Being both Autistic and an educator, I’m very interested in how our educational institutions are structured to inure children to accept the heteronomy of adult run institutions. I know that if children are given autonomy to do whatever they want that disaster will ensue, but I also know that we do not help children learn to be as autonomous as they ( Read more... )

I was reading Ragga’s post Why Parents of Autistic Kids Get Judged and What to Do About It and I had some thoughts. I’ve not blogged in over 12 months, but I’m really getting into studying sensory integration disorders and Melanie and I are writing a book chapter on autistic semiotics.

In response to her post, I said the following:

I’m a verbal ( Read more... )

Over 60 Disability Organizations Condemn Autism Speaks-Hollywood should follow their lead

The Autistic Self Advocacy Network Release this Press Release and Protest Advisory.  The Final Letter to Autism Speaks is in the previous blog post.  Celebrities and Actors should show their support of the disability community and condemn Autism Speaks.  If ( Read more... )

Spanking Kids in School Still Common, Especially Among Disabled | The Autism News

a new study by the ACLU and Human Rights Watch, as reported here and here. More than 200,000 U.S. schoolchildren were subjected to corporal punishment during the 2006-2007 school year, the study shows. And the South has a big lead in whacking schoolkids, with Texas, ( Read more... )

How do autistic children survive as adults?

Families complain there is not enough support and a postcode lottery syndrome for sufferers of autistic-spectrum disorder….

Peter Griffin is 29, he has an IQ of 159, a degree in astrophysics, and a gallows humour about his Asperger’s syndrome, an autistic-spectrum disorder that makes social interaction so ( Read more... )

Judge Sentences Alabama Woman To Death For Murder Of Autistic Son - WHNT

Judge Dempsey also wrote in his sentencing order, “To intentionally murder your child by burning him is shockingly evil.”

During the trial, the state presented evidence that Mason, who was autistic, had a total of $175,000 worth of life insurance when he died. Christie Scott ( Read more... )

Oh, I wish I could have gone to the new College for autistics at Cal. State University. Of course this flies in the face of inclusive education, but there is a time and place for everything. If this is a research experiment that will help understand how differently Auties and Aspies need to be educated, it will bode well for understanding how ( Read more... )

H1N1 and other flu viruses linked to autism, schizophrenia | The Autism News

Dr. Hossein Fatemi has been testing the H1N1 virus and its impact on fetal development for over 10 years. His findings provide an important link between viral infections in pregnant women and profound mental disease in their offspring.

The H1N1 swine flu that has been ( Read more... )

Teenager convinces airline bosses that he is an aviation tycoon | The Autism News

The police will not be taking action against the teenager, who is reported to suffer from a form of autism and to be able to recall the exact detail of every airline’s flight schedule.

Gotta love that. Never would have occurred to me to try to pull that off in a ( Read more... )

Challenging popular myths about autism | The Autism News
Myth #1: All autistic people are nonverbal and low functioning.
Myth #2: Autism is a mental illness.
Myth #3: Autistic people lack empathy.
Myth #4: Autistic people are antisocial.
Myth #5: Autistic people don’t make eye contact because they don’t care about what people have to say.
Myth #6: ( Read more... )