Author Archive

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]

on 03/5/12 | 2 Comments | Read More

If I Could Rewrite the DSM-IV Criteria for Autism (Part Two)

Part Two Diagnostic Criteria for 299.00 Autistic Disorder How to Tell Whether Someone is Awe-tistic, Period (I) A total of six (or more) items from (A), (B), and (C), with at least two from (A)...[Read More]

on 11/26/10 | No Comments | Read More

If I Could Rewrite the DSM-IV Criteria for Autism (Part One)

The very idea that autism appears in any book called the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is deeply offensive to me.  When I venture in and try to make sense of the current sp...[Read More]

on 11/26/10 | 1 Comment | Read More

“Impaired” Theory of Whose Mind (ToWM)?

According to most scientific literature, an impaired Theory of Mind (ToM) is a core component of autism.  In his 2001 paper Theory of mind in normal development and autism, Professor Simon Baron-Cohe...[Read More]

on 11/18/10 | 5 Comments | Read More

Call for Submissions: An Anthology of Poetry and Prose by Autistics in Mid-Life

Statement of Purpose I plan to publish an anthology of poetry and prose by people on the autism spectrum, aged 35 and over.  I welcome all pieces of writing about your feelings about being autisti...[Read More]

on 11/12/10 | No Comments | Read More

Ten Questions That Make My Head Hurt

Okay, so I’ve got some questions: 1. Why is it perfectly okay for a child to rock back and forth sitting on a swing, but not rock back and forth sitting on the floor? 2. Why is it perfectly o...[Read More]

on 11/12/10 | 5 Comments | Read More

Neurodiversity, Self-Determination, and the Magic Pill

Every now and then, I get caught up in the whole question of a cure for autism. It’s not that I believe that a cure is possible.  I don’t.  How can you cure who I am and leave me whole?  How...[Read More]

on 11/5/10 | 2 Comments | Read More

Speak Up on November 1st!

On November 1st, people all over the world are being asked to stay off social networking sites as part of a Communication Shutdown.  This initiative is the brainchild of an Australian organization ca...[Read More]

on 10/29/10 | 2 Comments | Read More

Word of Honor

Over at Life in the House that Asperger Built, there’s been a great discussion about what happens in the minds and hearts of those of us on the spectrum when people don’t mean what they say.  On...[Read More]

on 10/15/10 | No Comments | Read More

Grieving the Dream and Living What Is

When I first began delving into the words written by parents of autistic children, I found myself troubled by phrases like “the heartbreak of an autism diagnosis.”  At the time, I was just beginn...[Read More]

on 10/12/10 | 2 Comments | Read More

How I Feel About Those Who Want a Cure

Please be warned:  If you’re hoping for an anti-curebie tirade, you won’t find it in this post.  Likewise, if you’re hoping I’ll say that autism is a disease that must be eradicated, you als...[Read More]

on 10/5/10 | 2 Comments | Read More

Reflections on Being Jewish and Autistic: Different Minorities, Same Critique

For almost two years now, I've become increasingly aware of how other people regard autistics.  As you all know, the news is not altogether good.  As I’ve waded my way through all manner of err...[Read More]

on 09/30/10 | 5 Comments | Read More

Horse-Assisted Therapy and Eye Contact

In the past couple of months, I’ve begun horse-assisted therapy at Miracles in Motion in Keene, NH.  I decided to begin the work after reading about the story of Jaycee Lee Dugard, the California w...[Read More]

on 09/9/10 | No 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]

on 08/27/10 | No 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]

on 08/17/10 | 3 Comments | 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]

on 08/6/10 | 3 Comments | Read More

Embracing the Social Model of Disability

In my last article for The Commons, I wrote about the distance I often feel from the non-autistic world, saying “[I]f you are a typically abled person, we live worlds apart.  You see, I am auti...[Read More]

on 07/22/10 | No Comments | Read More

No More Disorders: Debriefing from DSM Diagnoses

Over the past few months, I’ve found myself moving further and further away from the mental health profession and its view of the world.  It’s always difficult to know how these things begin, esp...[Read More]

on 07/12/10 | 1 Comment | Read More

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