We have reached the two-year anniversary of our family’s COVID-19 lockdown. World events have largely overshadowed the pandemic. We’re safe at home, as we have been for 24 months. Watching events in Ukraine unfold, it would be incredibly self-centered to whine about anything we’ve experienced. Sometimes we need to step…
Category: News
News reports and research publications related to autism, Neurodiversity, and issues of importance to autistics.
The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a data analysis on December 3, 2021, suggesting 1 in 44 children are categorized as autistic by age eight in the United States. Is the 2.3 percent rate accurate nationally, using current diagnostic instruments? These data present a curious question: Why…
Podcast Episode 0068, Season 04, Episode 32; 17 August 2021 Another rant on pandemic parenting? Absolutely. I’m exhausted. My wife is exhausted. If people don’t come to their senses I’ll be podcasting about the COVID-19 pandemic for another full year. Somehow I’ve managed to record 68 episodes of The Autistic Me…
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is an ineffective family of “therapies” with a dark, disturbing origin, which I’ve written about several times. Notice that ABA is not named Applied Behavior Therapy. It’s not what I’d consider therapy and it isn’t really presented to parents and caregivers as therapy. Mental health therapies help…
Podcast Episode 0057; Season 04, Episode 21; February 23, 2021 Quoting from the Autistic Self Advocacy Network: Disability Community Day of Mourning In the past five years, over 700 people with disabilities have been murdered by their parents. Every year on March 1, the disability community gathers across the nation to remember…
Podcast 0053; Season 04, Episode 17; January 26, 2021 Autism encompasses social and physical disabilities. Traits become disabilities when they limit “normal” daily routines and life activities. My sensory sensitivities exist whether or not I interact with other people. I’m not going to cope well with bright light (including sunlight) or…
I constantly stumble over the past in may daily life. A sound, an image, or even a smell might trigger a traumatic memory. The memories might be external, things that weren’t personal to me — national or global events that continue to bother me. I live in a comfortable, safe,…
Autism Awareness Day is April 2, and April is Autism Awareness Month. The day and month are a big deal for Autism Speaks and the Autism Society of America. Normally, these organizations receive a lot of media attention. In response, some autistic-led groups are usually asked for comment and some…
We closed on the sell of our house in Pennsylvania this week, so now our Texas reset is focused on touching up our new home and completing tasks locally. I have been sick (as has my wife) for the last two weeks. We’ve moved on from a basic cold to…
“Her Asperger’s is a superpower.” “His chronic illness brings clarity.” And so it goes…. The Shiny Aspie. The Dying Prophet. The Super Crips, here to save humanity. The last two weeks have featured a series of stories on these disabled advocates, who are not all disabilities advocates. And then we…