Most people have heard of people with autism being annoyed by the tag on their underpants or T shirt, their distress at the discomfort of their shoes, their distress at wearing anything but the softest of fabrics, even wearing their clothing with the seams on the outside to avoid the distraction/irritation of ‘imperfect’ feeling clothing. And then there’s those who reduce their foods to only those of a certain brand or packaging, or begin to manifest vomiting upon expectation to try foods outside of their comfort zone. But is this specifically autistic? Read the rest of this entry »

Show me a lust for pride and I will show you a narcissist. We can strive to create identities out of militancy, become entranced with self aggrandizement and the icons that embrace it and it’s ultimate philosophical seeds of ‘master race’ mentality. We can take temporary but ultimately insatiable solace in boosting fragile egos through over identifying with those in high places as if their status and power will be ours by proxy. We can replace core self with a DSM entry or self diagnoses with sexy labels by virtue of their imagined association with ‘the greats’. But here is presented another choice, a simple choice… you can follow insatiable narcissistic glorifiers or simply become one of the egalitarian humanitarians who strive for humility, hope, empathy. Read the rest of this entry »

The media has portrayed Autism as a disease, the DSM has defined it as a disorder, many in the ‘Autistic Pride’ movement call it a condition. But is there really so much difference between these terms? I thought I’d explore some of these definitions: Read the rest of this entry »

There’s vast online gatherings of enthused, sometimes fervent, even openly militant, self identified ‘Autistics’ who feel that Autism is a new ‘race’. Read the rest of this entry »

ADAM FEINSTEIN:
Hi Donna, sorry to trouble you, but I am currently reading a 2005 article by Brigitte Chamak about the autobiographical writings of people with autism and she contrasts your position and that of Temple Grandin and Jim Sinclair. Chamak says that Temple sees her particular gifts as inextricably linked to her autism and quotes Sinclair as saying that his autism is a “way of being … It is not possible to separate the autism from the person.” Read the rest of this entry »

Having had my fair share of stalkers, trolls, conspiracy lovers, I loved this. Of course just posting it likely to bring the infestation out of the woodwork where haters fester but it was a great clip. Here’s another one too. Read the rest of this entry »

For each of us on the spectrum the social communication issues are different… I’m face blind, didn’t process faces and bodies as a whole or get simultaneous processing of self/other until my 30s, am still context blind, 30% meaning deaf (at best), my prosody is sometimes odd because my word retrieval is sometimes mechanical and I have to try harder to keep my syntax intact…. and so my social style has remnants of these things… it makes me socially ‘klunky’, ‘out of sync’, even though I’m warm, friendly, empathic, highly sensing. Read the rest of this entry »

I just watched on Australian TV how horrendous the unemployment and homelessness is in America right now. Sure, maybe you’re afraid of needy people. They may seem like drowning people and you don’t want to be pulled under just because you reached out a hand. But many people who’ve fallen on hard times are not necessarily opportunists and give them an inch and that is in fact all they’ll take and look forward to being able to give something back. How do I know? I was homeless in my teens and intermittently through my 20s. So I pondered what each of us can do to get to know or constructively help those in these positions. Here’s some ideas : Read the rest of this entry »

I was asked re methylated B12 shots. Read the rest of this entry »

It is natural for children to dissociate before the age of 5 so spotting Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) in children is difficult. Most adults diagnosed with DID began splitting around age 4-6 with others as young as 2 and as old as 10 when they first begin splitting and developing alters. Read the rest of this entry »