ARW – Project France

Share  Following the court decision of January 26, 2012 against Sophie Robert, the attorney Nicolas Benoit, representing Sophie Robert and her company Ocean Invisible Productions, formally summoned “Support the Wall – Autism” on February 22, 2012 to remove the video of the documentary “The Wall” and all excerpts from supportthewall.org, soutenonslemur.org and from the Youtube account of Soutenons Le Mur. Despite a conditional acceptance of the site editor, Mr. Benoit sent a request on March 28, 2012 to Youtube to [...]

ShareOn February 23 2012, the NGO Disability Rights International alleged torturous practice against children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in France. It viewed Packing, the wrapping of kids in wet frozen sheets, as torture. On March 13, 2012, the organization released a new statement in reaction to the guidance (best practice guide) of the French Higher Health Authority which declared it is “strongly opposed” to packing, while allowing it for research purposes (see The Connexion article). Disability Rights International, rightly, does [...]

ShareCouple days ago, our sister organization “Collectif Soutenons Le Mur” published on its website a document detailing the reply of the French UMP (the government’s party) to an open letter they had sent to the Socialist Party on packing two months prior. This document is the translation of their analysis and quotes from the letter of  Jean-François Copé, General Secretary of the UMP. —— Surprise in this morning’s mail. Jean-François Copé, General Secretary of the UMP has remembered us and [...]

ShareThe Connexion, France’s english speaking newspaper, announced on March 9 “Victory against psychoanalysis for children with autism in France“, explaining that “families of children with autism have won an important battle against the use of psychoanalysis to treat the disorder“. Indeed, on March 8th, the Higher Health Authority (HAS) issued major recommendation on autism care in France. The Connexion writes : “The High Health Authority (HAS) has made its recommendations, promoting the use of educational and behavioral approaches that have [...]

ShareBy David Heurtevent, Asperger, MA Georgetown Note : This article was published in French on 02/14/2012. Translation thanks to Karen Wilshin.   It would seem that the French Communist Party (PCF) and the CGT Health Union have lost their nerve following the leak of a draft report from the National Authority for Health and on the eve of a demonstration in Lille against packing and against the censure of Sophie Robert’s film organized by the association Vaincre L’Autisme (Beat Autism) [...]

ShareMany of you have noticed that this website has not been updated for couple weeks. We would like to apologize and to explain why the website has been so quiet. First, we lack the resources to keep up in English with the constant flow of information in French. Our team is small and only made of volunteers who struggle between jobs, children and the cause. Second, we are currently facing a really difficult situation with the coming recommendations of the [...]

ShareThe week of Feb. 6 to Feb. 12, 2012 was mostly a European-centered week for “Support The Wall – Autism” and its sister organization “Collectif Soutenons Le Mur”. The NGO Reporters Without Borders issued a statement supporting Sophie Robert and considered that the court ruling is threatening documentary filmmaking in France”. The French Prime Minister organized a meeting with the French autism organizations to launch officially the “Grande Cause Nationale” P.R. campaign. He expressed the desire to launch a new [...]

ShareThe week of January 30th 2012 to February 5th 2012 was marked by a large response in France and abroad following the court decision censoring the film of Sophie Robert. “Support The Wall – Autism” and its sister organization “Collectif Soutenons Le Mur” received many support statements. On the international side, most statements came from scholars in top universities. On the French side, the largest French autism organizations (Autisme France, Autistes Sans Frontières, Agir & Vivre l’Autisme) and some belgian [...]

Share Effective today, Feb. 06th, 2012, the official page of the film “Le Mur” no longer contains the video of the film. Following the court decision on Jan. 26th 2012, the filmmaker “Sophie Robert” and the non-profit organization “Autistes Sans Frontières” have decided to follow on the court injunctions. The court mandated a fee of 100 EUROS per day in penalties. On the day of the court decision, Autisme France Diffusion had already stoppped selling the DVD. Unfortunately, censorship scared [...]

ShareWe are releasing below a translation of the Court Decision of Jan. 26, 2012 “The Wall” (Sophie Robert) vs. Psychoanalysts issued by the District Court of Lille (France). Analysis: The court rejects the request to nullify the summons, The court states that the psychoanalysts are not co-authors, The court asserts that the rights as an author are limited to the obligation to ensure that the views of the people interviewed are not distorted The court stated that Sophie Robert & [...]