tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8353442983052145851.post6206628890107907585..comments2024-03-14T18:26:18.208-07:00Comments on autism's gadfly: Ari Ne'eman's hyperbolic take of In a different Key jonathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14972394536850151087noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8353442983052145851.post-79267162070296901522016-02-03T02:31:41.788-08:002016-02-03T02:31:41.788-08:00Ray - You said "we don't want a cure.&quo...Ray - You said "we don't want a cure." It is true that some don't want a cure, but just because you are autistic doesn't mean you can use the collective 'we' and speak for all autistics. No one said that autistics should not be listened to nor accommodated. Gadfly's point here is that autism is a disability and Ne'eem flip flops on 'disability' as it works for his argument of the moment. Shantihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11323636965254272203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8353442983052145851.post-43417787165018853532016-02-01T04:39:14.527-08:002016-02-01T04:39:14.527-08:00Ray, tell us where you went to special ed. schools...Ray, tell us where you went to special ed. schools and made such a remarkable recovery as to write about "rights". Let us verify.......I'm Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06386324013172993426noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8353442983052145851.post-28456139806717648862016-01-27T14:49:56.768-08:002016-01-27T14:49:56.768-08:00Anonymous,
.... I am Autistic and all I said was ...Anonymous,<br /><br />.... I am Autistic and all I said was "Autistics should be listened to and Autism is part of who we are!" I've lived Autism since birth. I know what it is like.Ray Reesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8353442983052145851.post-62195069877299617622016-01-27T12:25:24.986-08:002016-01-27T12:25:24.986-08:00But is disability the same as illness or disease? ...But is disability the same as illness or disease? An illness is an active process which evolves, can be treated with more or less success, can kill you or can leave you with a disability. The Convention of Rights of Persons with Disabilities in its preamble says: “..a disability is the result of the interaction of the subject’s deficiencies and the environment, which is inadequate for being “normal”.... Diabetes is a disease, the blindness that it produces is a disability and to some extent daltonism o severe short-sightedness are too. ? And neither pedestals, nor drugs are useful things, Braille, guide dogs, and glasses are.<br />The definition of the Convention should solve some of your disputes Jonathan. It does not deny the reality of the deficiencies and burdens, although there are disputes about their nature, nor does it deny that the end result depends on external factors. And this is something I have seen with my own LD + autistic son. He is now going to a centre for the disabled where they adapt somewhat to his rituals, and let him spent lots of time tearing newsprint to thin ribbons, listening to music, and interacting with him with few demands. He loves it. His challenging behaviours, have disappeared, and he loves food life and being with people. Very different from the school from which he was excluded, where a sort of ABA program ended up with him bleeding and us parents blamed for not “bending” him for not wanting to medicate him. <br />ABA was to bend him into normality which he could not do, medication to justify the failure of the program. The exclusion opened our eyes to accepting him. You see you both would be right if you saw the disability as a burden but that would no prevent you from fighting for your rights. To normalize people with LD+autism we have seen all kinds of abuses, from aversion to neuroleptics; some have added disabilities and diseases. Some have died. Yet my son who does not speak can teach you Jonathan to be realistic and the neurodiverse to be humble and both to fight for your rights. You do not have to conform to society, you have to conform to the laws and some like the Convention say that it is society that in some ways has to conform to you. Or, should not an achondroplasic have a adapted car, o should there not be wheelchairs and ramps. <br />spinoffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09872247885782061716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8353442983052145851.post-3462064670212430292016-01-27T10:57:16.363-08:002016-01-27T10:57:16.363-08:00Dear All, I don't even know where to begin, as...Dear All, I don't even know where to begin, as you've all brought up so many interesting points. Yes there is a "claptrap" dialogue going on,in the Autism community, if it is a community, and not merely an aggregate, and it seems to be part of the new "ethic", if we can call it one. Why should anybody pursue Peace, when there is SO much to be made on Endless War--war out there, or war between, say the LD and the HFA people, which I know is NOT what the poster said, necessarily, but I do get the sense of two marginalized/vulnerable populations being pitted against against each other, possibly as "blood" sport, for the amusement of others--you can't fight chickens legally anymore, or dogs, not that i'd want to, but people don't have the same kind of protection. There is an old saying: "People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones". Right now, we are ALL in a very fragile glass house. Dena Gassner, who was on that "infamous" thirty-second TV spot, and was attacked viciously for what she said, along with the others, by another blogger, name withheld, which made me INSTANTLY want to go find her, and share information/network, with her and others, the latter skill which is almost non-existent with me. She sounds really cool, and not a "Yay Autism! NT's stink--more severely Autistics stink", kind of person--NO she isn't, from what I know, at all. I identify with her, even though I never had children, and I was never abused at home, only when I got out into. As