Jill Escher

Jill Escher (born 1965) is a self proclaimed autism philanthropist bent on proving that the Autistic spectrum has environmental origins and going completely against the existing genetic factor. While Escher is not a believer in The Vaccine Myth she does believe in other environmental causes, citing her own children as victims of damage to her own DNA by the use of synthetic steroid hormone drugs by her mother while she was pregnant with her, damage passed on to her children.[1] She tries to expand on this damage at the expense of the true understanding of the spectrum having these claims being allegedly presented in publications like Environmental Health News, the San Francisco Chronicle and the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. She founded the Escher Fund in 2012 and has supported Autism Speaks.

Background
Escher attended University of California and Stanford University as part of her education, studying law in the former. Not much else is known about her personal life aside from the fact that she has two non verbal Autistic children. She has owned Claradon Properties, an operator of non residential buildings,[2] since 2007, but there is no evidence of any activity in the legal profession.

Autism activity
Because of her children, Escher founded the Escher Fund for Autism in 2012. She also became president of the San Francisco chapter of the Autism Society.[3] The fund has a wider base than Autism, claiming to promote science education and spearheads research projects to examine disruptive germline programming and gametic effects of drug, smoking, and chemical exposures, with an emphasis on risk for ensuing abnormal neurodevelopment in offspring.[4] Whilst the wider examination is admirable, including Autism in this in not correct and mispromotes Autism as DNA damage instead of human difference. Her presidency of the Autism Society in San Francisco has allowed her to claim that the rise in Autism since the 1990’s is not due to the broadening of the diagnostic criteria but an actual increase in prevalence.[5] This claim is designed to ignore the genetic nature of Autism and the changing social atmosphere in society that provides less and less privacy upon which Autistics rely. At the same time she claims that abuse prevention is a key concern, and yet conversely fails to understand Autism’s origins leading to the very abuse she claims to oppose.

Escher criticised Steve Silberman’s Neurotribes conistent with her claim that Autism isn’t natural. She even claims that Silberman and her are in effect talking about two different conditions, demonstrating that she doesn’t accept the wide interpretation in either the DSM-IV or the DSM-5, or both, of the Autistic spectrum. She even turned the negativity torch on the high functioning pointing out restrictions like holding a “normal” conversation, making “normal” eye contact, making friends, executing solid judgment, negotiating public transportation, fending off abuse, reading subtle social cues, varying a routine, and/or hold a job. She promotes these factors as massive negatives that should not be tolerated, a hallmark of hate. She furthers this by claiming “Autism under any regime is a permanent, serious mental disability with criteria based on significant impairments solidly outside the norm of human mental and behavioral development.”[6]

Shannon Des Roches Rosa, the owner of the Squidalicious blog, let fly at Escher on April 24, 2017 over Escher’s “Autism Matrix” (an article taken down at some later point in time) pointing out that the San Francisco Autism Society is – because of Escher – run by parents of Autistics and not the Autistics themselves, and that Escher uses the SFAS website to publish whatever she wants.[7] The head office of the Autism Society posted a statement distancing itself from the San Francisco chapter,[9] only for Escher to publish a reply claiming the ASA was engaging in censorship saying “The last thing our autism community needs is a sense of self-censorship about the grave and pressing issues facing the autism community, now and into the future.”[9] In fact, the ASA was trying to put the conversation in the right direction and Escher was deviating from this to the detriment of the Autistic community.

On May 18, 2017, Escher reflected on a four day Autism conference in San Francisco which made the offensive observation that “Autism is a Snapchat diagnosis, it’s going to disappear” on her Facebook timeline.[10][11] This claim goes against the long history of Autism and ignores it’s genetic base preferring to apparently regard it in effect as a behavioural issue alone that can be corrected. On the same day, Escher attacked Phil Gluyas (under his “Timelord” nickname) claiming he was ignorant to push for system change in support structures.[12] Gluyas went on the attack in response calling Escher out as a hater of Autism, a supporter of a cure and a threat to all Autistics.[13] Escher denied the accusation but made more claims outside of nature blaming valproate, thalidomide, rubella and hypoxia of causing Autism.[14] Gluyas rounded on her again, slamming the claim while referencing her Facebook claim, and stating that Autism is genetic and existed before any mainstream modern medicine. He effectively called Escher a liar as well.[15] Escher claimed that she was backed by science and biology and neither was capable of hate, while “an uncritical inflammatory cult mentality” was.[16] Gluyas was quick in reply calling the science and biology Escher relied upon “quackery” and called out her out on not understanding Autism. He also pointed out that she wasn’t a biologist, and that Autism was made up of different names to that of Kanner and Asperger, and the eccentricity Steve Silberman had spoken of which was widespread.[17] Escher had no response, especially when a true biologist in Christie Buchovecky pointed out “There absolutely is a genetic component to autism” and backed it up.[18]

Escher also showed support for electric shock therapy as a tool to stop extreme self injurous behaviour,[19] without even trying to understand what causes it and doesn’t appear interested.

Conclusion
Escher’s position in the San Francisco Autistic community should be challenged. So should her claims to the origins of Autism. They go against the genetic nature of the condition and present a threat to acceptance of the condition. She should not be respected for this hate and is clearly an enemy of the Autistic community.

References
[1] Spectrum News: Science junkie bets big on autism’s environmental origins
[2] Claradon Properties LLC
[3] Jill Escher on LinkedIn
[4] About Germline Exposures
[5] California’s Autism Crisis
[6] Neurotribes: One step forward, two steps back for autism
[7] Squidalicious: Truly Awful Pseudoscience: Jill Escher’s “The Autism Matrix”
[8] Autism Society Statement on Autism Society San Francisco
[9] SFASA President Jill Escher’s Response to Autism Society Statements re Medicaid HCBS Policy and NeuroTribes Review
[10] Jill Escher on Facebook
[11] Autism Society San Francisco Bay Area on Facebook
[12] Psychology Today: Presume Beneficiance (Comment: Dying of laughter)
[13] Psychology Today: Presume Beneficiance (Comment: You find hate funny?)
[14] Psychology Today: Presume Beneficiance (Comment: Who are you and where do you get your information?)
[15] Psychology Today: Presume Beneficiance (Comment: Explain this!)
[16] Psychology Today: Presume Beneficiance (Comment: I’m, science is not hate)
[17] Psychology Today: Presume Beneficiance (Comment: Rubbish)
[18] Psychology Today: Presume Beneficiance (Comment: Being genetic doesn’t end the conversation)
[19] Jill Escher on Twitter