January 2012
190 posts
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I have been doing productive things for almost ten hours minus a ten minute lunch break. I can expect at least three more before I sleep.
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Night
It was below freezing when I went out last night. I am the kind of person who wears a full-length, black, leather coat with a cape unselfconsciously. I was warm. Every light on the quad broke around the horn like a bottle of amber liquor shattering, spilling, flying together again. The mouthpiece stayed lukewarm in my pocket as I got the valves dry. Miraphones, once waterlogged, are hard to...
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Autism on the Internet
Of all the personal stories about neurodiversity on Tumblr, I find family ones the most heartwrenching. I watched another parents vs. individuals issue play out here last week wondering if the child will become a teen, find an Internet connection, and call into unknown space hoping for a reply. Will he know what he seeks? Will he be like me, looking for an answer hidden by the adults in his...
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Sawyer Busse: My Life (Part One) →
sawyerbusse:
Don’t read this story, unless to want to hear about my life. But that’s ridiculous.
Hello. My name is Sawyer Busse, and this is the story about my life. The only reason I didn’t put this anywhere else is because I don’t want all of my friends on Facebook to read this, and Twitter has a character…
None of us are “retarded.” You deserve better treatment than...
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School Principal Dives In River To Rescue Autistic... →
ambersstupidshit:
ROCHESTER, N.H. — An elementary school principal in New Hampshire jumped into a frozen river to save a 10-year-old student who fell through the ice.
Firefighters say that because of Principal Gwen Rhodes’ quick action, Andrew Brown was in the Cocheco River for just a few minutes.
He had fallen through the ice Wednesday outside the Gonic School in Rochester.
Rhodes said the...
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"You don't need this junk. You need a cat.":... →
youneedacat:
“For elementary school children on the higher functioning end of the autism spectrum, I usually favor mainstreaming because it is essential for them to learn social skills from typically developing children.”
—Temple Grandin, The Way I See It
[If this is too long for you, scroll down to the…
Today, I am well-dressed after my own sensibilities, slender and fit. I have...
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Perpetually Myself: Roundtable about the past,... →
allies-person:
See Part I and Part II.
An excellent discussion of the issues from Ari Ne’eman, Shannon Des Roches Rosas, Todd Drezner, and Steve Silberman, facilitated by Seth Mnookin. Oh, and John Elder Robison was there, too.
Actually, it’s remarkable how out of step JER was with everyone else in the…
Thank you for sharing. I agree. Robinson is still taking about reshaping...
Anonymous asked: 2/2 I've already explained my own reasoning for tagging things the way I do. People can accept that or not, and at the end of the day we're all entitled to our own opinion. But opinions are like assholes, right? The RULES and FACTS however state that I am in fact allowed to post the way I do. I don't agree with tons of people on Tumblr and all across the world... but as a...
Anonymous asked: 1/2: You haven't seen any of the messages that were sent to me. When I started this blog, my only action was posting about my son. Period. It wasn't against anyone, it was just me, talking about my experiences. That simple, innocent action resulted in profane, threatening, ugly responses from a bunch of profane, threatening, ugly people. I didn't start anything, and I'm not...
idontknowwhowillreadthis asked: you too=] how's it going?
laughingintothefire asked: Looks like it's new. I go up to the area every summer, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed!
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Delayed Gratification
I have spent the last three days doing two weeks worth of political science reading. Why did enlightenment philosophers love run-on sentences? What does Rousseau have against getting to the point? Being able to read preternaturally fast and remember content forever is handy. Using the gift is not always fun. I do it because of my instrument. Around the end of the semester, I play graduations...
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PickleQuack: I'm going to talk to my dad today... →
picklepaigebwah:
I’m pretty sure I, and others, have diagnosed myself pretty well, but I’m not going to go around claiming disability until I have a professional officially diagnose me.