far as the aforementioned kid who had no social skills, and barely made through High School--I was that kid. I had NO idea how the world worked, except from what I learned from my family, and from reading Psychology books. I could do the laundry, and so forth, EXCEPT when my Neurology has one of it's nasty turns, (The Cortisol Kid--that's me.) which it does frequently--yes, this chickabiddy is going into Menopause, an those of you who are female and over 40-something KNOW what that means--also, the world has trebled its speed, and most of us are going to be left in the dirt. Besides, I'm fed up with all the BS. There is NO transparency in society anymore, and I am hardwired to be unable to deal with the other stuff, unless I get gobs and gobs of support, but guess what? The days of the Great Society are over for good, unless somebody can work a miracle, and fast. I would NEVER say, I'm non-disabled, as I draw SSI every month, and I don't believe in the zero-sum game where if you get something, you're taking something away from somebody else, no. But, the medical system, the welfare system, and everything else, is severely broken in our society, and I'm not going to try and "fix" it--too much wheel spinning. I've downsized my life greatly, and tried to reduce my expectations, which as a literal thinker, is REALLY hard. Good luck all, You're going to need it.salpurdy786@gmail.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8353442983052145851.post-13117704186177746192016-01-27T01:14:55.862-08:002016-01-27T01:14:55.862-08:00Ray,
You don't even know what autism is if y...Ray, <br /><br />You don't even know what autism is if you believe in that claptrap.......I'm Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06386324013172993426noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8353442983052145851.post-80841476956257079072016-01-26T20:26:20.011-08:002016-01-26T20:26:20.011-08:00I feel like since most of us are Neurodivergent in...I feel like since most of us are Neurodivergent in one way or another (usually Autistic), our opinions do matter and should be listened to by researchers. We want acceptance and accommodation and we don't want a cure.<br /><br />I didn't read the entire article, but what I did read was Ne'eman saying we must be listened to. I have no idea why that's controversial. I do agree that Ne'eman has sold out the Neurodiversity Movement, but I can't find any fault with that point.<br /><br />There is no anti-cure movement for diabetes mellitus because DM is a disease that attacks you, but a lot of us feel like Autism (or whatever else we are) can't be separated from us.Ray Reesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8353442983052145851.post-2314529586630656442016-01-25T08:25:45.733-08:002016-01-25T08:25:45.733-08:00Yesterday, my severe son wanted to know when he wa...Yesterday, my severe son wanted to know when he was writing exams. They start Wed. Then I had to remind him his class doesn't write exams. He's in Gr 9, and one of the VERY RARE, severe ASD, not ID, poor adaptive skills, poor verbal skills, can out read kids his own age, but infers the world in black and white, emotionally normal severe ASD "children, teens, adults" out there. Or as the "guy that knows all about ASD" says he's the perfect example of the DSM V's dx once you remove "behaviour, IQ, speech" criteria's. In other words.... too smart for his own good, yet very disabled.<br /><br />So... I have little use for the ND crowd who think he should embrace his disability. He wants to go to college. He thinks he should move out and get married. Truth is, the chances of that are rare to not going to happen. Luckily, although I may have to fight the entrance requirements, there is a Dev College program for students in his program.... He's in the HF developmental class (they wanted to put him in the LF class and I won that fight) where he pushes the other kids to learn academics and they teach him speech and social skills.<br /><br />"Feels like those with LD+autism fight to prove they have strengths.Those with no LD+autism fight to prove they have difficulties." Roger.... exactly. Which is why I won't allow my HFA, headed for Univ, "cured" son to claim he's autistic.<br /><br />So... how do you tell a severely autistic teen that he's disabled????farmwifetwohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02680758336779501712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8353442983052145851.post-12146915568295449322016-01-24T16:44:24.643-08:002016-01-24T16:44:24.643-08:00I will partially agree that there are some challen...I will partially agree that there are some challenges to disabled people due to society's lack of understanding and that it's human nature to avoid differences. I agree there is some unfairness. But this does not deny the fact that autism is and of itself an intrinsic disability rather than a difference that can be accommodated for by society and that this will solve all the problems autistics face as Ari Ne'eman has stated. jonathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14972394536850151087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8353442983052145851.post-41953732908534502552016-01-24T10:10:23.838-08:002016-01-24T10:10:23.838-08:00Can we not throw the baby out with the bath water?...Can we not throw the baby out with the bath water? Can we at least agree that much (but not all) of the challenges faced by people with disabilities are due to the prejudices of people who are not disabled? It's human nature to fear, reject, or avoid things that are different. This causes people who are different to be rejected, discriminated against, and sometimes even abused. It's not fair for people to be treated that way when they've done nothing wrong. The neurodiversity movement aims to combat this problem. While I don't follow some of their more radical initiatives, I think it's important to foster tolerance and acceptance for those of us who are different. In other words, it's not all bad.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com