Society

The Anthropology of Nerd Societies (II)

Nerds are a phenomenon that results from the structure of Western industrialized civilization. It is in this society that children spend most of their time around other kids in their age group rather ... [Read More]

on 12/29/10 | No Comments | Read More

The Anthropology of Nerd Societies: Formation of New Group Identities Within Industrialized Civilization (I)

It is not uncommon that those immersed in the culture of sci fi and twenty sided dice are subjected to a high degree of skepticism and even outright disgust. It strikes many as strange and even offens... [Read More]

on 12/28/10 | No Comments | Read More

How far can autistic culture develop without excluding neurotypical people? (Redux)

How far can autistic culture develop without excluding neurotypical people? For many years I have been married (to the same guy). It’s obvious to me that we are both on the autistic spectrum, even ... [Read More]

on 12/23/10 | No Comments | Read More

Working

Fargo, North Dakota, August 2163 Like many people these days, Callie Forsyth was a telecommuter. She went to work by means of a virtual reality interface, its precise connections to her brain making ... [Read More]

on 12/15/10 | 2 Comments | Read More

I Am So Not Like the Other Soccer Moms!

Now that my daughter’s high school soccer career has drawn to a close, I’ve had some time to reflect upon the ways in which I fit in—and didn’t fit in—with the other parents. Of course, when... [Read More]

on 12/9/10 | No Comments | Read More

The Blank Exterior

“Don’t be so serious.” “You need to smile more.” Are some of the most annoying and most common admonishments an introvert receives in everyday life. Highly social persons mistake an introver... [Read More]

on 12/9/10 | No Comments | Read More

Permanence

Although we tend to think of ourselves as separate individuals, all that we encounter while going through our lives becomes part of who we are, a process vividly set forth in Rachel Turiel’s art... [Read More]

on 12/8/10 | 4 Comments | Read More

I am made of books (and trillions of microorganisms)

Biologist Lynn Margulis was recently quoted in the New Yorker saying “there is no such thing as an individual. Humans are walking, talking microbial vats. Nearly all the DNA in our bodies belongs to... [Read More]

on 12/7/10 | No 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), and o... [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 split b... [Read More]

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

Bullying (Part 8): Bullying Differences – The Solution

In my previous post, I discussed the problem. It is my opinion (it would by a hypothesis if I had the means and training to test it), that much of bullying based on prejudice stems from systemic flaw... [Read More]

on 11/16/10 | 1 Comment | Read More

Bullying (Part 7): Bullying Differences – The Problem

One of the things that spurred my series on bullying—before the news decided that bullying was a hot issue and before I realized October was Bullying Awareness month—was a post written by Clay. Th... [Read More]

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

The Myth of Extrovert Empathy

Popular belief would have it that being effusively social in nature is to be more empathetic, more in tune with others’ feelings. I would say from personal observation however that the opposite is t... [Read More]

on 11/9/10 | 3 Comments | Read More

Introverts, Asperger’s, Autism

It has occurred to me that many aspies and autists exhibit exaggerated or acute forms of typical introverted traits. In a previous post, I examined the concept of schizoid personality disorder as a w... [Read More]

on 11/4/10 | 5 Comments | Read More

Community over Cacophony: Navigating the Online Autism Community

Dictionary definition: ”Noun: A harsh, discordant mixture of sounds: ‘a cacophony of deafening alarm bells’; ‘a cacophony of architectural styles’.” The online autism community often feel... [Read More]

on 10/19/10 | 3 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. One ... [Read More]

on 10/15/10 | No 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 error ... [Read More]

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

Stand Your Ground

If I may be forgiven a bit of motherly bragging, I’m quite proud of the mature way my daughter handled a recent social situation. As I mentioned in a previous post, she is a college freshman st... [Read More]

on 09/29/10 | 3 Comments | Read More

The Unbroken Spectrum: The Shared Closet

Inveterate list maker Lili Marlene has carved out another instructive subset from her still growing referenced list of now “… 174 famous or important people diagnosed with an autism spectrum ... [Read More]

on 09/17/10 | 1 Comment | Read More

Prickly Ponderings

Although the song “America the Beautiful” praises amber waves of grain, when I was a little girl I wasn’t much impressed by that image and would have preferred a field of blooming thistles inste... [Read More]

on 09/15/10 | 3 Comments | Read More

Why We Fear Passion

We long to feel. This is the irony of a child like mine who feels too much, in a world that is losing its ability to feel at all. Have you noticed that most children have an inborn passion? Even if ... [Read More]

on 09/14/10 | 1 Comment | Read More

What’s Fair Is Fair

As those of her generation are able to do, my mother the other day—with just the slightest stern shake of her head—remarked at “How much has changed,” since I was a child, and even more since ... [Read More]

on 09/10/10 | No 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

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 communicati... [Read More]

on 08/30/10 | 16 Comments | Read More

More Than a Fine Line

“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]

on 08/26/10 | 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 ... [Read More]

on 08/24/10 | 2 Comments | Read More

Inclusive Eating

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 fede... [Read More]

on 08/18/10 | 2 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 of e... [Read More]

on 08/16/10 | 6 Comments | Read More

These Too Shall Pass

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 way... [Read More]

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 cour... [Read More]

on 08/12/10 | 7 Comments | Read More

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