Amidst the torrent of pro-neurodiversity film documentaries such as Loving Lamp posts, neurotypical, etc.I've found a figurative diamond in the rough. A very interesting documentary about teens with autism and asperger's made in Britain called "Make Me Normal"
In this documentary, the kids express how much they dislike their autism and express a desire not to be autistic. What would Ari Ne'eman who constantly uses the royal we think of this? What would Alex Plank who states that autism equals good and that most autistics don't want to be cured think of this?
Glad to have found this one, was interesting. Neurodiversity may have to improve their polling techniques.
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Saturday, October 5, 2013
Does new research disprove neurodiversity and Temple Grandin's assertions that Einstein was autistic
Albert Einstein has been routinely diagnosed as autistic by a variety of individuals, Temple Grandin being the most prominent of these. Einstein allegedly could not speak at the age of three. He also dressed in very casual clothes, wore slippers and had unkempt hair and these are largely the basis of these assertions.
As I stated in my essay on that topic, there is evidence that Einstein’s speech delay may have been apocryphal. Denis Brian in his book, Einstein A Life stated Einstein’s sister told a story that when she was born and 2-year-old Einstein was shown his sister he said, "where are the wheels" when he believed she was a toy.
One of the arguments that is routinely made by individuals in the neurodiversity movement is that because Einstein was autistic and his intelligence is considered an autistic gift is this is one reason autism should not be cured. Temple Grandin has implied that Einstein’s genius is a result of autism or at least autistic traits.
To the best of my knowledge, there is no scientific evidence supporting these assertions.
As many people know, pathologist Thomas Harvey stole Einstein’s brain after performing an autopsy on the deceased physicist. He kept many pieces for himself and gave others to a variety of neurologic researchers who found differences in Einstein’s brain as compared to typical age-matched controls. One of the most interesting discoveries that while Einstein’s brain may have had a normal number of neurons, he had far more glial cells than than a typical brain. This evidence suggests that it was glial cells rather than neurons that were a factor in contributing to Einstein’s aptitudes and intellect. At one time glial cells were believed just to hold neurons together and provide maintenance support for them. Now, there is increasing evidence that glial cells provide more than just support for neurons and may be a more important part of the central nervous system than was originally thought. However, this is another topic.
Is there scientific evidence that parts of Einstein’s brain were qualitatively different than postmortem brains of those diagnosed with autism? a recent study suggests that this may be the case. The researchers found that Einstein’s corpus callosum had more extensive connections than comparison control brains. Unfortunately, this study has recently been published and is behind a $35.00 pay wall and I have not been able to read it yet. There are various ways I might be able to read the study without paying, but I have not exercised these options yet.
In comparison, a variety of studies on the corpus callosum of post-mortem autistic brains shows exactly the opposite, i.e. autistic corpus callosums have weak connections between the left and right hemispheres and, in some cases, autistics have a smaller corpus callosum or none at all. There have been apparently some studies showing that individuals missing a corpus callosum demonstrate symptoms of autism.
It would appear that Einstein’s brain, at least in this area, may be qualitatively different than in individuals with autism. Perhaps people can stop trivializing this disability by claiming that Einstein had it or had traits of it.
As I stated in my essay on that topic, there is evidence that Einstein’s speech delay may have been apocryphal. Denis Brian in his book, Einstein A Life stated Einstein’s sister told a story that when she was born and 2-year-old Einstein was shown his sister he said, "where are the wheels" when he believed she was a toy.
One of the arguments that is routinely made by individuals in the neurodiversity movement is that because Einstein was autistic and his intelligence is considered an autistic gift is this is one reason autism should not be cured. Temple Grandin has implied that Einstein’s genius is a result of autism or at least autistic traits.
To the best of my knowledge, there is no scientific evidence supporting these assertions.
As many people know, pathologist Thomas Harvey stole Einstein’s brain after performing an autopsy on the deceased physicist. He kept many pieces for himself and gave others to a variety of neurologic researchers who found differences in Einstein’s brain as compared to typical age-matched controls. One of the most interesting discoveries that while Einstein’s brain may have had a normal number of neurons, he had far more glial cells than than a typical brain. This evidence suggests that it was glial cells rather than neurons that were a factor in contributing to Einstein’s aptitudes and intellect. At one time glial cells were believed just to hold neurons together and provide maintenance support for them. Now, there is increasing evidence that glial cells provide more than just support for neurons and may be a more important part of the central nervous system than was originally thought. However, this is another topic.