Well, I’m not going to go around claiming disability anyway. The only thing that REALLY disables me is the frequent anxiety…
Good luck. I hope you are seeking a diagnosis from someone who turns out to...
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If you play tuba, like tuba, or random awesome...
Thank you for the tip.
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http://www.squag.com/ →
evolvingwithautism:
[skwag] is an innovative social platform designed specifically for tweens and teens on the autism spectrum.
The median age here is closer to twenty than twelve. Some of the people you antagonize are middle-aged, working parents. As often as parents claim we judge you without knowing your situation, you must understand why it bothers us to be so treated. At nineteen,...
"A Different Ability": "This Is For My Mommy" TW... →
parenting-autism:
iamthethunder:
parenting-autism:
iamthethunder:
parenting-autism:
iamthethunder:
parenting-autism:
Hello, my name is Brandon - I am 6 years old and this is for my mommy. When I was not very old my mommy would hug me a lot and I did not like it, and sometimes I would cry, but she would still hug me. When I would get hurt she would kiss my boo-boo’s, and I did not...
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Someone I know apparently has his tuba in the shop because he fell over drunk on it. *Sigh* If you will be drinking to the point of passing out in the vicinity of your instrument, put it somewhere safe.
"A Different Ability": "This Is For My Mommy" TW... →
parenting-autism:
iamthethunder:
parenting-autism:
iamthethunder:
parenting-autism:
Hello, my name is Brandon - I am 6 years old and this is for my mommy. When I was not very old my mommy would hug me a lot and I did not like it, and sometimes I would cry, but she would still hug me. When I would get hurt she would kiss my boo-boo’s, and I did not like that either, but she…
I like some...
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"A Different Ability": "This Is For My Mommy" TW... →
parenting-autism:
iamthethunder:
parenting-autism:
Hello, my name is Brandon - I am 6 years old and this is for my mommy. When I was not very old my mommy would hug me a lot and I did not like it, and sometimes I would cry, but she would still hug me. When I would get hurt she would kiss my boo-boo’s, and I did not like that either, but she…
I like some of what you say, but it bothers me...
I need to stop arguing and go to my rehearsal.
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"A Different Ability": "This Is For My Mommy" TW... →
parenting-autism:
Hello, my name is Brandon - I am 6 years old and this is for my mommy. When I was not very old my mommy would hug me a lot and I did not like it, and sometimes I would cry, but she would still hug me. When I would get hurt she would kiss my boo-boo’s, and I did not like that either, but she…
I like some of what you say, but it bothers me that you write from his...
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gifoverit:
Would anybody want to join a private #actuallyautistic facebook group?
I would.
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Handwriting
They gave up trying to make me write when I was eight. Pairing autism and dyslexia apparently makes for disastrous handwriting. Four years of typing lessons were written into my IEP. I tried to forget sobbing over books with letter shapes drawn out in dashed lines I could not follow, wanting to be a good kid, do what the others did, and make my parents proud, always failing.
At eighteen, I saw...
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Fact: White students receive more scholarship... →
Do minority students get more than a fair share of college scholarships? That myth reared its head earlier this year after a Texas nonprofit, the Former Majority Association for Equality announced plans to give scholarships only to white males. The group claimed that white males are disadvantaged because they don’t “fit into certain categories or ethnic groups.” So Mark Kantrowitz, publisher...
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DSM Change
If this post seems rambling or disorganized, so are my thoughts. First, I question the source. Did they ask anyone on the spectrum about new criteria? How do they determine accuracy in something so subjective? To what extent is a group of people bound by their own ways arbitrarily delineating normality? Homosexuality was an entry until the 1970’s. This is some protection against one...
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Update
This week has been a massive upheaval for me with arguments, opportunities, and seismic shifts in my plans for the future. Why would my life be upended at any other time than the first week of the semester? As a consequence, and due to my strategy of front-loading reading assignments, I was otherwise occupied. Now, I can post more.
