From Fight to Flight; How I lost a school discrimination battle, and almost lost myself

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I’m going to share with you the story of how I lost a battle I never thought someone like me could lose, and how it almost ruined me in the process. It’s hard to share because I’m still living the … Continue reading →

Naming and Shaming Schools that Mistreat the Disabled

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There is a story and radio interview out today about a local school – that goes unnamed – where disabled students are treated awfully and actively discouraged from enrolling. The school is a public school, and for some people in the … Continue reading →

Autism as a barrier to housing in New Zealand?

Two days ago I spotted a story about a family who were unable to get a decent home – even to get a home through the State housing system – because of the behaviour of their three autistic children. Predictably, … Continue reading →

Reactive Dialogues

It seems that for many in the autism world, “acceptance” is about letting autism take over every part of who you are and what you do. That acceptance means wearing t-shirts proclaiming your link to autism, writing and speaking about … Continue reading →

Thoughts on The Line Between Health and Education

Experience soon teaches us that we learn better when we are physically and mentally well; we all have experienced the flu, or extreme stress or depression, something that made us perform well below our capacity. This truth is recognised within … Continue reading →

Making sense of the NZ Court of Appeal decision on paying parents as carers

Yesterday the New Zealand Court of Appeal released its decision confirming the outcome of two previous rulings (at the Human Rights Review Tribunal and the High Court): That it is discrimination for the Government to have a rule against paying … Continue reading →

“It’s criminal that they exist, and they exist as criminals…”; More Language of Exclusion

There are a variety of rhetorics that can be used to exclude our special needs children from being accepted in and taking part in society. The function of these rhetorics – these ways of referring to and marking out our … Continue reading →

An Attempt to Understand the Frontier of Discrimination

My son sits at a frontier of discrimination, because of his autism. People know they shouldn’t be judging him based on his genitalia or sexual orientation, his skin colour, his religion (or lack thereof), country of birth, or even his … Continue reading →

Discrimination against autism in the workforce, and am I hurting my son’s employment prospects?

I have a regular commenter, who openly states that he chooses not to tell his work colleagues about his autism (Aspergers specifically), out of concern for how it might impact on their attitudes towards him and his work. Today I … Continue reading →

The Autism Closet: Outing my child

I’ve had two and a half years of chances to “out” my child as autistic. Whether it’s to family, friends, employers, landlords, neighbours, or strangers. In each situation I’ve had to make a decision about whether it’s the right thing … Continue reading →