The Autistic Me

From the " Ask a Question " inbox: Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and experiences. I have a question concerning my own 9 year old daughter, similar diagnosis to your own. She is considered HFA, though her abilities and reactions are 'scattered all over the spectrum' (low, mid, high functions). My question is: Am I wrong to treat her as I do my other children? She is the oldest child of 5. I do not give her a lot of leeway based on her diagnosis--what I mean is, her autism is not allowed to be an excuse for bad behavior. She is aware of what is acceptable and what is not--no hitting other people, no cursing, no destroying the house-- and she receives the same types of punishments as her siblings. We do time outs and grounding from favored activities. Spanking is very rare and only as a last resort (she received a pop to the bottom for stabbing her brother with a fork) I realize the difference between bad behavior and meltdowns from stress, along wit...

On Facebook, a reader asked if I have any suggestions to stop bullying. I began to consider my experiences as an educator and university scholar. I'm not sure my experiences point to any solutions, but I can relate what I have learned. (Be sure to follow The Autistic Me on Facebook !) Evolutionary psychologists will tell you that most species engage in "battle" to establish leadership. I'm not sure how humans can overcome millions of years of "alpha-beta" sorting impulses. However, that doesn't mean that teachers, parents, mentors, and, later in life, good supervisors, cannot intercede and stop competition from crossing the line into bullying. I was never a good athlete, even though I like some sports. I'm certainly not strong, fast, muscular, tall, or whatever else might translate into a physically dominant appearance. However, I was also rarely the smallest person in a class — average describes me well. Yes, physical presence matters. We know from ...

Scientists are seeking what makes people different, at least genetically. What is done with this information is the realm of ethics and morality, not genetics. I'm autistic or a person with autism or whatever. I don't care what the label is. I was what I am before the label even existed and I'll be me long after some silly group of people change the labels and criteria again. What will not change (in theory) is my genetic composition. That fact of whatever genetic variation exists in my cells does not change regardless of the label and even regardless of a geneticist discovering it or not. "Autism(s)" predate genetics just as all human conditions predate their modern-language labels and cultural reactions. I am curious to know what make me who I am. What I do not want are choices made that assume my traits somehow reduce the value of my life. That's a cultural matter. We must change perceptions of "autism" within the culture; only then will the genet...

Colorado mental-health counselor charged with murdering infant son - The Denver Post Police: Autism was motive in Colo. child's killing BOULDER, Colo. — Police say a woman accused of killing her infant son did it because she believed the boy was autistic and thought his condition would "ruin" her life. Stephanie Rochester, 34, was charged Monday with murder in the June 1 suffocation death of her 6-month-old son, Rylan. According to an affidavit seeking her arrest, Rochester wanted to commit suicide but didn't want to "burden her husband" with the potentially autistic boy. What can be said about this? It is troubling; I can already imagine various responses: Eventually, a genetic screen would help prevent this. (or…) This is why screening would be dangerous. Some people think autism is worse than death. This woman must be mentally ill. And so on, and so on… I think this woman was simply a self-absorbed, immature, malignant narcissist. If she had commi...