Michael V. Drejer twitter.com/maialideth When I was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome in 2003 at the age of 25, I had already pretty much given up hope of ever finding and getting a job that was right for me. All I had to show for my job skills was a high school diploma with a lousy grade average, and a few exams which I barely passed when I tried studying to become a school teacher and when I tried getting a bachelor degree in English at the university, neither of which I finished. Apparently it is difficult for people with Asperger’s syndrome to get a job or keeping a job, which was exactly what I had experienced as well. Fortunately, it does not have to be like that. In fact, hiring “aspies” for certain niche jobs can be of a great mutual advantage both for the aspie and for the company…
Christa Dahlstrom hyperlexicon.blogspot.com If you spotted my six-year-old son on the playground or at recess, he wouldn’t stand out from the other kids. Like most boys this age, he loves playing any made-up game that involves running, shouting, fighting bad guys, fighting robots, or fighting bad guy-robots. If you were to watch him, you might even be impressed at the way he’s able to invent elaborate imaginative play scenarios and enlist other kids — kids he’s never even met — to join in the story. “A born leader,” you might think. “What an imagination.” You might also be impressed by his sophisticated vocabulary, peppered with “suddenly” and “meanwhile” and “actually” and maybe an occasional “shall” substituted for “will” for extra flair. “Smart kid. Polite, too,” you think, as you watch him introduce himself to kids and adults and request their names with an Emily Post-ian correctness. But if you hung…
Heather E. Sedlock http://www.examiner.com/x-10560-Special-Needs-Kids-Examiner “Autism is a Rainbow” is one of several autism metaphors used by the autism community. These metaphors shape thoughts and beliefs about autism, and influence the actions of individuals. Metaphors also impact family members who have autism, as how their family members view them can influence how they view themselves. To appreciate autism metaphors’ community influence, a definition of autism is necessary. Autism is a pervasive developmental disorder typically characterized by: “Poor social interaction (this can include lack of eye contact, and social exchange, both verbal and non-verbal) “Language delay (expressive language is equally important as receptive language; repetitive phrases and inability to initiate dialog or support it) “Obsessive behavior (this can include inflexibility, repetitive physical movement and fixation on objects).“* Autism Is a Rainbow The rainbow is an object of beauty, something to be seen and appreciated. There is nothing wrong with a rainbow. The…
Diane Levinthal http://www.socialstrides.com Sensitivity and compassion can result from having kids with autism and social challenges included in regular education classrooms. It is also likely that there will be no choice other than inclusion, financially, in the future. Classrooms will have to accept differences (and I write this knowing that every child is “different”). How do we make inclusion positive for everyone involved? I taught in a district autism spectrum inclusion project, have worked in speech for 25 yrs, and have a middle school child with PDD/ADHD. In my experience, what is important and overlooked is that regular education peers are not given good information. The teachers are trained (supposedly) as are the other staff, but the kids themselves are told little besides “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” It has been my observation that in kindergarten and early elementary school, most kids are either…
Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism no longer supports the conclusions behind the original version of this post, and in fact opposes efforts to deny autistic people communication options based on outdated and insufficient evidence. We will be posting a full statement on our current position shortly. Shannon Rosa TPGA Senior Editor August 5, 2016
It’s time for us to start working on a cover for our book. We’ve looked through our own photographs, and we may still have one we like, but we thought we’d open up the possibility of finding something great from our readers. We are looking for a photograph, or image (drawn, painted etc.) of a path. We’re hoping to find something that resembles the image Jean Winegardner conjures in this essay. some quotes from the essay: “It is made up of dirt and rocks and it winds through and up a mountain pass.” “Some days, when we trip and fall, we see a beautiful flower under a rock that we wouldn’t have seen had we not stumbled.” “Sometimes the path is dark and scary. And sometimes its beauty takes our breath away.” If we select your image, it will be used on the cover of our book! Please see our…
Squillo http://confutata.wordpress.com I’m sure the person who said hindsight is 20/20 didn’t have a child with autism. (Actually, I’m sure he or she didn’t have a child of any kind.) You’re never finished being a parent: as the Jason Robards character said in the movie Parenthood, “you never get to spike the ball and do your touchdown dance.” I have no idea if some of the things I’ve done will end up having helped or hindered my attempts to attain that Holy Grail of Parenthood: happy, healthy children. Of course, this has nothing to do with autism, and everything to do with just being a parent, but there are challenges (and joys!) specific to parenting a child with autism, hence the birth of this group and this website. Shannon, one of The Thinking Guide to Autism’s founders, asked me to put together a list of things I wish I’d known…
Kristen Spina http://kristenspina.wordpress.com/ I hang back, following but not too closely, watching my son and his two best friends through the viewfinder, my face hidden behind the awkwardness of a zoom lens. As I watch the boys cross the red wood bridge, I snap half a dozen photos. And then again, as they settle in on the dock, taking turns casting, tossing pieces of bread to a giant turtle bobbing on the lake’s surface. There is little to show here for my son’s differences. He is simply one of the guys, enjoying a bit of freedom and fun on a weekend in the Catskills. I scan the lake and the mountains beyond, the grey clouds sitting low in the sky, and think about how remarkable the scene really is — how its very ordinariness is something to celebrate. I take a few more pictures, then leave the boys to their…
Mike Stanton actionforautism.co.uk When I attended the National Autism Society’s first International Autism Conference in London in 2005, I heard Professor David Amaral tell the story of a young man with Asperger Syndrome who visited the MIND Institute at UC Davis. The young man was asked what he would do if they could develop a pill to cure autism. He thought for a while before replying that he would take half the pill. I think this illustrates a real difference within the autism community. There are many who pathologize autism as a disorder that afflicts an otherwise healthy individual. If you hold this idea you naturally look to understand the causes of autism in order to find that “autism pill.” The idea of neurodiversity was developed by autistic people in opposition to the pathologizing model. According to them autistic people are not disordered. They have a different sort of order.…
Kev Leitch www.leftbrainrightbrain.co.uk Its now been nearly seven years since Megan, my eldest daughter, was diagnosed with both autism and a comorbid “severe learning difficulty” (known in the US as mental retardation — it means her measurable IQ is less than 70). Those six years have been a personal journey for me as I first came to terms with Megan’s autism, got lightly involved in the ‘cure autism at all costs’ movement and then as I saw the results (or non results) of this movement, genuinely came to terms with the fact Megan was autistic and got involved in the neurodiversity movement. In those days, 2003, there was very little online regarding autism. No blogs existed that I could find, very few forums and little to no email lists. In order to get your “Google PhD” in those days one had to dig very hard indeed. And boy did I…