As a professor, sometimes I am faced with conflicting impulses: positive advocacy vs. negative reality. Like many advocates, I wish to remind people that most autistics are not violent, bullies, or any more risky than other people in classrooms or workplaces. If anything, people with special needs are more likely…
Category: Advocacy
Posts on advocacy, including organizations and public policy.
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…
Last night I appeared at the Adults with AS Support Group in St. Cloud, MN. This is a group open to anyone in Minnesota. The Web address for the group is: http://www.aspergerssupportnetwork.org I am of mixed views on support groups, both traditional groups and online groups. The groups are great…
I’ll be speaking at the St. Cloud, MN, public library December 3, 2009, at 7:30 p.m. The topic will be adults with autism spectrum disorders. The sponsor is the Asperger’s Support Network, online at: http://www.aspergerssupportnetwork.org/ The event is free and the ASN meets on a regular basis to support individuals…
While working on the research for my dissertation, I have read page after page on writing pedagogy asserting that the goal of a university writing course should be to teach students that knowledge is socially constructed and that “truth” is relative to culture and community. The problem with this assertion…
I’m definitely leaving any and all cognitive research related to autism behind after 2010. I’m shifting back towards creative writing and, hopefully, new media rhetoric. I’m hoping to find a university where I can work on my poetry, scripts, and novels. Research is interesting, but the public conflict isn’t. (If…
The following is the latest in a sudden “bubble” of stories about autism and access to spaces: churches, schools, and now airplanes. I have kept only the major sections of the story and suggest reading the ABC report. Autistic Boy and Mom Kicked Off PlaneMother Says Flight Crew Should Have…
[NOTE: Discontinued this effort after 2010] It’s currently 1:30 a.m. and I’m typing this without the ability to view it well. For some reason, my vision — literally overnight — went blurry. I can see the shapes of things, but not definite lines. I have to close my left eye…
I recently spoke at the Autism Society of Minnesota. It was a good experience, overall, and I think the audience enjoyed the presentation. When I speak, I never know how well things went, but my wife noticed the comments people made because she was sitting in the audience. AuSM has…
“Did you know Bill Gates and Tim Burton are probably on the spectrum?” Only a mental health professional has the right to “diagnose” somebody else — and only when that person is a patient. Of course, a doctor would have to adhere to confidentiality standards. Can we please stop such…