Is there scientific evidence that parts of Einstein’s brain were qualitatively different than postmortem brains of those diagnosed with autism? a recent study suggests that this may be the case. The researchers found that Einstein’s corpus callosum had more extensive connections than comparison control brains. Unfortunately, this study has recently been published and is behind a $35.00 pay wall and I have not been able to read it yet. There are various ways I might be able to read the study without paying, but I have not exercised these options yet.
In comparison, a variety of studies on the corpus callosum of post-mortem autistic brains shows exactly the opposite, i.e. autistic corpus callosums have weak connections between the left and right hemispheres and, in some cases, autistics have a smaller corpus callosum or none at all. There have been apparently some studies showing that individuals missing a corpus callosum demonstrate symptoms of autism.
It would appear that Einstein’s brain, at least in this area, may be qualitatively different than in individuals with autism. Perhaps people can stop trivializing this disability by claiming that Einstein had it or had traits of it.
John Robison to teach course on neurodiversity
I came across this article stating that well-known Asperger's author John Elder Robison is going to not only teach a course on neurodiversity but is going to be a scholar in residence at William and Mary College in spite of the fact that he never completed high school.
Aside from the obvious inanity of a high school dropout being a college professor, the article lists Robison's definition of neurodiversity:
Neurodiversity is the idea that humanity is by nature neurologically diverse – we have different ways of thinking that are founded in structural brain differences – and that diversity is essential to our success as a species
This is a different definition than Michelle Dawson gave me which states the neurodiversity is the idea that neurologically divergent people have basic human rights. It also differs from the Wikipedia definition:
Aside from the obvious inanity of a high school dropout being a college professor, the article lists Robison's definition of neurodiversity:
Neurodiversity is the idea that humanity is by nature neurologically diverse – we have different ways of thinking that are founded in structural brain differences – and that diversity is essential to our success as a species
This is a different definition than Michelle Dawson gave me which states the neurodiversity is the idea that neurologically divergent people have basic human rights. It also differs from the Wikipedia definition:
Neurodiversity is
an approach to learning and disability which suggests that diverse neurological
conditions appear as a result of normal variations in the
human genome.[citation
needed] This term was coined in the late 1990s as a
challenge to prevailing views of neurological diversity as inherently
pathological, and it asserts that neurological differences should be recognized
and respected as a social category on a par with gender, ethnicity, sexual
orientation, or disability status.
Neurodiversity is also
an international online disability rights movement which has been promoted
primarily by the autistic self-advocate community (though other disability
rights groups have joined the neurodiversity movement). This movement frames
neurodiversity as a natural human variation rather than a disease, and its
advocates reject the idea that neurological differences need to be (or can be)
cured, as they believe them to be authentic forms of human diversity,
self-expression, and being.
So, it would appear the gist of ND as we know it is that certain individuals should live their lives as cripples and be handicapped.
So, essentially what Robison says is that if certain individuals were not disabled(he has stated he no longer has any disability whatsoever) we'd have some sort of failure of the homo sapien species. I'm curious what Robison believes would happen to our species if autism and other neurologic conditions were cured. I'm also curious as to what scientific evidence he can provide that this would be the case.
Robison, who serves in an advisory capacity to autism speaks as well as the federal government, has stated his beliefs on whether or not autism is a disease and whether or not a cure should be found:
This Curriculum and Robison's involvement in it is insulting to me as an individual who is disabled and has to live a less satisfying life than someone who is not neurodivergent.
So, it would appear the gist of ND as we know it is that certain individuals should live their lives as cripples and be handicapped.
So, essentially what Robison says is that if certain individuals were not disabled(he has stated he no longer has any disability whatsoever) we'd have some sort of failure of the homo sapien species. I'm curious what Robison believes would happen to our species if autism and other neurologic conditions were cured. I'm also curious as to what scientific evidence he can provide that this would be the case.
Robison, who serves in an advisory capacity to autism speaks as well as the federal government, has stated his beliefs on whether or not autism is a disease and whether or not a cure should be found:
All of the science to date says autism is
founded in structural differences in the brain. Differences are stable things.
They are not diseases in need of a cure. Taking away the difference is – to me –
tantamount to changing to another person. In any case, the idea of such brain
configuration is in the realm of science fiction today.
Robison, who is not disabled (by his own say so) seems to have a flippant attitude toward those of us who are disabled and who would want a cure for our conditions. So, I have to wonder if this course Robison will be teaching will state that kids who pound their heads into walls, can't speak, wander off and die in accidental drownings and are hit by cars are not diseased.
