I think we're having a summer homicide spike. Homicides of autistics have been coming in very fast lately.

June 19: Kevin Wilkes is killed by a fellow group home resident who was known to beat him up and bully him; staff kept them housed in the same location despite Kevin's previous injuries.

June 20: The body of Aaron Pajich is found buried ( Read more... )

I remember the first time I explicitly used theory of mind ( Read more... )

This actually isn't another GLBTQA post. Hehe. I know, surprising. But it is about being in the closet. Read on ( Read more... )

If I say, "I'm not feeling well," and it's disability-related, I feel like I'm lying. Somewhere along the way, I got convinced that only "normal" illness is real ( Read more... )

Q: Have you ever considered using a service dog? I have heard that people are training dogs to assist people with autism now. What are your thoughts about this?
- Jen
( Yay, service dogs! )

Q: What do you think ARE the real symptoms of autism/differences from NTs? What do you think would be a good way to know if you do/don't have it?
--Anonymous

( Read more... )

When I was little, I had no idea about how to keep myself clean, neat, and generally presentable; I also had no idea why this was even wanted in the first place. Until my late teens, I spent very little time on personal grooming, for a variety of reasons, both sensory and socially-related.

What I'm going to try to do here is list the basics, along ( Read more... )

A Google search for "Autism warning signs" brings up a list of thirty traits as result number one; twenty-five of those thirty have a distinct social focus: Not pointing. Not playing with others. Seeming to be in your own world. Language delay. Being unusually independent for your age. What I think the list implies is that NTs see autism in terms ( Read more... )

I was interviewed for an Internet radio program a few weeks ago; the interview was pretty general, just talking about autism and related topics.

Special Guest Lisa Daxer: Student, Writer, and Person with AutismThe woman doing the program actually gave me the questions ahead of time--that was great, so I wrote stuff up ahead of time and didn't have ( Read more... )

I've been contacted by a lot of interesting people over the past few days; and one of them pointed me to his Web site where he has posted a book he has written. I've read it, and I think it's an excellent resource for parents of kids with autistic spectrum disorders.

Congratulations! Your Child Is StrangeAnd, yes, it's written by someone with ( Read more... )