involved with the changes, but all of a sudden, in the interview on Sept. 26, the Autism Speaks spokesperson being interviewed knew nothing about any changes at all and only worked on the guidebooks.
He didn't actually say that Disney ignored their comments, just that they were asked some questions, they gave their answers - basically "that won't work...that won't work....that won't work."
He didn't know
what was done with the answers they have to Disney (I would maintain that saying "that won't work" , but not giving any advice or suggestions on what
might work is not helpful - if someone reaches out to you for assistance, you should at least try to give some helpful input.
My personal guess - Autism Speaks did work with Disney, but did not expect the outcry in response to the article (and large numbers of people who said they were pulling support from Autism Speaks). So, (IMHO) they tried to distance themselves from any involvement at all (other than the Guidebook, which they expect to be positive).