Michelle...

"Can you imagine the NAS putting a large colour advertisement in the Times (featuring an autistic adult, along with a non-autistic adult, captioned "Different Genes. Same Value.") stressing the contributions of autisics to society, and saying that intolerance must be cured, not autism? Because the CDSS has done the equivalent in Canada, and (they told me), they are just getting started."

Would be nice, wouldn't it? But I fear you are right in agreeing with Philip's rating for the NAS; I doubt that - even with the hard work put in my a certain gentleman in that organisation - a full page advertisement (of the sort you mention) in the Times would ever appear.

And, even though it is heading in the right direction, that is still only a bite of a chicken nugget... and (with me, anyway) too small a bite can make me choke just as bad as too big a bite.