The first autistic lawyer in… The first autistic actor to… The first autistic scientist specializing in… The first autistic…. The moment I read that phrase, I know the rest of the story is sloppy journalism and probably inspiration porn — those feel-good stories about how amazing it is that “someone…
Tag: autism awareness
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…
And here we are again… Autism Awareness Day. My Apple News, Facebook, and Google News feeds all feature a dozen or more stories on autism, from the Struggling Parent profile to the Amazing Aspie interview. There are also familiar names in the media stories, the known people from the autistic…
“You didn’t blog on Autism Awareness day?” No, I did not. I did not post about the pros or the cons or the whatevers of autism awareness. This is my annual call to focus on things other than autism when it comes to autistics and their lives. The point of…
It’s apparently that time of year when we’re expected to increase awareness of autism (which I forgot until Apple posted a video). Yeah, because the millions spent by Autism Speaks, the proliferation of puzzle pieces and ribbons, the endless public service announcements on Internet radio feeds, the countless feel-good “news”…
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…
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…
With Autism Awareness Month beginning, so are the annual debates on various online forums and within the media. For the next month, expect stories on the debates, the controversies, etc. involving autism. On LiveJournal yesterday there were more than 50 posts within a few hours on the puzzle piece icons…
The notion of “neurodiversity” (ND) seems deceptively simple: we should accept that brains are “wired” differently and embrace these differences. Unfortunately, what seems logical and reasonable is far more complex in practice. I know my mind is different. I have a high IQ, which is a positive difference. I have…