Currently Browsing: Self Advocacy
Autism: A New Cultural Competency
Posted by
William Stillman in
Self Advocacy on
08 14th, 2009 |
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As an adult on the autism spectrum, it is with frustrating frequency that I grapple with the misunderstanding and misinterpretation of my words and deeds; some, it seems, always rush to judgment and presume the worst in me when the exact opposite is true: I usually act out of consideration and selflessness...
The Real Autism Epidemic
Posted by
William Stillman in
Self Advocacy on
08 14th, 2009 |
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We hear so much about autism these days. In fact, hardly a day goes by without some reference to autism in the media, be it a newspaper or magazine article, a television feature, or a radio news story. The focus tends to be on the growing number of very young children – two, three, and four year-olds...
Driven by Rage
Posted by
Thomas McKean in
Self Advocacy on
08 13th, 2009 |
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“Mister McGee, Don’t Make Me Angry. You Wouldn’t Like Me…When I’m Angry…”
What follows is an opinion. Indeed the majority of what you have read (and what you have yet to read) in any Autism @ Home is opinion; such is how little we truly do know about autism. ...
Inside the Mind of Sensory Overload
Posted by
Thomas McKean in
Self Advocacy on
08 13th, 2009 |
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Years ago when I was bouncing around the country speaking at conferences, the questions parents were asking made it clear to me how very vital it is that we who are able to express our experiences with autism do so. I had, for a time, been staying away from becoming too personal because I was hesitant...
Who Was That Masked Man?
Posted by
Thomas McKean in
Self Advocacy on
08 13th, 2009 |
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A few years ago I had a visitor here at the house. She had never been here before and she looked around to see where I lived. Her eyes landed on the bottom of the bookshelf and kind of stayed there.
The whole shelf was lined with hero novels. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Spider-Man, X-Men, Fantastic...
Leprosy and The Pain of Autism
Posted by
Thomas McKean in
Self Advocacy on
08 13th, 2009 |
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Sometimes when we set out to do something, we somehow end up doing something else instead.
Case in point, my past decade. I have lived here, nestled warmly in the Blue Ridge Mountains the past eight years or so. When I first arrived, I immediately delighted in immersing myself in the mountain culture...
My Own Introduction to Autism
Posted by
Thomas McKean in
Self Advocacy on
08 13th, 2009 |
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I was diagnosed in 1979. But I didn’t know about it until 1991. This was my introduction to autism.
All through my childhood in the 70’s I was seeing doctors and therapists. I would get out of school early to attend appointments. I had no idea what was going on; all I knew was on those days I didn’t...
Once An Advocate, Always An Advocate
I am sitting by our window gazing at the passing cars. In just one hour I have spotted three bumpers with Autism Awareness stickers on them. I live in a pretty small town. There are at least a dozen children with Autism and 8 or 9 with Aspergers living within a few miles from us. Our friend has three...
The Back Room Kids: Shame, Guilt, and the Autism Myth
Last fall, I made an autism presentation in Los Angeles to a group of 200 exclusively Spanish-speaking parents. They were grateful and gracious, and many made efforts to communicate with me in English (I otherwise had translators). When I stood before them, I affirmed that their autistic children are...
Autism and Competition; She Just Won’t Compete!
I got a letter from a lovely parent about her teenage daughter, a wonderful long distance runner. Yet the coach was stumped. Why wouldn’t she compete? She’d just let the others pass her, retaining her same rhythmic pace.
Non-autistic people have a consistent capacity to simultaneously process sense...