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
Anatomy Of An Autistic So it looks as if I have two options. Pass and learn, perfect, the art of being a person I’m not. Or don’t, and let everyone else define me as some entwined version of mo...[Read More]
Julia Bascom on 12/30/11 | 4 Comments | Read More
Anatomy Of A Monster And what none of us passers want to talk about is what our passing does to those who can’t. Passing is necessitated because without it, we would be stuck being a Scary Disabl...[Read More]
Julia Bascom on 12/29/11 | 3 Comments | Read More
Anatomy of an Autistic (III/V)
Anatomy Of A Passing Person Passing is…. Passing is… Well, passing is difficult, first of all. It’s constant anxiety, calculation, cognition, because remember, those of us who pass are ...[Read More]
Julia Bascom on 12/28/11 | 1 Comment | Read More
Anatomy Of A Meltdown My brain likes to alternate between being made of swiss cheese (full of holes to fall in and through and down) and wax (for optimal melting). I have meltdowns a lot, in part b...[Read More]
Julia Bascom on 12/27/11 | 2 Comments | Read More
Writing is a struggle against silence. ~Carlos Fuentes Passing as a non-autistic, passing as neurotypical, means that you never get to actually be human. Be a person. You just learn how to get reall...[Read More]
Julia Bascom on 12/26/11 | No Comments | Read More
When I was a little girl, I was scared. That sentence has taken two months to write. When I was a little girl, I was scared. When I was a little girl, I was a lot of things. I was functionall...[Read More]
Julia Bascom on 12/14/11 | 1 Comment | Read More
Hi. My name is Julia Bascom and I’ve had it easy. I had it easy. What this means is that in fifth grade I was the smartest kid in the class. I also did a lot of hiding under my desk, and I talk...[Read More]
Julia Bascom on 12/12/11 | 1 Comment | Read More
I am autistic. I can talk; I talked to myself for a long time before I would talk to anyone else. My sensory system is a painful mess, my grasp on language isn’t always the best, and it takes me q...[Read More]
Julia Bascom on 11/30/11 | 125 Comments | Read More
Whose Stories Get Told: Regarding Feeling Unsafe In The Glee Fandom
This is the second completed installment of five in the Don’t Give A Damn ‘Bout My Bad Reputation series, the other four of which are Dear Fail!Allies,The Greatest Crime In Television, and even...[Read More]
Julia Bascom on 11/23/11 | No Comments | Read More
Dear Fail!Allies (Don’t Give A Damn ‘Bout My Bad Reputation)
Will I ever stop writing about Glee? Who knows! Not today! I should note that this actually turned out to be the second part of five, not the first of three as I say below. The first part is The G...[Read More]
Julia Bascom on 11/15/11 | No Comments | Read More
Sugar, Self-Diagnosis, Appropriation, And Ableism: So Here’s What You Missed On Glee (pt. 2)
I have four short little stories for you all. One of them is about my brother. Well, my brother and I–we’re both autistic, and neither of us can pass for shit. We might not be identified as a...[Read More]
Julia Bascom on 11/10/11 | 1 Comment | Read More
Sugar, Self-Diagnosis, Appropriation, And Ableism: So Here’s What You Missed On Glee (pt. 1)
Glee is a show whose buzz is owed almost entirely to manufactured controversies. Unfortunately, this latest one is invoking autism, and as an autistic person and fan, I’m weighing in. Again. I’m...[Read More]
Julia Bascom on 11/9/11 | No Comments | Read More
The Greatest Crime In Television (pt. 2)
Stealing a person’s words, their ability to look clearly at something and see it and know that they do, is the smallest and easiest way to kill someone. What I mean is, I say child abuse, and...[Read More]
Julia Bascom on 11/4/11 | No Comments | Read More
The Greatest Crime In Television (pt. 1)
Sometimes I think the greatest crime in television is caring. Giving a damn is already practically illegal anyways, so it makes sense. A lot of the time, in fact, giving a damn is actually more of a ...[Read More]
Julia Bascom on 11/3/11 | No Comments | Read More
1. When I was a little girl, they held my hands down in tacky glue while I cried. 2. I’m a lot bigger than them now. Walking down a hall to a meeting, my hand flies out to feel the textur...[Read More]
Julia Bascom on 10/27/11 | 16 Comments | Read More
It’s a grabbers vs. flappers warzone. On the one side are the flappers. We wave and twist our hands in front of our faces or slap them against our chests. Our heads punctuate our moods and the ...[Read More]
Julia Bascom on 10/27/11 | 1 Comment | Read More
This is a story about disability. This is a story about the politics of drool. This is a lot of things, and maybe you should just read it. 1. So I want you to imagine being born a drooler. ...[Read More]
Julia Bascom on 10/19/11 | 1 Comment | 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
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
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
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
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
Exploring The Social Model: Introduction & Groundwork
The biggest problem I can identify in the conversation about autism today, the issue to which everything seems to boil down to, is the seeming refusal to acknowledge autism as a dis/ability—not a di...[Read More]
Julia Bascom on 07/26/10 | 2 Comments | Read More
So let's talk about the two, interconnected, obligatory buzzwords in the “autistic community” today: “neurodiversity,” and “cure”--specifically, a “cure” for autism. Also addressed w...[Read More]
Julia Bascom on 07/19/10 | 3 Comments | Read More
Differences (moving past a deficit-based model of Autism)
I’ve been doing some reading, on Amanda Baggs’ site, various articles linked to from Neurodiversity, and other random internet ramblings. I’ve been trying to give my internet explorations some...[Read More]
Julia Bascom on 07/15/10 | No Comments | Read More
If there’s one statement that makes my head hurt and my skin feel weird, it’s this: I say something along the lines of, “By the way, I have Asperger’s Syndrome.” They say, “Really? I can...[Read More]
Julia Bascom on 07/5/10 | No Comments | Read More
I am not interested, in this particular post, in explaining why assistance technology and supported daily lives do not detract from independence, or why independence is not necessarily a goal, or why ...[Read More]
Julia Bascom on 06/21/10 | No Comments | Read More
Usually I can go a long and happy time without needing to think about the hypothetical “cure” question. But I’ve had a few disparate thoughts lately, probably because I’ve been taking a cl...[Read More]
Julia Bascom on 06/14/10 | No Comments | Read More
So we’re reading The Speed Of Dark in my sci-fi class next week, and I’m going to be sharing some information about autism. Yays. I’m still scripting various things out, but right now I�...[Read More]
Julia Bascom on 06/7/10 | No 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