Epidemic Silence: Under-diagnosis and the Insult of Autism

My son has autism. This is a fact, not an insult. And yet… Today I was reading a new forum discussion on a local website. The original poster was a carer of a two-year-old child. She was asking for advice … Continue reading →

The Objectification of Autistic People

Please note that this post is an attempt to bring together a range of ideas and concerns I’ve been grappling with for a while, rather than a definitive version of my view on all these issues. It is “unpolished”, but … Continue reading →

Why I Refuse to Forget the Horror of Autism, aka, Between Two Autism Worlds

I find myself in agreement with diverse attitudes towards autism, because I’ve lived with autism’s diversities. I have spent years with a severely autistic child who was a danger to himself and myself; who faced a largely non-verbal future with … Continue reading →

Reply to “Cornering Slim Shady in the Round Barn” re the definition of Neurodiversity

I wrote a post a week ago about the problems with defining “Neurodiversity.” The questions I posed in that piece remain un-answered (and perhaps that is because there are no answers; I will discuss that and its consequences later in … Continue reading →

Why we’re not all on the autism spectum

I just read a post under the irritating title of “Why we’re all on the Autism Spectrum.” I went in expecting something a lot worse than what I found: I thought I was going to encounter someone trying to claim … Continue reading →

Commentary on results of “World Autism Views” survey

Last month I took part in a “world autism views” survey by an organisation called “Relate to Autism”. I came across it randomly via a local online forum. As you can see from the discussion in that forum thread, we … Continue reading →