Austin talking in all caps: Worse than SOPA;... →
private-revolution:
helvetii:
There is a new bill that is making it’s way through Congress right now that pales in comparison to SOPA.
This Bill Entitled “The Protecting Children from Internet Pornographers Act of 2011” Is a Bill with overly broadened language that greatly threatens…
Will they ever quit?
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deliciously-malicious:
“It’s SO pretty (referring to a tuba)! Just like you!”
Band kid compliments. Gotta love ‘em.
A guy at an audition once flirted with me by complimenting the horn’s rotary valves. He had me figured out.
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Anonymous asked: A couple questions: First, imagine you are in a relationship and were expecting your first child. The doctor gives you an option to have your child be born with Autism or without Autism. Which would you choose, and why? Second question... I notice that you seem to view the use of "treatment" and "symptoms" in a negative light. Exactly why is that? A common...
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Autism Speaks Annual Report Part IV (Money)
The independent auditor’s report listed their assets, what they own, as just over $20.7 million, slightly more than they had in 2009. Their liabilities, things they are obligated to do that will cost them money, are just over $6.6 million.
Under their sources of revenue, the presence of government grants is particularly disconcerting. The other items on the list are the fundraising...
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Autism Speaks Annual Report Part III
The “Government Relations” section beginning on page sixteen is somewhat less problematic. Autism Speaks has supported efforts to legally require insurance companies to fund autism therapies. Where behavioral therapies are not abusively administered, they may benefit the recipients. Here is a map of their progress:
There were other endeavors to change legislation, some of...
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Autism Speaks Annual Report Part II
This heading appears in the midst of several more pages in the medical model vein:
Autistic people who consider their differences an integral part of their personalities will bristle at the phrase “collection of symptoms.” The next heading is problematic, setting up the notion of becoming allistic as possibility and goal:
They go on to describe the specific nature of research...
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Autism Speaks Annual Report Part I
Rose is right. If someone is a threat to one’s well-being, one wants to know what they are doing. I offer a breakdown of Autism Speaks’ 2010 financial statement, posted here, for the edification of their critics.
The information beings on page five, after the introductory letters and graphics, with a comparison of autism to fatal disease:
Beside the grid, the reader will see the...
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Law School
For those of you who are new, I plan to be an attorney. I want to help families write IEPs, see that kids have a chance in the public schools, and charge on a sliding scale. That means I need to get into law school, get through it, and get out with little enough debt to be able to afford to work for what ordinary people can afford to pay. I am doing this as an openly autistic person. I know it...
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Girl and the Bunny people: My mom's boyfriend is... →
thebunnypeople:
He made the automatic assumption that my autistic younger brother is going to get a butcher knife and kill us while we’re sleeping at night just because there’s the possibility that he “might snap.”
He’s so stupid. Luis is not violent at all. He has his feelings and frustrations like everyone…
The idea that people with mental illness are more violent than the general...
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Evolving With Autism: Autism Speaks? →
evolvingwithautism:
Well I might as well jump into what is apparently a pretty controversial topic amongst people with an interest in Autism discussions; Autism Speaks.
I first came across Autism Speaks during my regular web searches for Autism-related information. What I saw was an organization that provides…
evolvingwithautism:
Well I might as well jump into what is apparently a...
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Calling Out Injustice
TW violence, child-murder, ableism, r-
My mother was infuriated this morning when I used the word “lie.” Someone appeared to be doing just that. She said it was worse than the words I try to censor in my half-hearted attempts to make Traveling Show seem professional. She said I was making a terrible accusation and only God can be the judge. I would love to abandon that word, but...
I feel like I need to write a "history of IQ...
ickyharry:
y/n?
Anyone already written it?
That seems unfair. IQ tests are a very accurate measure of something: whether one is standing under most of society’s privilege umbrellas or only a few and whether one is able to exhibit a select set of qualities and skills on command, and understand those commands, under the conditions in which the test was administered on a given day. Make...
