tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8353442983052145851.post6070377382177785730..comments2024-03-14T18:26:18.208-07:00Comments on autism's gadfly: email exchange with jypsyjonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14972394536850151087noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8353442983052145851.post-44259541129161649552008-01-22T08:14:00.000-08:002008-01-22T08:14:00.000-08:00Jonathan, I, too, have thought that the definition...Jonathan, I, too, have thought that the definition of neurodiversity meant that there was no disability, and that many autistics did not want a cure because of it. The reason I thought this was that it is written this way in Wikipedia. Here is a quote from them.<BR/><BR/>"Neurodiversity is an idea that asserts that atypical (neurodivergent) neurological development is a normal human difference that is to be tolerated and respected as any other human difference.[1] The concept of neurodiversity is embraced by some autistic individuals and people with related conditions, who believe that autism is not a disorder, but a part of their identity, so that curing autistic people would be the same as destroying their original personalities. Proponents prefer the term over such labels as "abnormal" and "disabled"."<BR/><BR/>I have been reading various blogs and books from different autistics, trying to understand how autistics think and feel about their differences. I can see from your discussions with Michelle and Jypsy, that you all have different viewpoints on this.<BR/><BR/>I want to say I appreciate each and every one who is expressing their thoughts and feelings on this subject.<BR/><BR/>I do remember that you expressed some of these thoughts to me almost 4 years ago at the Unlocking Autism meeting in DC.<BR/><BR/>Thank you, and best wishes!<BR/>KarenAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8353442983052145851.post-26304209655179160072008-01-21T18:46:00.000-08:002008-01-21T18:46:00.000-08:00Hi John thanks for your comment. I went back to t...Hi John thanks for your comment. I went back to the book store and re-read your book and I could not find any blanket statement that you made about the wants of autistic people. I did not re-read the whole book, so maybe i was mistaken about that, idon't know. What i read that you did say was that there was no cure for asperger's and that there did not need to be one. Though I disagree with that statement it is not what my debate with jypsy is about. <BR/><BR/>I did re-examine Dawn Prince Hughes book and on page 3 she does say "I and others who are autistic do not want to be cured" second sentence since jypsy is so keen on my documenting everything. I think this qualifies as someone saying "all" not "most". So now i have at least three people who did say "all". One other person who referred to "The usual view of autism" came very close to saying all, so when I was talking about her saying all may have been just slight exaggeration with the emphasis on slight. I think that one problem is that jypsy and other people due to asperger's have a rather concrete way of thinking and take things too literally. I am glad you can understand my desire not to have what I consider this disability and I hope I am not boring you or disrupting any activity you might have been involved in with the minutae of an ongoing debate i am having with someone else that won't seem to go away.jonathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14972394536850151087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8353442983052145851.post-45767365288938436362008-01-21T18:06:00.000-08:002008-01-21T18:06:00.000-08:00Well, I never made a blanket statement about "all ...Well, I never made a blanket statement about "all people want/don't want a cure." In my book, I do talk about our desire for empathy and compassion from others. I believe that desire is virtually universal among all people who feel different.<BR/><BR/>I am pretty high functioning, and I want understanding more than anything else.<BR/><BR/>But you know . . . I understand what you're saying too. . . There have been plenty of times in my life when I have wanted more than anything else to be "just a regular normal person"<BR/><BR/>I'm really smart, and I have great focus on things that interest me, but genius just makes me weird (in other people's eyes.) It does not make me happy.<BR/><BR/>Luckily, I've been able to make my way OK.John Robisonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07407165016025447113noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8353442983052145851.post-48546946176891503052008-01-21T15:44:00.000-08:002008-01-21T15:44:00.000-08:00that autistic people don't want a cure for autism....that autistic people don't want a cure for autism. However, I am autistic and I wish there were a cure for autism, so you did not mean me.jonathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14972394536850151087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8353442983052145851.post-4685985160188626152008-01-21T15:29:00.000-08:002008-01-21T15:29:00.000-08:00Pardon me, but what point of view was I espousing?...Pardon me, but what point of view was I espousing?<BR/><BR/>best wishes<BR/>JohnJohn Robisonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07407165016025447113noreply@blogger.com