Robison, who is not disabled (by his own say so) seems to have a flippant attitude toward those of us who are disabled and who would want a cure for our conditions. So, I have to wonder if this course Robison will be teaching will state that kids who pound their heads into walls, can't speak, wander off and die in accidental drownings and are hit by cars are not diseased.
This Curriculum and Robison's involvement in it is insulting to me as an individual who is disabled and has to live a less satisfying life than someone who is not neurodivergent.
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
One good thing about the government shutdown.
Though Age of Autism has a lot of things to say I don't agree with, they've reported some interesting news Though i'm not happy about the government shutdown, it looks like some good will come out of it. It looks like the government shutdown will cancel the next meeting of the IACC. That's about the best news for autistic people i've heard in a long time. Unfortunately, Matt Carey and John Robison will continue blogging and being representatives for autistic people. Scott Robertson will still spend time with ASAN claiming that I and others should be crippled and sick. Maybe Noah Britton can come up with a more interesting t-shirt design than his 'my body my choice' schtick and provide some sort of comedic act or behave in some outrageous way to bring some levity to the situation.
Saturday, September 14, 2013
bizarre rhetoric from Ari Ne'eman: Neurodiversity plays the "murder card" once again
Lenny Schafer alerted me to an article written about the alleged attempted murder of Isabelle Stapleton by her mother, Kelly, on his facebook page. In the article, prominent neurodiversity activist Ari Ne'eman once again resorts to one of the oldest dirty tricks in the book the ND's resort to any time a parent murders their autistic offspring or allegedly attempts to do so. He writes:
I think there certainly is a divide, and there has been for some time," said Ari Ne'eman, president of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network in Washington, D.C. “The picture of autism that has been presented in the public eye is not consistent with how we see ourselves.
Note that this is part of a pattern on Ne'eman's part to resort to a phenomenon that renowned blogger Harold Doherty has referred to as "The Royal We". Where Ne'eman attempts to speak for all autistic people, though his Asperger's or autism is nowhere near typical of the vast majority of those on the spectrum, myself included. No, Ari, I am an individual, you can't get away with speaking for me or anyone else who may happen to disagree with your way of thinking.
He goes on to say:
Autistic people deserve the same protection under law, he said, and “we are profoundly concerned when groups try to present murder as justified or understandable on the basis of the victim’s disability.”
What person with autism has not received the same protection under the law? The article goes on to say that Kelly Stapleton will be arrainged for attempted murder. She will be prosecuted. Even though Ne'eman may not like this, the U.S.A. is not nazi Germany or Stalinist Russia. Ms. Stapleton is legally entitled to a trial by a jury of her peers. Until she is convicted, she's innocent until proven guilty or at least found guilty in a court of law. The law is applied in the same manner as the attempted murder of a non-handicapped child by their parent(s).
It is not surprising that Ne'eman's most astute statement is saved for last:
Parents do not kill kids because a service system is inadequate," Ne'eman added. "They kill their children because media and a disturbing number of people send them the message that that is OK or at least understandable
No, I don't think so, parents do not kill their children because they happen to read reports in the media that Ne'eman alleges exist saying it is okay or understandable for them to do so. It seems implausible that most parents who kill or attempt to kill their autistic kids just happen to read media reports and then say to themselves, "oh, okay, guess it's okay for me to put my kid to sleep." They do it out of insanity exacerbated by the frustration of having to raise an autistic child. In fact Ms. Stapleton has authored a blog documenting her frustration in dealing with her child's disability. Autism is a horrible disability that brings out the worst in desperate people. Of course, thankfully, the vast majority of parents, no matter how far they're pushed off the deep end don't go as far as murder. This is not to say that the murder of autistic children is ever justified or even understandable.
As Lenny correctly pointed out in his facebook article, Ne'eman ( and probably other ND's) are just projecting their own anger and hatred onto all parents of autistic kids. ND is the 21st century incarnation of Bettelheim.
I think there certainly is a divide, and there has been for some time," said Ari Ne'eman, president of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network in Washington, D.C. “The picture of autism that has been presented in the public eye is not consistent with how we see ourselves.
Note that this is part of a pattern on Ne'eman's part to resort to a phenomenon that renowned blogger Harold Doherty has referred to as "The Royal We". Where Ne'eman attempts to speak for all autistic people, though his Asperger's or autism is nowhere near typical of the vast majority of those on the spectrum, myself included. No, Ari, I am an individual, you can't get away with speaking for me or anyone else who may happen to disagree with your way of thinking.
