tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8658455529906475948.post4761709550976916295..comments2023-09-09T04:10:05.031-04:00Comments on Life as the mother of 4: The Great Divide: Trying to figure out the Neurodiversity MovementLife as the mother of 4http://www.blogger.com/profile/16195257033811529612noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8658455529906475948.post-77314125405095317892010-03-01T21:21:44.924-05:002010-03-01T21:21:44.924-05:00Neurodiversity is a scam dreamed up by Pharma. No...Neurodiversity is a scam dreamed up by Pharma. Nothing they say is true.John Besthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03133970669787632440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8658455529906475948.post-25719566508446403712010-01-01T11:38:17.864-05:002010-01-01T11:38:17.864-05:00Thanks for your comments.Thanks for your comments.Life as the mother of 4https://www.blogger.com/profile/16195257033811529612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8658455529906475948.post-17205667702522268112010-01-01T10:56:47.144-05:002010-01-01T10:56:47.144-05:00Lynne,
Yes, I think that's it. Ironically, I ...Lynne,<br /><br />Yes, I think that's it. Ironically, I watched it late one night when I was nursing my son.<br /><br />I looked it up, and they've made a follow up that I'll have to check out.Squillohttp://confutata.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8658455529906475948.post-30056280644890000282009-12-31T19:48:43.974-05:002009-12-31T19:48:43.974-05:00Squillo:
Are you thinking of the documentary "...Squillo:<br />Are you thinking of the documentary "Sound and Fury"? I watched it and found it extremely insightful - and definitely had some parallels to the divisions in the autism community. I highly recommend it.<br /><br />If you can, get the DVD...it has some additional interviews and footage that take it even a bit deeper.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04306974226089128294noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8658455529906475948.post-31819316539453162482009-12-31T15:06:50.179-05:002009-12-31T15:06:50.179-05:00A fine and thoughtful post. (Of course, the fact t...A fine and thoughtful post. (Of course, the fact that your attitude seems to reflect my own may bias me.)<br /><br />I agree that the language we use can be very important, and with Kim's comment that the language we use is part and parcel of the division, and perhaps an artificial, although not unimportant, one.<br /><br />For me, the essential problem with the "cure" movement, is that, too often, the search for a cure eclipses the acceptance of the autistic as he/she is NOW, and hampers our collective efforts to increase acceptance and respect for individuals with autism and other neurological differences. Again, I'm talking about the "cure movement" in general, not necessarily individuals who support it. I don't have a problem with most individuals who pursue a cure, provided they don't persist in using unproven therapies that are potentially harmful. I do object to groups that use pejorative language to promote the cure ideal, and with the (small, I hope) group of parents who put their kids through hell to find that elusive cure--that tells me it's more about the parent and his/her expectations than about the child's well-being.<br /><br />I have also drawn the analogy between the autism debates and those over cochlear implants for the deaf. (There was a fascinating documentary about the CI divide a while back--highly recommended, but I can't recall the title.) It only goes so far in that deaf children without CIs still learn to communicate along a fairly natural trajectory (I think--unless it's just my ignorance showing), whereas some autistics don't, making autism a far more disabling condition in some sense, in my own estimation.Squillohttp://confutata.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8658455529906475948.post-8876538064079467092009-12-30T23:28:22.993-05:002009-12-30T23:28:22.993-05:00:-) I think at times there is a lot of talking ove...:-) I think at times there is a lot of talking over people's heads rather than actually having dialogues and real exchanges of ideas. That's not the case here; it was a nice close to my evening to sit and read your post and see an honest attempt by a parent with a different perspective of autism try to work out what the "other side" is all about. <br /><br />There may be some out there who really are against a cure, who think that nothing should be done, but I think those wouldn't be particularly good parents, you know? <br /><br />Language gets in the way here. Curing autism. Cure. It's a loaded word, and I suppose that it depends on your perspective of autism. I have a feeling that what we want for our children who are impacted by autism is the same thing. You'd call that a cure, and I wouldn't. You see autism as something that happened to your two boys, and I see it as an intrinsic part of who my three children are. <br /><br />Would I remove that which is a source of disability? Yes. I believe all of my diverse blogging friends who identify with neurodiversity would remove disability if and where possible. Where disability can't be removed, then we have to work hard to change society.<br /><br />I don't rail against parents who wish for and work for their children to improve. I do, however, work hard to reduce the chance that they will turn to woo in a desperate attempt to find a cure.<br /><br />I think this is true of most parents who stand for evidence-based treatments and realistic assessments. <br /><br />Where we are, as a community, running into trouble, I think is that we have to remember that people are people, and some of them out there who are parents of autistic children are jerks in the real world. Having a child with a disability doesn't render them saints. They're still jerks. If we can remember that, when someone with a different perspective from ours is a jerk, we won't assume it represents everyone who holds the same perspective that the jerk does.<br /><br />I think you're right: our example, how we move about in this world, is the best way to increase acceptance of all people, regardless their disabilities.Kim Wombleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15492455180502821052noreply@blogger.com