Neurodiversity and social change
your dreams will be reduced down to breathing, and you will be grateful
The thing about not-being-a-person is: They will say those people and the price of being a person is to nod and agree that yes, those people aren’t people at all. They will have no idea who they are talking to. You yourself will start to forget, too. They will say a million small things that sow the seeds for violence done against you, and you will smile and let them. You will do math, constantly. How much do I want to be a person today? How much do I want this project to succeed? How much honesty can I afford? How much dishonesty will kill me? What is the cost of coming out? Is there a way to delay, soften, transmute? How long can I survive as half a person? Ever since the world ended ... I don't go out as much. People that I once befriended, just don't bother to stay in touch. Things that used to seem so splendid, don't really matter today. It's just as well the world ended -- it wasn't working anyway. Your dreams will be reduced down to breathing. [Read More]
Julia Bascom on 03/5/12 | 2 Comments | Read More
Exploring The Social Model: Self-Determination
Autists are dis/abled. As such, our needs are not met in a neurotypical world, our human rights and freedoms are denied, and participation in the world (socialization, work, college, even communi...[Read More]
Julia Bascom on 08/30/10 | 16 Comments | Read More
On Puzzles, Privilege, and Missing Pronouns
When I read blogs by the parents of autistic children, I often happen across the puzzle metaphor. It finds its way into statements such as “My autistic daughter is such a puzzle” or “We’re s...[Read More]
Rachel Cohen-Rottenberg on 08/27/10 | No Comments | Read More
“Men who leave their mark on the world are very often those who, being gifted and full of nervous power, are at the same time haunted and driven by a dominant idea, and are therefore within a measur...[Read More]
Lili Marlene on 08/26/10 | 1 Comment | Read More
Wealth, Power, and the Future Thereof
Can American democracy survive what seems to be an alarming concentration of wealth and power? That's a question often asked nowadays, as statistics show that income inequality has become much more ...[Read More]
Gwen McKay on 08/25/10 | 1 Comment | Read More
On a Countdown and Deeper Thoughts on the Autism Box People Make
It's winking, don't you think? Or it forgot to put makeup on one side; that's what this sunflower makes me think. So, I thought I'd share it. One week and the girls return to school. Okay, one ...[Read More]
KWombles on 08/24/10 | 2 Comments | Read More
So I’m back in Lifeskills for a few weeks, hanging with my favorite AAC-using kids, and it’s got me thinking about the nature of intelligence and intellectual disability. And so I will ramble an...[Read More]
Julia Bascom on 08/23/10 | No Comments | Read More
“Then she led Psyche into a great chamber heaped high with mingled grain, beans, and lintels (the food of her doves), and bade her separate them all and have them ready in seemly fashion by night. �...[Read More]
Mark Stairwalt on 08/20/10 | No Comments | Read More
My children want you to know that being of few words does not mean being of little intelligence. My children want you to know that being socially awkward doesn't mean they cannot be wonderful, kind...[Read More]
Reporting from Satire City, USA, August 2110 Advocates of inclusive eating celebrated a success today when the President signed into law the Inclusion of Disordered Eaters Act, which will provide f...[Read More]
Gwen McKay on 08/18/10 | 2 Comments | Read More
Am I More Than My Autism? I Refuse to Answer the Question
I've recently read two articles in which mothers of autistic children wrote that their children are “more than their autism.” Something about this assertion has been bothering me, and I want to ex...[Read More]
Rachel Cohen-Rottenberg on 08/17/10 | 3 Comments | Read More
Human Rights And Neurodiversity
Today was supposed to be about equality, as part of a series on Exploring The Social Model, but in light of recent readings and discussions, it seems that a necessary prerequisite to a discussion o...[Read More]
Julia Bascom on 08/16/10 | 6 Comments | Read More
Over at Welcome to Normal, in a comments guideline that is a gem of brevity Caitlin Wray asks that commenters “Tackle issues, not people.” What I’d like to do here is remind that time has a wa...[Read More]
Mark Stairwalt on 08/13/10 | 5 Comments | Read More
Be the Change: How to Shift Autism into the Mainstream
I have a neighbour who can’t say "autism." Both of us having two young kids, we had a casual chat on the lawn the other day as neighbours often do, about the usual stuff. Except of course, the ...[Read More]
Guest on 08/12/10 | 7 Comments | Read More
My daughter, who isn't likely to get the GMC Terrain she's been obsessing about because my husband has decided he wants to buy a Chevy Volt and save the planet, is now a college freshman. She moved ...[Read More]
Gwen McKay on 08/11/10 | 4 Comments | Read More
You will have to excuse me, I’ve been out of sorts lately. The tide has gone out and I’m feeling all washed up. As I wait to pick up the kids in the car I slip into sleep-deprived but not tired...[Read More]
Lili Marlene on 08/10/10 | 2 Comments | Read More
This post is about pigeon holes. I have AS. I am in the process of being re-diagnosed as HFA, or Autism Spectrum Disorder, or whatever it will wind up being called on my chart given the changing te...[Read More]
Julia Bascom on 08/9/10 | 1 Comment | Read More
Disabilism and the Demonization of Autistic Children
This is what we know, when you tell us of your fondest hopes and dreams for us: that your greatest wish is that one day we will cease to be, and strangers you can love will move in behind our faces. ...[Read More]
Rachel Cohen-Rottenberg on 08/6/10 | 3 Comments | Read More
I have a potted plant in my dining room that mysteriously started losing its leaves sometime last year. As far as I know, it always had been watered regularly and given the proper amount of fertiliz...[Read More]
Gwen McKay on 08/4/10 | 4 Comments | Read More
Exploring The Social Model: Accessibility
“Similarly, we have no concept in our current jurisprudence or our medicine, of what is normal for an autistic person. When we seek to educate and improve the quality of life for persons ...[Read More]
Julia Bascom on 08/2/10 | 1 Comment | Read More
Autism has been here all along.
Considered as an evolutionary condition with far-reaching social implications, its full presence and impact remain hidden in plain sight, unrecognized and uncredited.
Part neurological mystery, part social construct, and part secret society unbeknownst even to its own members, autism does not lend itself to explanation by those who hold it apart from society, from themselves, or from consciousness itself. Definitions are revised, overhauled, and abandoned all while efforts to explore and examine this condition on its own terms are only now gaining momentum.
Shift Journal aims to showcase and encourage such efforts. Entertaining the notion of autistic as a legitimate way to be in the world, from the crossroads of theory, society, and personal experience, Shift welcomes relevant contributions from all comers.
Mark Stairwalt
Editor and Publisher
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Shift Journal founder Andrew Lehman's groundbreaking cross-disciplinary work Evolution, Autism, and Social Change draws from evolutionary biology, neuro-psychology and related fields to outline an evolutionary process complementary to natural selection that may explain some forms of autism as well as -- and perhaps more importantly -- long-term shifts in large-scale social structure. Download or purchase Evolution, Autism, and Social Change here.
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In a world which relentlessly demands practical advice for day-to-day, Shift Journal remains focused on promoting reflection and discovery. Readers however who are seeking useful information and how-to guidance assembled by a down-to-earth, conscientious and scientifically literate crew who once sought such information themselves and found it difficult to come by may find The Thinking Person's Guide to Autism to be just what they are looking for:
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New or established writers wishing to contribute original or previously published posts may use the submissions page or contact us directly.
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Autism and Empathy Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism Neurodivergent Sexuality Just Stimming Autistic Passing Project