There is a lot of information, mis-information, pre-conceptions and misconceptions about autism. This section offers building blocks to understanding autism, including terminology, definitions, descriptions, and some myth-busting.
Steve Silberman (Author) at the 2016 World Autism Awareness Day - Autism and the 2030 Agenda: Inclusion and Neurodiversity
1 Apr 2016 - Opening remarks by keynote speaker Mr. Steve Silberman, author of "Neurotribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity" at the 2016 World Autism Awareness Day - Autism and the 2030 Agenda: Inclusion and Neurodiversity.
1 Apr 2016 - Opening remarks by keynote speaker Mr. Steve Silberman, author of "Neurotribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity" at the 2016 World Autism Awareness Day - Autism and the 2030 Agenda: Inclusion and Neurodiversity.
I’m a Pro-Neurodiversity Advocate. Here’s What Our Critics Never Get Right But Don’t Seem to Care About, Either.
by Autistic AcademicI think it’s great that people want to analyze the neurodiversity movement. But sometimes they open their mouths without knowing a damn thing about the subject.
There’s a piece by Gwendolyn Kansen in Pacific Standard called “I’m High-Functioning Autistic. Here’s What the Neurodiversity Movement Gets Wrong About Autism.” [link is to pdf]
Like every other anti-neurodiversity-movement piece I have read to date, this one gets the fundamentals of the neurodiversity movement very, very wrong. So wrong that it doesn’t even function as a rebuttal of the neurodiversity movement – it functions as a rebuttal of a straw movement inside the author’s head. READ MORE
by Autistic AcademicI think it’s great that people want to analyze the neurodiversity movement. But sometimes they open their mouths without knowing a damn thing about the subject.
There’s a piece by Gwendolyn Kansen in Pacific Standard called “I’m High-Functioning Autistic. Here’s What the Neurodiversity Movement Gets Wrong About Autism.” [link is to pdf]
Like every other anti-neurodiversity-movement piece I have read to date, this one gets the fundamentals of the neurodiversity movement very, very wrong. So wrong that it doesn’t even function as a rebuttal of the neurodiversity movement – it functions as a rebuttal of a straw movement inside the author’s head. READ MORE
How to Talk With (and About) Autistic Human Beings
By Shannon Des Roc...
"...But being human doesn't mean we're "all the same." It doesn't mean denying the realities of being autistic.All human individual realities create specific circumstances, specific needs, and so specific opportunities for misunderstanding.And bad, bad things can happen when human beings don't understand other human beings' realities.
So I'm asking you to try to understand. I'm asking you think about how you talk about people like my son. And how you talk to autistic people, as well, because you probably know more autistic people than you think you do, given that autism is underdiagnosed, especially in women and people of color." READ MORE
By Shannon Des Roc...
"...But being human doesn't mean we're "all the same." It doesn't mean denying the realities of being autistic.All human individual realities create specific circumstances, specific needs, and so specific opportunities for misunderstanding.And bad, bad things can happen when human beings don't understand other human beings' realities.
So I'm asking you to try to understand. I'm asking you think about how you talk about people like my son. And how you talk to autistic people, as well, because you probably know more autistic people than you think you do, given that autism is underdiagnosed, especially in women and people of color." READ MORE
6 Things I Wish I Knew When My Son Was Diagnosed With Autism (Parents Magazine)
The other day I spent some time talking to a former classmate from grade school. We hadn’t spoken since the summer we were thirteen. We have been friends on Facebook for a while but had no interaction until recently. Her son was diagnosed with autism and she wanted to talk.
It’s been a little more than four years since Norrin was diagnosed with autism. And whenever I talk to a new autism mom I am reminded of all those feelings I felt that May in 2008 when I first heard the words: your son has autism. So I listen, I offer words of comfort and advice but I still hear the uncertainty in their voice. Because no matter what I say, I know that only time will ease their concerns. There are so many things that I know now, that I wish I knew then. READ MORE
The other day I spent some time talking to a former classmate from grade school. We hadn’t spoken since the summer we were thirteen. We have been friends on Facebook for a while but had no interaction until recently. Her son was diagnosed with autism and she wanted to talk.
It’s been a little more than four years since Norrin was diagnosed with autism. And whenever I talk to a new autism mom I am reminded of all those feelings I felt that May in 2008 when I first heard the words: your son has autism. So I listen, I offer words of comfort and advice but I still hear the uncertainty in their voice. Because no matter what I say, I know that only time will ease their concerns. There are so many things that I know now, that I wish I knew then. READ MORE
