I got a couple of comments today about my interview with NPR, and I realized that people might be visiting my blog thanks to the interview. I also realized that some of the stuff I talk about is kind of specialized, or at least more specialized than the general public might have been exposed to. I'm writing this, basically, because I hope to bridge ( Read more... )

The idea that we've got our "own world" and have to be pulled out of it really irks me. Everybody has their own world, not just autistics. Everybody sees things through their own eyes, listens with their own ears, understands with their own brains. You will never be in anybody else's world; only your own.
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Yesterday at the library I was goofing off instead of doing physics homework, and happened upon the latest issue of Psychology Today. Lo and behold, an article on autism. It's a cute little story about an autistic kid who loves animals; and for a change said kid is in the majority who has got the hang of language. That's a good sign, in general, ( Read more... )

Well, here's my thoughts about self diagnosis ( Read more... )

Odd how little things make it seem like you have suddenly become less autistic...

Getting my driver's license last January really seems to increase my "functioning level" to the casual observer. And it makes me look even less disabled that I have been working for five weeks now, with accommodations and a job pretty much tailor-made for me... five ( Read more... )

You hear the stories all the time, don't you?: All his life, this autistic guy has been thought to be mentally retarded. And then, suddenly, he figures out language for the first time... and they give him an IQ test... and it turns out he's "actually gifted". Suddenly, people look at him differently. He jumps from the object of the sentence to the ( Read more... )

It's your right to want a cure... just like it's your right to want to win the lottery. But unlike lotteries, there aren't millions of tickets out there; just a few hundred scientists, most of whom are working towards a genetic test and not a cure. Just like me and the many others who wouldn't want a cure for autism if it could be invented, you're ( Read more... )

I've blogged about this before, but let me re-cap ( Read more... )

First practical use of axioms learned in statistics class ( Read more... )

Reply to "Perfection Loops".

I call myself a "perfectionist"; but it isn't anxiety-oriented, as perfectionism is for most people. I simply don't know where to stop between "not done" and "done perfectly". I don't know where the "acceptable" level is; it's different for every task, vague, and even if perfectly described, would still result in my not ( Read more... )