The Autistic Me

We've had a number of stories lately on mothers killing autistic or possibly autistic children. Mother Posts Blog Blaming Stress Before Killing... Texas Mom Kills Children, Blames Autism Colorado Mom Wanted to Have 'Fun in Life' What can anyone say about this? Children are stressful, normal or not. Depression, stress, lack of supports, et cetera, are not excuses to kill. I do not doubt depression is real in some cases, but I do not tolerate any excuse for killing children. Even if we don't have perfect supports, there are supports in most cities and counties. Families also have a responsibility to intervene. It is impossible for me to imagine no one was aware problems were present before these children were killed. The association of autism with infanticide is a common theme in media. I won't bother listing examples.

I don't feel "lonely" most of the time, I feel isolated. That's different. I don't want to deal with people, I want to do things that too often require dealing with people -- leaving me stuck at home some days. People for me are ways to gain knowledge and data; I am interested in people with knowledge I don't posses yet want want to learn. I don't care to be social for no reason. Even with a reason, I'd rather skip the social elements. I've written that I do sometimes wish to be more social. Though hard to explain, I perceive there would be intellectual benefits -- people would be more comfortable sharing information with me if I were more "charming." So, when I say I wish I were more socially skilled, it is not because I miss the skills or want them for enjoyment, but I wish I could persuade more people with skills and knowledge I admire to be mentors. My wife is not social, either, but she does much better with people than I do. She is ...

When stressed, I experience an intense desire to flee — to get away from whatever situation is causing the stress. I've left restaurants without ordering, stores without buying items, and even medical appointments when the situation didn't feel right. About the only thing I can't recall leaving suddenly was my classroom when teaching. The good thing about teaching is that you can stop lecturing and alter an assignment to adjust the mood of the room. Next to leaving, establishing some personal control seems to be the best way to reduce stress. The most stressful moments are those of individual conflict. When I feel threatened or dominated by someone, I do have to leave. I feel physically ill when someone is imposing his or her will on me without listening to or caring about the results. Some people are intimidating by nature. I suppose there are "natural" bullies, people who expect to be in charge at all times. These people aren't inclined to let each person in...

I'm finding I don't build large social networks online, at least not compared to other people I know. My Facebook account occasionally rises above 100 connections, but seldom for more than a few days. My LinkedIn network is relatively small, with no recommendations. The same holds for other social networks such as Yahoo, Google, and LiveJournal. I simply don't randomly add people to my network -- not even acquaintances. The job hunt reminds me that I should expand these networks. HR departments check these connections, whether we like that reality or not. Being "social" does matter to some academic departments, too, especially if you are applying for "new media" teaching posts. I suppose I could "request" every classmate from high school through my doctoral studies, but most are not people I remember. Those I do remember, it is often for reasons that leave me disinclined to add the individual. I've never been a social butterfly, and the onl...

On another online site, a parent of a "recovering" child with autism pointedly claimed that those of us who are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders as adults are somehow not genuine. Among the comments posted to Left Brain/Right Brain ( http://leftbrainrightbrain.co.uk/ ): How does it just dawn on somebody they are on the spectrum??? How do others that are older decide they are on the spectrum??? Schools won't even take real diagnostics so none of the self made Adult Asperger's have any real claim to anything but a way to put down what helped my child to not be on the list of who you're searching for. The thread, both on LB/RB and as carried on elsewhere, is appalling. A parent actually had the gall to message me that I was not actually disabled, but was instead hiding behind the cover of autism to shill for the government and big medicine. This person argues that anyone speaking, traveling, blogging, and conducting research can't possibly have a "s...

I have started to compile an online guide to employment for those of us who seem to struggle with the nature of both the job hunt and the workplace. This work in progress is outlined on The Autistic Place at: http://www.autisticplace.com/node/75 - "Employment and Autism" This project is going to take at least a couple of weeks to be of any value to others. I do think the final results might be helpful to teachers, parents, support professionals, and people like me. It won't be perfect, but it will be a start for people to have these discussions. Please, if you have any suggestions for content, from additions to changes as I work on this, please e-mail me: webadmin@autisticplace.com I also encourage readers of this blog to join me at The Autistic Place: http://www.autisticplace.com - Information and Education. The Latest News and Blogs on Autism

This is a comment on: http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/16/autism-a-disease-of-the-rich/ Within all ethnic groups, wealthier parents were more likely to have autistic children, and the pattern held for undiagnosed autistic children as well. The original paper commented on is at: http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0011551 The title says it all: "Socioeconomic Inequality in the Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder: Evidence from a U.S. Cross-Sectional Study" I have no idea if this represents the ability of parents to obtain screening, the general age of wealthier parents, or some other factor(s). Also, as this is from PLoS, not a traditional peer-reviewed journal, I'm sure there will be some discussion of the research methods. However, we are seeing that PLoS submissions are improving dramatically -- many researchers are simply avoiding the expensive, proprietary journal process.