Reading Assignment
So, Sasha gave everyone a reading assignment about a month ago, and if you haven't completed it, make a point of doing so now. Obey The Sasha, dammit.
Now, I'm giving you another one. It's longer, and autism-related. You don't have to read the whole thing, but please, get to at least page 11 (don't worry, they're short pages).
I've been doing a lot of reading on the autism spectrum recently, and it's things like Getting The Truth Out (the link I gave you above) that have turned my head around a bit. Maybe it'll turn yours, too. Maybe it'll even turn the head of jerks like this guy (link courtesy of The Wheezus).
Thank you for your time.
It may be that the social deficits which are the cornerstone of an autism spectrum diagnosis tell us far more about the person who made them markers for such a diagnosis than about the child whom he observes.
-Lucy Blackman
Now, I'm giving you another one. It's longer, and autism-related. You don't have to read the whole thing, but please, get to at least page 11 (don't worry, they're short pages).
I've been doing a lot of reading on the autism spectrum recently, and it's things like Getting The Truth Out (the link I gave you above) that have turned my head around a bit. Maybe it'll turn yours, too. Maybe it'll even turn the head of jerks like this guy (link courtesy of The Wheezus).
Thank you for your time.
It may be that the social deficits which are the cornerstone of an autism spectrum diagnosis tell us far more about the person who made them markers for such a diagnosis than about the child whom he observes.
-Lucy Blackman
posted by ilse at 11:45 AM
3 Comments:
I too read the entire thing. So so powerful. Our niece is autistic. Interestingly, prior to reading this i would have referred to her as "a highly functional austistic child". This link made me think about things so differently. One thing that i will be bringing up to the family is the fact that we don't need to stop Julia from doing some of the things that she does. We always stop her when she starts to move her arms around.
I'm going to refer all of my family to this link.
Thank you for this.
A very interesting link, Sami. Thanks. Lots to think about. I agree with much, I question some parts and I am glad to have read it.
You know I have a young adult son with autism. It is always a balance - respecting who he is while trying to help him grow into the best person he can be. As I have done for all my children.
He lives in a group home now. It took me a year to find a good one, and I really feel like I lucked out. He left just after his one-year-older sister left for a college dorm, so the timing was very appropriate. He wanted to not be a child anymore, and leaving home was good thing for him at that time.
School is, was and remains the most frustrating thing for him. Every year (it seems) the teachers turn over and new people try to fit him into their plan whether it works for him or not.
He turns 21 this fall, so this will be his last year in an educational setting. Now we have to find a sheltered job/day program that works for him. I am told they are more difficult to work with than schools. He is 6'2" and terrifies them when he's angry or agressive. So the Fear Factor is a big limitation for him. Sometimes I fear him too.
I'm not sure what's on page 11 because I wasn't keeping track of pages, but the little comment re Pinocchio resonated with me. That was always one of his favorite movies to watch. He totally wore out the spot on the tape where Pinocchio turns into a real boy by constant rewind/replay. He always said "____ be real boy!" To this day, whenever we see a magic wand in the dollar store or somewhere we always have to buy it, and he waves it for a while. Just in case.
Ok, so I'm late. Shit, nothing but complaints.
And. Getting to page 11 was horrid. Had I not promised you, even though you didn't know it, I never would have made it that far. It got way easier after that.
Thank you. Really.
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