Protesters silence mum they think is mocking disability

A comedian who talks with humour about raising a child with autism has been banned from speaking at a disability event.  

Organisers are said to have received a ‘barrage of complaints’ that Nikki  Osborne had been invited to appear at the expo in Brisbane, Australia.

Protesters previously tried to censor her show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, claiming – before anyone had seen it – that it amounted to mocking children with a disability.

However Osborne insists the show is only about her experiences of bringing up her six-year-old son Teddy, who is on the spectrum, and doesn’t make light of his condition.

And she accused those who try to silence her of bullying.

‘I'm not going to take down autism advocates but there's a line when an advocate becomes a cyber bully and there are a few that have crossed the line,’ she told local media.

She added that her ‘conscience is clear’ on the passages when she talks about her son, and said she would be happy for him to hear it. 

‘But I do have concerns about what he is going to read online out of context, those advocates paraphrasing what they think I'm saying,’ she said. 

Defending her decision to cancel Osborne’s planned appearance at the  Source Kids Disability Expo  on July 6,  founder Emma Price said: ‘Unfortunately, we have already borne the brunt of a debate that is not ours regarding this matter. 

‘Our intention is to deliver an event that is helpful and enjoyable for the everyone in the disability community.’

Osborne has said she wished there had been a show like hers when Teddy was diagnosed   four years ago, when she wanted an honest account of parenting a child with autism that wasn’t ‘very heavy’.

She previously said: ‘When you first have your child diagnosed you can go into a really dark space. I found it incredibly difficult at the start until I began to see the humour in everyday things. I think that's how you overcome your troubles… laugh at the 

‘What I'm trying to do is educate the broader public so autism isn't such a taboo subject.  I'm not making fun on an autistic child, I'm talking about the whole system.

'Everyone's ready to be offended… and what does it even mean? It doesn't change the facts, it doesn't change anything.

When complaints first arose in March, protester Monica Fairbairn, 32, said:  ‘I’m autistic and I don’t like the idea of someone who doesn’t have autism making jokes about autism. It’s not that I don’t want autism being talked about. If it was an autistic comedian that would be funny and relatable.’

Published: 9 Jun 2018