February 2012
29 posts
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In State Care, 1,200 Deaths and Few Answers →
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“For me, I learn social skills the same way people learn geometry – I memorize...”
– @lastcrazyhorn
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It's disturbing how long I can watch this and... →
Something lighter and silly today. Go watch and laugh :)
http://www.m0ar.org/4305
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French Psychoanalysts Take Legal Action to Ban... →
On Dec. 8, a French judge in the Lille Regional Court in France must decide whether or not to ban a documentary by Sophie Robert, “The Wall: Psychoanalysis Put to the Test for Autism,” that highlights the treatment — psychoanalysis — that families are offered in France when seeking help for their child with autism.
The documentary consists of interviews of 30 French...
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Mother, Afraid of Costs of Autism, Kills Child →
Paula C. Durbin-Westby paulacdurbinwestbyautisticblog.blogspot.com I am writing here about one aspect of this horrible killing of a six-month-old baby, that of the mother’s fears about the costs of having an Autistic child: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/06/stephanie-rochester-trial_n_1131305.html Whether or not the parent was not legally sane at the time of the killing is not what...
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Autism hidden in plain sight →
Howard McBroom, shown riding the bus, worked for 26 years as a security guard. It wasn’t until he lost that job in 2003 that the Indiana University graduate learned he was autistic. He was 49 years old. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) More photos
Alan Zarembo, Los Angeles Times
December 16, 2011
Last of four parts
When autism researchers arrived at Norristown State Hospital near...
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The long-awaited book "Thinking Person's Guide To... →
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Adult decisions →
It’s hard to overstate how little we know about adults with autism. Their typical profile of symptoms, brain connectivity, response to drug and behavioral treatments, and even life expectancy are all unknown. Just two things are certain: Many adults with autism exist, and few are able to live independently.
With so many gaps in our knowledge of adults with autism, where should research begin?
...
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For Autistic Couple, Love is an ‘Off-Key’... →
(video in link)
Like most couples, Lindsey Nebeker and her live-in boyfriend, Dave Hamrick, have their differences.
That’s why they don’t share a bedroom at their townhome in Alexandria, Va.
“Our temperature tolerances are very different. He likes to keep his room cooler at night when he sleeps than I do,” says Nebeker.
About seven degrees cooler to be precise.
Sleeping in separate rooms...
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“Hate it when I smile at people and they look back at me like I’m less than...”
– @lastcrazyhorn
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inlovewithamalfoy asked: Thank you so much for this blog. I've just read 21 pages. I don't know what else to say, It's hard to say anything.. But, thank you.
Anonymous asked: how do you feel about people who self-diagnose? there are people in my class at school who have diagnosed themselves with mental/learning disabilities so that they have an excuse whenever they're too lazy to do something. they're normal and fine, and it really bothers me as a person who actually has diagnosed problems when people seem to WANT a disability. i would give anything to be...
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January 2012
30 posts
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Shortchanging people through low expectations:... →
I have hesitated to post because I’ve continued to be so crappy lately at responding to other people’s comments, e-mails, and blogs. Because of communication problems, whether or not I like to think of it in those terms given some of the interpretations frequently placed on that model–greatly exaggerated by pain, fatigue, etc. While I really do wish my system’s response to trying to pull more...
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A Girl Janitor Tries to Explain Privilege →
Just flopping my way out of an episode of burnout. These episodes generally follow a period of higher-than-usual productivity and social stress. Gearing up for an interview with a recruiter for federal internships at mah college, battling a horrible woman whose job was to “help” me with my resume and interview skills, two gargantuan projects for raising diversity/disability awareness at my...
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I Contain Multitudes →
Someone I don’t know very well mentioned randomly to me a few days ago that I should write an autobiography.
Now, I’ve been writing about my life more or less since I’ve had one. but I knew that someday I would actually write the whole damn thing out, I was just not expecting that feeling of “readiness” to come this soon.
I turned 30 earlier this year, and I feel like I’ve had about four...
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How Successful People Deal with Asperger's →
I get an incredible amount of email from people with Asperger Syndrome. It’s all really similar. Here’s a sample:
“I’m 45 and a lawyer and I have Aspergers. I don’t know what is appropriate, and not appropriate some of the time, such as talking too much about very personal info, or saying something that offends someone.
“I’ve gone through many friends in life. Most can’t...
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Synesthesia and evolution →
We’ve posted many times about synesthsia, a fascinating and bizarre neurological condition in which two ore more senses are linked so that someone, for example, might “taste” sounds or “hear” colors. New research is exploring whether synesthesia, which appears to be a heritable physical condition, has survived evolutionarily because it’s beneficial. According...
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some touch rules →
My New Years’ resolution is to be really super rude if other people touch me in a way I don’t want to be touched. Here’s the situation as I see it: Touching someone in a way that makes them feel less than good isn’t a favor to them that they should have to appreciate and act nice about. It’s not the same as a present, where if they don’t like it they have to...
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why no one counts →
Something I’ve noticed: a person with a disability having a conversation about the value of people with disabilities (which you can call whatever you want, but usually something more tactful than “the value of people with disabilities”) can never actually be disabled. The reason this is true is pretty obvious! Someone who is talking about how reasonable it is for a parent to not...
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Starers →
I read a wonderful blog post by Dave Hingsburger, a super awesome disability activist. He overheard an incident that really clarified a few things for me. I’ve been dying my hair pink and purple, wearing “eccentric” clothing, and generally “looking weird” since I was 14 years old.
It sounded, from a distance, like a typical row between parent and child. Child wanted. Parent said ‘no’. A...
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can diagnosis make you feel good? →
I have a dear friend who really wants to be diagnosed with ASD. I find this ridiculous. I feel kind of bad about it because I turn into the least supportive friend in the universe whenever the subject gets brought up. My friend: I think it would be really helpful because then if it makes me feel like crying when someone talks loud, I wouldn’t have to feel bad about that. Me: (badly...
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cure in Disney movies →
I wrote this paper for an exco I took last term and I just found it when Mtthw inexplicably asked for me to repost the notes I took for the class. It is too long for tumblr, so have fun. DISABILITY AND NORMALCY IN SLEEPING BEAUTY AND THE LITTLE MERMAID There is often conflict between the disabled community and mainstream society about what is best for disabled people. Often, disabled people think...
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Florida Charter Schools Failing Disabled Students →
A StateImpact Florida/Miami Herald investigation shows that despite state and federal laws requiring charter schools to give equal access to students with severe disabilities, most charter schools in Florida have few of these students on their roster.
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pink-collar jobs and autism →
I take it really hard when I see someone defending the ability of A/autistic people to work or more generally “contribute to society” (not an idea I’m fond of) by saying things like: *we can hyperfocus on something and do it really well. *we might seem rude but if we work in a geeky environment, like if we are video game programmers, this won’t matter! And if we don’t...
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Neurotypical syndrome →
It shows how bad the discrimination is when it’s turn the other way. This is a brilliant piece of satire.
“There HAS to be some way to prove that I’M the normal one and EVERYONE ELSE is the fuck up!”
~ Charles Laundry on Neurotypical Syndrome
“Mah wah mah wah mah wah wah.”
~ Oscar Wilde on Neurotypical Syndrome
“Chris, don’t say retard. We prefer to be called ‘little people’...