Autistic students and their parents contact me all-too-often about writing courses at colleges and universities. For some reason, writing pedagogies (the theories and methods instructors embrace) prove particularly problematic for students with disabilities. Writing courses are tailored for the “normal” students, those without any physical, cognitive, or mental health challenges. Much…
The Autistic Me
The situation, which represents at least three or four emails I receive per school year: A student requests exemptions from collaborative assignments and participation grades. The professor declines. Disability studies office asks me what the right solution is to this conflict. More often than I would like, this occurs in…
College and university disability offices often ask me to address the issue of assignment deadlines and test accommodations for autistic students and those with other “invisible” disabilities. Professors and instructors often decline to offer deadline extensions and test accommodations, arguing that such adjustments unfairly benefit students with special needs. If…
Autistics make other people uncomfortable, and we do this almost instantly upon meeting. In my communications classes, I teach about the 50 to 500 milliseconds during which most people develop first impressions. These impressions are difficult, nearly impossible, to counteract with evidence and familiarity. Knowing us doesn’t undo the initial…
Winter is a topic I post on, well, every winter. It is a tough time of year for me, but at least it makes spring and summer all the better. Though I don’t like winter, the reality is I also miss our neighborhood from Minnesota and the trips into Wisconsin.…
“You need to sell yourself as The Autistic Me,” is a refrain colleagues and blog followers have offered throughout the years. I’ve heard this after public speaking engagements and conference appearances. “Market your autistic experiences and expertise.” Though I do not wish to go on tour selling myself as an expert…
We should carefully consider when trying to make everything accessible gets in the way of making things useful. The challenge of designing for equal opportunity and access to information (and entertainment) leads to some choices that impede the reception of important information. The detailed supplemental captions available for some movies…
Here we are at the end of 2017 and the preparations are underway for the previously announced “big changes” for The Autistic Me. Most obvious, the blog is moving. Okay, it has moved but the historical content has yet to be migrated. The full migration of posts will take me several…
The Autistic Me Podcast is coming! My microphone and mixer sit on my desk, waiting for me to record the introductory episode, which I will make available in January if all goes according to plan. The podcast will begin without any guests, but that will change if I can build…
Academic departments in the humanities rarely understand the social impairments of autism. These departments are, by their nature, social places — quite unlike some departments in the STEM disciplines. I’ve blogged repeatedly that STEM fields tolerate introversion and even social awkwardness, but not the humanities. This claim is based not…