He goes on to say:
Autistic people deserve the same protection under law, he said, and “we are profoundly concerned when groups try to present murder as justified or understandable on the basis of the victim’s disability.”
What person with autism has not received the same protection under the law? The article goes on to say that Kelly Stapleton will be arrainged for attempted murder. She will be prosecuted. Even though Ne'eman may not like this, the U.S.A. is not nazi Germany or Stalinist Russia. Ms. Stapleton is legally entitled to a trial by a jury of her peers. Until she is convicted, she's innocent until proven guilty or at least found guilty in a court of law. The law is applied in the same manner as the attempted murder of a non-handicapped child by their parent(s).
It is not surprising that Ne'eman's most astute statement is saved for last:
Parents do not kill kids because a service system is inadequate," Ne'eman added. "They kill their children because media and a disturbing number of people send them the message that that is OK or at least understandable
No, I don't think so, parents do not kill their children because they happen to read reports in the media that Ne'eman alleges exist saying it is okay or understandable for them to do so. It seems implausible that most parents who kill or attempt to kill their autistic kids just happen to read media reports and then say to themselves, "oh, okay, guess it's okay for me to put my kid to sleep." They do it out of insanity exacerbated by the frustration of having to raise an autistic child. In fact Ms. Stapleton has authored a blog documenting her frustration in dealing with her child's disability. Autism is a horrible disability that brings out the worst in desperate people. Of course, thankfully, the vast majority of parents, no matter how far they're pushed off the deep end don't go as far as murder. This is not to say that the murder of autistic children is ever justified or even understandable.
As Lenny correctly pointed out in his facebook article, Ne'eman ( and probably other ND's) are just projecting their own anger and hatred onto all parents of autistic kids. ND is the 21st century incarnation of Bettelheim.
Monday, August 5, 2013
Are autistic men pedophiles? Bizarre stuff from Temple Grandin's mom
I've just read a very offensive,at least to me, article written on the Daily Beast allegedly by Temple Grandin's mother who implies that many autistic men are pedophiles who spend their time looking at child pornography and end up being registered sex offenders. Nearly three years ago, I wrote about Nick Dubin, a neurodiversity activist who as a matter of public record was arrested by the FBI for downloading and looking at child porn. Dubin, a licensed clinical psychologist and one-time director of a school for special needs children, has made the somewhat dubious (at least to me) claim that he himself is on the autism spectrum. I'm not sure what happened to his case, whether he plea bargained, was convicted or acquitted. Other than this I don't know of a single documented example of an autistic pedarest (or wannabe child molester). I wish Ms. Cutler would provide one but she does not.
Ms. Cutler makes the entirely alleged (with the emphasis on alleged) claim that an autistic man brought his computer into a repair shop and the technicians found child porn on his hard drive. No name is given, no link or documentation whatsoever is provided as to the veracity of this story.
She goes on to make the bizarre and bigoted claims (with no evidence) that autistic men as a general rule have abnormal sex drives and need children to teach them to have sex and this somehow drives them to download child pornography yet does not give a single example (other than her alleged one) of this phenomenon in practice. She claims to quote University of North Carolina professor Gary Mesibov who seems to somehow concur that as a rule many autistic men are pedarests and pedophiles. She provides no documentation of where Mesibov has said this.
I wish she'd give some sort of documentation of this or some sort of published study that claims that autistics have a tendency toward pedophilia. Or if anyone else reads this blog and wishes to comment on an example I'd be interested in hearing about this.
I hope people can understand why I find this most offensive. I wonder if ASAN will get involved with this, since they seem to take offense at something like the Ransom notes campaign which would seem to be considerably trivial compared to this. I've written an email to the Daily Beast urging them to retract this article or at least apologize for it. editorial@thedailybeast.com I hope other people will do so also. Somehow I think this is more offensive than some deragatory song lyrics or other (at least to me) lesser or more trivial matters that petitions have been started over.
Ms. Cutler makes the entirely alleged (with the emphasis on alleged) claim that an autistic man brought his computer into a repair shop and the technicians found child porn on his hard drive. No name is given, no link or documentation whatsoever is provided as to the veracity of this story.
She goes on to make the bizarre and bigoted claims (with no evidence) that autistic men as a general rule have abnormal sex drives and need children to teach them to have sex and this somehow drives them to download child pornography yet does not give a single example (other than her alleged one) of this phenomenon in practice. She claims to quote University of North Carolina professor Gary Mesibov who seems to somehow concur that as a rule many autistic men are pedarests and pedophiles. She provides no documentation of where Mesibov has said this.
