Clipmarks | graphictruth's autism overview collection

The dark side of autism awareness

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 17:13:57 GMT

clipped by: graphictruth
clipper's remarks: Even the best medicine has side effects...

I consider myself immensely lucky to have not "benefited" to the extent many persons on the AS spectrum have - and the rates of both suicide and homicide of autistic spectrum persons tends to grimly underline the dark side of "awareness."

For some, "awareness" promotes xenophobia, rather than compassion. When you see that reaction - dissociate yourself. Fear is contagious - and it does more to debase and destroy families and civilization than any degree of autism could. And I factor the cost of care into that equation.

Tags: autism awareness, autistic, aspie, apsergers, april, autism awareness month, autistic spectrum, cuba, hope

Cue the Acme Anvil

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 22:58:30 GMT

clipped by: graphictruth
clipper's remarks: Apparently all this came about due to Seidel revealing how much money Shoemaker makes from bringing losing cases before the court - and what percentage of them ARE losers.

Clip Source: www.graphictruth.com

In the matter of Shoemaker v. Seidel; Court of public opinion; The Hon. Bugs Bunny Presiding.

In the inimitable words and tones of Tweety Bird:

"He don't KNOW me vewwy well, DO he?"

Siedel's response is a masterpiece of classic aspergean reasoning - and demonstrates a far better grasp of both the relevant law and the relevant political climate than that of the supposed professional

Compare the subpoena to Sidel's pro se "motion to quash." It's the difference between an elegant and spare recorder solo - and a TAPE recorder solo.

Tags: autism awareness month, autistic spectrum, blogging, blog, ethics

"Operation Perceptual Freedom."

Tue, 01 Jan 2008 12:18:45 GMT

clipped by: wildcat
clipper's remarks: It turns out that languages meddle in very low-level aspects of perception, and without our knowledge or consent shape the very nuts and bolts of how we see the world.

Clip Source: www.edge.org

Do our languages shape the nuts and bolts of perception, the very way we see the world?

I used to think that languages and cultures shape the ways we think. I suspected they shaped they ways we reason and interpret information. But I didn't think languages could shape the nuts and bolts of perception, the way we actually see the world. That part of cognition seemed too low-level, too hard-wired, too constrained by the constants of physics and physiology to be affected by language.

I was so sure of the fact that language couldn't shape perception that I went ahead and designed a set of experiments to demonstrate this. In my lab we jokingly referred to this line of work as "Operation Perceptual Freedom." Our mission: to free perception from the corrupting influences of language.

I set out to show that language didn't affect perception, but I found exactly the opposite

Tags: perception, language

Are humans evolving faster?

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 22:00:23 GMT

clipped by: invictus

Clip Source: www.eurekalert.org

Researchers discovered genetic evidence that human evolution is speeding up – and has not halted or proceeded at a constant rate, as had been thought – indicating that humans on different continents are becoming increasingly different.

“We used a new genomic technology to show that humans are evolving rapidly, and that the pace of change has accelerated a lot in the last 40,000 years, especially since the end of the Ice Age roughly 10,000 years ago,” says research team leader Henry Harpending, a distinguished professor of anthropology at the University of Utah.

-- “We aren’t the same as people even 1,000 or 2,000 years ago,” he says, which may explain, for example, part of the difference between Viking invaders and their peaceful Swedish descendants. “The dogma has been these are cultural fluctuations, but almost any temperament trait you look at is under strong genetic influence.”

Tags: humans, evolution, genetics, science

Slack is asked from us; we ask no more or less ourselves.

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 19:34:16 GMT

clipped by: graphictruth
clipper's remarks: It's slightly ironic, of course, that the factions within the "curebie" movement are starting to get on one another's nerves, but then if they speak to each other with the same respect and consideration as they speak to and about actual autistics, it's unsurprising.

However, as an aspie, my first reaction is to take this call at face value, and as an autism blogger myself, I will indeed try not to be too much of an ass toward those who are seeking "cures."

I just hope they realize that it's not so much the autism as the side-effects OF autism that are their issue. Further, focusing on making it easier for autistics to integrate into society, communicate effectively and live somewhat independently is a more positive approach less likely to get folks like me and my friends at autistics.org all up in your faces.

Clip Source: autism.about.com

There are so many things we need to fight for together,.We need more research, more trained therapists, we need Medicaid waivers, IDEA funding, the kids in the neighborhood to be more kind and less cruel. We don't really need hate mail and editorials that make us out to be idiots. The last thing we need to is fight against each other. There are real enemies out there. There is a disorder that is crippling a generation and there is a government that takes very little interest. If I have learned anything in ten years of lobbying it is that the feds love it when we are factionalized and fighting amongst ourselves. It buys them one more year when they don't have to do anything.

To the activists, bloggers and the journalists I want to beg for just a little mercy and restraint. Let us make our own best arguments on the merits rather than use this one family as our proxies.

Tags: cure autism now, autism speaks, autism, asd, aspergers, autism awareness