We rely a lot on the reliability of various Internet service providers. We expect our broadband service to function at a reasonable speed every minute of every day. We expect any “essential” services for our businesses to be online and functioning. When Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, or any other…
The Autistic Me
Time for my annual rejection of Autism Awareness Day and Month. No thank you, we’re all overly “aware” of autism. There are puzzle-piece car magnets and bumper stickers in the parking lot I use at the university. Local businesses have the “light it up blue” posters in their windows. Local…
As a blogger and podcaster, I missed most of February and March of 2019. This academic year has overwhelmed me physically and emotionally, and I admit I’m not up to the workload required of a full-time instructor with 140 students. The expectation that college writing instructors can and should have…
Podcast Episode 0025; Season 02, Episode 14; February 26, 2019 Unabridged Press is changing media for good (double meaning intended), expanding and elevating digital media, first, and primarily by creating high-quality audio podcasts about topics, people, and places previously underrepresented. A respect for the environment, investors, work partners, and society…
Podcast Episode 0027; Season 02, Episode 13; February 8, 2019 Too often I hear people suggest that education, especially higher education, is somehow the ideal career path for autistics. It might be good for some, but education has proven to be an impossible path for me. If I had focused on…
Podcast Episode 0026; Season 02, Episode 12; January 22, 2019 Daniel Sansing discusses his interest in writing and communication theories. Sansing studies academic composition and teaching composition courses. The myth that autistics are only concrete thinkers dismisses the uniqueness of individuals. Yes, some of us are concrete thinkers… and we can…
Sorting through messages I receive on Facebook, yet another asked if my wife and I have a normal marriage. This is a question to which I’m expanding the answer in A Spectrum of Relationships (ideally for later this year). Questions about relationships dominate when I address groups and are the…
Podcast Episode 0025; Season 02, Episode 11; January 15, 2019 We have a backlog of podcasts to transcribe and post to the blog, but for now I wanted to get back on track for the new year. Welcome to 2019 and the second half of season two. Transcript (lightly edited)…
The autistic me is the disabled me. Last week, I sat for an interview conducted by a graduate student interested in autistic adults and our educational experiences. The interview offered a chance to reflect on how different communities understand the label “autistic.” I also reflected on the nature of disability…
Writing is how I relate to myself and to others. Writing has been a part of my life since at least the second grade when I started to make little books and write short stories. I tried to start a novel in the fifth grade, which I still dream of…