With Autism Awareness Month beginning, so are the annual debates on various online forums and within the media. For the next month, expect stories on the debates, the controversies, etc. involving autism. On LiveJournal yesterday there were more than 50 posts within a few hours on the puzzle piece icons…
Month: March 2010
Many of the conferences I attend use “presentation stands” with secured computers. These systems are usually Windows PCs with a USB port for transferring files. (Yes, that’s asking for viruses.) The Autism Society of America has said they want presenters to upload files as PowerPoint slides, asking that the provided…
ABC News offers the following: Autism Genes: Better Test May Help Screen Causes – ABC News I always find myself torn with stories like this. The part of me that embraces science would prefer scientific ways to diagnose individuals and count autism rates. Yet, I also wonder what becomes of…
The notion of “neurodiversity” (ND) seems deceptively simple: we should accept that brains are “wired” differently and embrace these differences. Unfortunately, what seems logical and reasonable is far more complex in practice. I know my mind is different. I have a high IQ, which is a positive difference. I have…
I am somehow on a “Generation Rescue” mailing list. I have no idea how this happened, but it means I am learning just want the snake oil industry is pitching to parents: Children’s Liver Restorative Kit The foundation for any detox program is the body’s hardest working organ – the…
I had a student this week who mentioned her ten-year high school reunion was approaching. Was asked if I went to mine. Nope. No reunions, no proms, no formal dances. No grad party. “Did you do college commencement at least?” Nope. Not USC, not CSUF, and not UMN. “Wow. Don’t…
I was watching a television spot that included the line, “She still has hope an employer will call.” Hope is passive. It should never be the only approach to a problem. Hope is not a strategy. I understand the role of hope and optimism. Every time I send a portfolio…