Neurodiversity

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Left Brain / Right Brain

• Barbara Loe Fisher’s lawsuit against Paul Offit dismissed
  If you recall, last October Wired Magazine had an article: An Epidemic of Fear: How Panicked Parents Skipping Shots Endangers Us All. Barbara Loe Fisher of the self-named National Vaccine Information Center took issue with a section of that article and sued Dr. Paul Offit. The complaint is here. Ms. Fisher was suing Dr. [...] […]

Neurodiversity.com

• U.K. General Medical Council Rules Wakefield & Co. "Dishonest," "Irresponsible" [8]
  Today, the General Medical Council (GMC), which registers doctors to practice medicine in the U.K., issued a decision in its inquiry into the professional conduct of Dr. Andrew Wakefield and his colleagues Dr. John Walker-Smith, and Dr. Simon Murch, co-authors of a study which concluded that a causal connection exists between the measles-mumps-rubella vacci […]

Ballastexistenz

• Aspie Supremacy can kill.
  A disclaimer: I don’t believe in real distinctions between aspies, auties, LFA, and HFA. When I use these words I am discussing the beliefs of people who do believe in them. Edited to add: aspie supremacy is a shorthand and people should be aware that the prejudice contained within it can and does [...] […]

Asperger Square 8

• Square Talk: Exclusion
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Aspie Rhetor

• FYI: Autistic Women and Autistic Writers Exist, and They Might Even Be Modified by Adjectives Such As “Successful” Rather Than “Egocentric” or “Mindblind”
  I’ve been going through old computer files lately, and I realized that I never posted the paper I read at the Feminism(s) and Rhetoric(s) conference that took place at Michigan State this past October (the week before our protest of the Autism Speaks walk, actually). So, here it is — my essay. —- “Melanie,” she writes, and [...] […]

Whose Planet Is It Anyway?

• Robison Squeaks
  Autistic author John Elder Robison has agreed to serve on an advisory board for Autism Speaks. Yes, the same organization that repeatedly makes videos comparing autistic children to dead or kidnapped children; that openly declares its goal to "eradicate" the autistic population; that funds causation research to develop a prenatal test; and that pay […]

Action for Autism

• Polly Tommey and the Adult Autism Strategy.
  Last year I wrote a couple of posts (here and here) criticizing Polly Tommey for pulling expensive publicity stunts that resulted in her meeting with Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his wife at Downing Street. She presented herself as just a mother speaking for thousands of other mothers. Her remarkable success was contrasted with the apparent failure of aut […]

Autism Science Foundation

• AOL Health: Autism Experts Offit and Dawson on Causes, Cures and Controversies
  By Justine van der Leun    The subject of autism is one that often ignites a fiery debate, namely because so much remains unknown about the illness. Doctors, parents, caregivers and even people living with autism are sharply divided on everything from the causes to the possibility of a cure to the correct course of treatment. The [...] […]

Aspie Family

• Happy Saint David’s Day
  To all the Welsh folks out there, I’d like to wish you a Happy Saint David’s Day! Now, if you will excuse me, I need to go find a leek. […]

Prism*Song

• Prototypes and Evolutions
  Since I talk a lot about Tikaani I want to deviate and talk about another fan-character. Chiko was my first really complex ATLA fan-character. An Air-Nomad monk from the Southern Air Temple that survives a brutal massacre by the invasive Fire Nation. With his temple destroyed as well as most of his peaceful people. Chiko tries to survive with his temple-brot […]

Natural Variation

• Blogger Shuts Down John Best?
  [UPDATE 2/18/2010: No such luck. His 3 blogs are back. John Best claims he showed Google "who they are messing with." It's probable that people have flagged his blog so much over time, that a Google employee decided to shut down his blogs, but I'm guessing it doesn't take much to get Google to unblock blogs.]After years of blatantly […]

Cat in a Dog’s World

• Celebrity Autistic Teams Up With Autism Speaks
  I suppose it was inevitable that a celebrity autistic would join up with Autism Speaks, and now John Elder Robison has done so. I note that it's taken Autism Speaks "only" five years to respond to ongoing pressure from autistic self-advocates and allies to appoint its first autistic. At this rate, we should have two autistic people involved […]

Aspitude!

• Misperceptions About Diagnosis of ASD in Adulthood
  Some people believe that individuals identified as having an Autism Spectrum Condition in adulthood have less impairment and better overall functioning across the board. But on what scale is this supposed better overall functioning of late-diagnosed adults being measured upon?Such biased beliefs do not apply to all individuals identified in adulthood. This i […]

Comet’s Corner

• International Women's Day
  International Women's Day posted by Peter Rothberg This post was researched and co-written by Chantal Flores, a Nation intern and freelance writer living in New York City. The world has been celebrating International Women's Day since 1911 when it was established largely thanks to the efforts of activist Clara Ze […]

NTs Are Weird

• You’re not a REAL Autistic!
  As I was reading another email thread about what autistics can and can’t do, I was reminded that this is a key way our views or discredited. The means of discrediting is simple: if the autistic person doesn’t follow the stereotype the other person has of an autistic person (or Real Autistic if you [...] […]

Existence is Wonderful

• The Kitchen Cat-Platform Thing, Finished!
  Well the cat-platform thing I constructed in the process of stabilizing the previously-built scratching post is now complete! (Actually it was complete on Friday, but I didn't get to posting until today, but that's really neither here nor there).I am quite pleased with how it turned out...this might sound a bit silly, but even just my recent learni […]

Incorrect Pleasures

• Untitled
  Does Her Majesty know?Does Her Majesty know what Australian teens and a few very immature Australian adults are doing with her image on the five dollar note? Dear, dear me.There are actually a couple of interesting things to see on the Australian $5 note. Have a look at the side that has the queen on it. Look at the lines of text that say stuff such as […]

Monthly Archives

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Neurodiversity – The Book

• CRSTE Cyberconference: Thanks for Participating!
  I want to thank the readers who have come from the CRSTE Cyberconference, and especially those who made comments on my posts, for participating in this i-event. The comments have all been very positive and insightful. One commenter, for example, suggested that while the Industrial Revolution marginalized people with disabilities, the Technological Revolution […]