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
When Objects Resonate with Memory
Over at Kitaiska Sandwich, Sarah has a great post about the upset that her autistic son feels when things get broken or spilled. In reflecting upon the reasons for M’s upset, she finds that his ...[Read More]
Rachel Cohen-Rottenberg on 03/31/11 | 1 Comment | Read More
All of a sudden everyone's talking about the issue of employment and Asperger Syndrome, a subject which I wrote about last year in my book, Asperger's on the Job. People on the spectrum make great emp...[Read More]
Rudy Simone on 03/31/11 | No Comments | Read More
Review: All Cats Have Asperger Syndrome
Both my children are on the autism spectrum. Since my son Nicholas is almost twelve and higher functioning professionals who meet him for the first time always assume he has Asperger Syndrome. ...[Read More]
Guest on 03/31/11 | No Comments | Read More
How To Have A Successful Relationship When One Or Both Partners Has Aspergers
Of course it is possible to be on the autism spectrum, or to be in love with someone on the spectrum and have a happy, successful love life. However, while all relationships are complex, there are u...[Read More]
Rudy Simone on 03/31/11 | 1 Comment | Read More
Popular actress Kate Winslet has announced that she is writing a book to promote autism awareness and to raise money for an autism charity she founded, the Golden Hat Foundation. The book will featur...[Read More]
Gwen McKay on 03/30/11 | No Comments | Read More
While introverts do not like to constantly interact with people they strongly gravitate towards observing others. Watching intently what people do in crowds or social situations demands no input f...[Read More]
Zygmunt on 03/28/11 | No Comments | Read More
From the Link Cellar This Week
Fresh, resurrected, or newly discovered links from across the internet and the dusty reaches of Shift Journal's archives. • • • • • • • via Steve Silberman on Twi...[Read More]
Mark Stairwalt on 03/28/11 | No Comments | Read More
Theories of Autism: Lessons from Dr. House
I've just been watching House. I say watching. To be honest, the details of this week's plot passed me by as I was trying to follow it whilst simultaneously eating my dinner and having a conver...[Read More]
Guest on 03/25/11 | 3 Comments | Read More
We’ve all seen it happen many times on the Internet. People with similar interests get together and form a community, sharing their ideas on how to change the world. They find solidarity, friendsh...[Read More]
Gwen McKay on 03/23/11 | 3 Comments | Read More
One might recall how multiple choice tests were graded back in school. The teacher would take a card with holes punched in the appropriate places and lay it over each test sheet. Then each test woul...[Read More]
Zygmunt on 03/21/11 | No Comments | Read More
From the Link Cellar This Week
Fresh, resurrected, or newly discovered links from across the internet and the dusty reaches of Shift Journal's archives. • • • • • • • via Steve Silberman on Twi...[Read More]
Mark Stairwalt on 03/21/11 | No Comments | Read More
It turns out that last Friday's post on Dan Haggard's in-depth movie review The Social Network, the End of Intimacy, and the Birth of Hacker Sensibility went up one day shy of a year since I wrote abo...[Read More]
Mark Stairwalt on 03/18/11 | 3 Comments | Read More
When M was two, a spilled glass of water could send him into a meltdown. We didn’t have a diagnosis yet, and this behavior was one of the early red flags. His response to a spill (or an object...[Read More]
Sarah Schneider on 03/17/11 | 1 Comment | Read More
My daughter went back to college on Sunday at the end of her spring break, after complaining at great length—both on her Facebook page and to anyone who would listen in real life—that it had been ...[Read More]
Gwen McKay on 03/16/11 | 2 Comments | Read More
Wandering: A Dangerous New Proposal
Last week, the ICD-9-CM Coordination and Maintenance Committee met to discuss the future of medical coding in the United States. The ICD-9-CM stands for the International Classification of Diseases, N...[Read More]
Guest on 03/14/11 | 4 Comments | Read More
“I hate to say it but my 11 year old nephew is a real nerd. He had NO Friends at all and really does not talk to anyone other than his teachers. He used to be a friendly little boy but liked t...[Read More]
From the Link Cellar This Week
Fresh, resurrected, or newly discovered links from across the internet and the dusty reaches of Shift Journal's archives. • • • • • • • via Steve Silberman on Twi...[Read More]
Mark Stairwalt on 03/14/11 | 1 Comment | Read More
Friendship, Intimacy, the Autistic Cohort, and The Social Network
There is a stemwinder of a review of Aaron Sorkin's film The Social Network that surfaced this week at Hacker News, one which manages to weave in many of the themes treated here at Shift by various co...[Read More]
Mark Stairwalt on 03/11/11 | 4 Comments | Read More
The news about my oven is not all stinky, I’m glad to report. I bought a new pair of cloth oven mitts, which arrived in the mail last week. While this may seem a trivial everyday purchase, it wasn...[Read More]
Gwen McKay on 03/9/11 | No Comments | Read More
One cannot read Walden and be in doubt that its author is a true introvert. Alone much of the time in his small, secluded cottage, Henry David Thoreau used his distance from society to engage in cont...[Read More]
Zygmunt on 03/7/11 | No Comments | Read More
From the Link Cellar This Week
Fresh, resurrected, or newly discovered links from across the internet and the dusty reaches of Shift Journal's archives. • • • • • • • via Steve Silberman on Twi...[Read More]
Mark Stairwalt on 03/7/11 | No Comments | Read More
The Misleading Nature of the Deficit Model
Those who danced were thought to be quite insane by those who could not hear the music. —Angela Monet I’ve never been shy about my feelings concerning the deficit model of autism. I object ...[Read More]
Rachel Cohen-Rottenberg on 03/4/11 | 2 Comments | Read More
Last week I stunk up my kitchen and house by letting the oven go too long without being cleaned. I had noticed in December that it was starting to get dirty, but I thought it could wait for a day wa...[Read More]
Gwen McKay on 03/2/11 | 5 Comments | 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