One of my personality quirks is that I like clear delineation of my space in the world. I don’t like fuzzy barriers between the bits of the world I occupy and the rest of (human) world. I don’t mind if my yard leads into a forest. That’s great. But I do…
Category: General
General topics.
This is why I haven’t been blogging a lot this summer (2014). I’ve been working on several new plays… A NEW DEATH A World Premiere By C.S. Wyatt Directed By Kaitlin Kerr Assistant Directed By Sarah McPartland Presented by Throughline Theatre Company July 18 – July 26,…
As a creative writer, I find that a handful of autism advocates dismiss the creativity of HFA/AS individuals as evidence that artists are not really autistic. These critics suggest that the savants with autism are genuine, but not those of us with careers. Yesterday, I ran across yet another mention…
I don’t generally speak of it, but driving on the shortest Interstate between Pittsburgh and our house upsets me most times. But, it saves about 20 minutes if I’m in a hurry to get home. I need to decide between the emotional stress, the memories it triggers, and the convenience…
Every few months, online or in real (physical) life, I hear the skeptical, questioning, puzzled phrase, “You’re not autistic. You can’t be.” I’ve addressed the question here many times, and I still lack a single good response. The “positive” versions: Because you are successful, self-expressive, driven, and have a career,…
My wife and I like to take walks along the main street (actually, Third Street) of the nearby township. It is something out of a movie — even the park gazebo was donated to the community after a film wrapped. My wife said last night that the village across the…
April is autism something-or-other month, depending on whom you ask. It’s all about “acceptance” or “awareness” or “diversity” or “celebration” or “pride” — and I’m sure a few other concepts. To this, I respond with a busy, preoccupied, “Whatever.” I get that people want to find support, inspiration, connections, and…
Solebon [http://www.solebon.com] was the best solitaire game for the Palm OS. When I migrated to an iPod Touch, I was thrilled when Solebon was ported to my new PDA platform. Now, with Solebon on my iPhone and iPad, I play several games a day. My favorites remain the traditional Klondike…
In January, 2014, I was elected to the board of directors for the Advisory Board on Autism and Related Disorders (ABOARD), Autism Connection of Pennsylvania. For information about ABOARD’s Autism Connection services, visit http://autism-support.org/. [Now https://autismofpa.org/.] Readers know that I’m not a rally or march type of activist. My activism is…
I thought this new study was interesting because it reveals that the instruments (“tests”) used to evaluate individuals for autism differ in quality. Some work reasonably well, while others should either be revised or abandoned. The instruments tested were those administered by caregivers, not researchers or clinicians. That means these…