This system's social abilities are paradoxical. That is, we can pick up on nuances fairly well in some circumstances, but there are social areas in which we are just plain stupid. That's part and parcel of being on the autistic ...Read More
I've been thinking about this lately, mostly because of some recent events that I'm not going to go into. Some discussions that my system-mates and I had with some of our friends spurred this on, as well. Some people seem to ...Read More
http://autismdiva.blogspot.com/2006/01/ballastexistenz-its-what-they-train-us.html We can relate to this. Although we're no longer in a situation in which we're being taught ABA-style methods for 'acting normal', we still feel the 'need' to act normal whenever we're surrounded by others. And right now, that's just ...Read More
This is a day late for the Blog Against Disablism Day, but we were rather busy yesterday, and we've had almost all our spoons yanked away from us again. Yes, people are putting their stupid ticky boxes of rules over ...Read More
It is easier for us to make friends and establish contacts online first. Some of this is because of expressive difficulties related to the system's autistic condition; some of it is from a need to express ourselves naturally. Because it ...Read More
http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2007/07/autistic_robot Pay particular attention to the opening sentence: "Children with autism are often described as robotic: They are emotionless. They engage in obsessive, repetitive behavior and have trouble communicating and socializing." There is a long-standing stereotype, particularly amongst non-autistic people with limited ...Read More
Many non-autistic people speak from a position of privilege where autistics are concerned. In their minds, autistics consist of Rainman stereotypes, and forms of autism in which the autistic is capable of speech, has an above-average IQ, or is capable ...Read More
Recent events, including a potentially life-threatening accident, overwhelming demands on our time, inability to express ourselves as separate people offline, inability to 'act significantly autistic' -- we can't stim or anything, lack of privacy at 'home' and people's continued disregard ...Read More
Yee! We had a lot of fun today. We went to the local Asian Art Museum, where they had a wonderful exhibit of art from Afghanistan. I'd have to say that the Afghan art was quite eclectic, with a selection ...Read More