Autism advocates I admire have recently shared their burnout with online followers. These advocates are not seeking sympathy, nor are they wallowing in self-pity. Sadly, they must anticipate negative reactions before taking a break from online and real life activism. I separate online from real life because the online world…
The Autistic Me
In 2011, there were 169 posts to The Autistic Me. That number has steadily declined, by almost half every two years. For 2015, only 17 posts have been composed. The blog started in 2007 and took some time to grow. The blog activity is a feedback loop, or an incentive…
Music is important to me. It’s not quite an obsession, and I’m not a scholar by any means, but music occupies a significant part of my life. When I work at my computer or write at my desk, I like to listen to music. It’s in the background, blocking all…
In response to several queries from friends, a bit more elaboration on my plans. I applied for a number of teaching posts and have now received the standard letters proclaiming an “overwhelming number of highly qualified candidates applied” for each opening. Every two years or so, it seems I’m back…
I completed my doctorate in June 2010. It is now June 2015. Five year after earning the doctorate, there’s little to show for it. I have taught, but at my last post I was not on the tenure track and that is unlikely now. I might be a lecturer or adjunct…
The goal of teaching writing led me to scholarship on technology, design, disability, and economics within composition and rhetoric. Years ago, when I entered graduate school, I imagined helping students and teachers connect via technology. I wanted to study “writing across the curriculum” and online writing labs. These interests led…
Driving has been causing back pain, which leads to headaches, and some of those headaches become migraines. A migraine is not merely a bad headache, either. I don’t mind driving on fairly flat, smooth, un-congested routes. The problem is that the roads where we live go over and around hills.…
If I could, I would write full-time. That is what I want, and what I have dreamed of since first grade: to be a professional writer. Teaching seemed like a good way to support writing. But, no luck with that approach. I’m a good teacher. My reviews state this. My course…
Companies, non-profits, and educational institutions should hire me as a consultant (or others with expertise in accommodations and supports for cognitive difference) because too many organizations do not know how to hire, support, and develop talented people with personality traits outside the accepted norms. Readers of this blog know that…
April compels me to offer my standard reaction to Autism Awareness (Day | Month) and a short thought or two. Reaction: Blah. Thought: Great. We get to endure a month of “inspirational” (sarcasm quotes) stories on families raising autistic children, a few successful autistics will be profiled, and then people…