Whether I consider my oddities “autistic” or “birth trauma” (I vote for “complex entry into life”), I am certainly not normal. My wife will attest to this. Parents of special education students ask if I would want to be “cured” of my oddities. This question is one with which I…
Tag: autism
My original intention was to seek a doctorate to develop better digital writing tools for students, without specializing in autism or other special needs. Right now, it seems I’m heading towards disabilities and writing. I wish I could educate far more teachers on developmental disorders and brain injuries so we…
“Did you know Bill Gates and Tim Burton are probably on the spectrum?” Only a mental health professional has the right to “diagnose” somebody else — and only when that person is a patient. Of course, a doctor would have to adhere to confidentiality standards. Can we please stop such…
Thursday I was fortunate enough to attend a Minnesota Public Radio forum on autism with Prof. Roy Richard Grinker, one of America’s leading anthropologists and the grandson of one of our greatest psychiatric minds. I won’t pitch Grinker’s book Unstrange Minds, beyond writing that anyone interested in autism and the…
I was reading LiveJournal today, the Asperger’s Syndrome community, and encountered the recurring topic: “I’m an Aspie, but my therapist denies it.” Okay, I’m not a therapist, but I’m about to play one online. (That’s sarcasm.) Self-diagnoses can be valid. They can be necessary when you need to start on…
Though the autistic label is fairly new, I have been labeled many things in the past. As I think about the past and present experiences, I realize that including bits and pieces from my evaluation in the book I’m completing will help others with similar experiences. I know I am…