Friends and colleagues often include symbols and acronyms (and symbolic acronyms) within their social media profiles. These letterforms represent shared and self-selected identities. None of them “feel” quite right to me. That’s not a new issue for me, as I have written many times about my ambivalence regarding labels and…
Tag: labels
Podcast 0097; Season 6, Episode 7; 13 December 2022 Meditation, Hypnotherapy, and Spiritual Growth Matthew J. Brownstein is the CEO of Anahat Education Group and the Executive Director of the Institute of Interpersonal Hypnotherapy. Matthew founded the International Association of Interpersonal Hypnotherapists and OnlineMonastery.com where he teaches the Anahat Meditation…
Podcast Episode 0054; Season 04, Episode 18; February 2, 2021 Roy Richard Grinker is a Professor of Anthropology and International Affairs at George Washington University. His books include Unstrange Minds: Remapping the World of Autism. I met Dr. Grinker in May of 2007 while he was promoting Unstrange Minds, my favorite book on autism’s history.…
I was in my late 30s when my diagnoses were altered to include autism. I still don’t know if the diagnosis helped. Maybe it helps others. More often, it simply frustrates me to be so tense and anxious all the time. I would like the world to be quieter, calmer,…
For the 2014-15 academic year, my title will be “Visiting Assistant Teaching Professor of Business Communication.” Reading this long title on my contract, I considered how labels and titles, beyond “disabled” and whatnot, shape how people view us. And so, an analysis: Visiting: not expected to remain; a guest; a…
Scientists are seeking what makes people different, at least genetically. What is done with this information is the realm of ethics and morality, not genetics. I’m autistic or a person with autism or whatever. I don’t care what the label is. I was what I am before the label even…
There is no “right answer” to the following, and generally I don’t think as much about this as others do. I don’t like many of the labels people with ASDs have adopted. I have no idea why, but I don’t care for autie, aspie, aspergian, or several other terms I’ve…
Earlier today I was asked: “May I ask the reason you are even ON an ASD list if you’re so self-sufficient and never need any assistance for anything?” Of course, I’ve never claimed life is a solo project. My presentations begin with a reminder that most successful people depend on…
I was informed recently, “People like you should be progressive Democrats because Republicans don’t care about people.” Activists are always blinded by prejudices… and if you decline to state an affiliation, they assume the “worst” and try to save your political soul. And people wonder why there is so much…
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…