I wish she'd give some sort of documentation of this or some sort of published study that claims that autistics have a tendency toward pedophilia. Or if anyone else reads this blog and wishes to comment on an example I'd be interested in hearing about this.
I hope people can understand why I find this most offensive. I wonder if ASAN will get involved with this, since they seem to take offense at something like the Ransom notes campaign which would seem to be considerably trivial compared to this. I've written an email to the Daily Beast urging them to retract this article or at least apologize for it. editorial@thedailybeast.com I hope other people will do so also. Somehow I think this is more offensive than some deragatory song lyrics or other (at least to me) lesser or more trivial matters that petitions have been started over.
Monday, July 29, 2013
"Neurotypical" Ho hum
I just saw "neurotypical". Naturally I was piqued by the trailer of the black guy in the movie saying he did not want to be cured and a neurotypical life was not necessarily better than an autistic life. This would also pique pro ND people, anti ND people as well as others not as jaded as myself, who would be shocked to believe anyone could say such a thing if they have newly diagnosed children and are new to the whole autism scene.
The girl talking about how just because dating does not happen to Temple Grandin does not mean it doesn't happens to others was slightly interesting and provided a smidgen of comic relief.
Most of the documentary was rather boring. Not much insight into what life is like for an autistic, even a higher functioning one. Mostly boring discourses about playing tag, how they feel about certain social interactions, etc.
It became slightly more interesting when ASAN member Paula Westby-Durbin came on, stating that she had not heard about PDD or autism until about 2006 (when she would have been well into middle age) and then apparently got a diagnosis somewhere but is quite vague as to where and on what basis she was diagnosed. I had wondered about her and I wonder what sort of childhood she had and if her parents sought medical treatment for her as a child. She gives some slight explanations such as she lacked friends growing up, yet was successfully able to find a husband and apparently has a job where she will be paying off a mortgage on a house.
At the end of the documentary, they show captions giving the names of these people and a little bit on their background. Apparently, the filming was not done properly and there was not enough room on the screen to read everything and they were flashed for not nearly long enough for anyone to really take it in and read it properly. I'm perplexed as to why PBS would air something so poorly edited.
Adam Larsen, the filmmaker, gave some commentary at the very end which started out as somewhat astute stating that the media only concentrated on severe children or people who were savants. Though the latter may be true, I'm not even sure how the former is true. He then went on to talk about how a number of autistics don't want to be cured and are comfortable with who they are. Then stated his own bias where he apparently believes that autism is a legitimate form of neurology rather than disease.
It's unfortunate they did such a good job of marketing the film but the content was so lacking.
I'm still waiting for someone to make a documentary about autistic children in special schools, frustrated with their life and as adults, frustrated that they can't keep a job or find a mate. However, I won't hold my breath.
The girl talking about how just because dating does not happen to Temple Grandin does not mean it doesn't happens to others was slightly interesting and provided a smidgen of comic relief.
Most of the documentary was rather boring. Not much insight into what life is like for an autistic, even a higher functioning one. Mostly boring discourses about playing tag, how they feel about certain social interactions, etc.
It became slightly more interesting when ASAN member Paula Westby-Durbin came on, stating that she had not heard about PDD or autism until about 2006 (when she would have been well into middle age) and then apparently got a diagnosis somewhere but is quite vague as to where and on what basis she was diagnosed. I had wondered about her and I wonder what sort of childhood she had and if her parents sought medical treatment for her as a child. She gives some slight explanations such as she lacked friends growing up, yet was successfully able to find a husband and apparently has a job where she will be paying off a mortgage on a house.
At the end of the documentary, they show captions giving the names of these people and a little bit on their background. Apparently, the filming was not done properly and there was not enough room on the screen to read everything and they were flashed for not nearly long enough for anyone to really take it in and read it properly. I'm perplexed as to why PBS would air something so poorly edited.
Adam Larsen, the filmmaker, gave some commentary at the very end which started out as somewhat astute stating that the media only concentrated on severe children or people who were savants. Though the latter may be true, I'm not even sure how the former is true. He then went on to talk about how a number of autistics don't want to be cured and are comfortable with who they are. Then stated his own bias where he apparently believes that autism is a legitimate form of neurology rather than disease.
It's unfortunate they did such a good job of marketing the film but the content was so lacking.
I'm still waiting for someone to make a documentary about autistic children in special schools, frustrated with their life and as adults, frustrated that they can't keep a job or find a mate. However, I won't hold my breath.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
