tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28040139.comments2023-07-25T09:25:34.293+01:00The VoyageSharon McDaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13550156204691696968noreply@blogger.comBlogger3039125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28040139.post-2098726694847544492016-04-07T19:11:40.239+01:002016-04-07T19:11:40.239+01:00how about Do#RedInstead Tone it Down Taupe or
Col...how about <a href="http://redinstead.weebly.com" rel="nofollow">Do#RedInstead</a> <a href="http://timetolisten.blogspot.com/2013/03/tone-it-down-taupe-this-april.html" rel="nofollow">Tone it Down Taupe</a> or<br /><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ColorTheWorldAutism/" rel="nofollow">Color the world for autism</a> all self advocacy campaigns created by and for autisticsAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17406855992013708112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28040139.post-3707533539575524382016-04-07T18:52:29.424+01:002016-04-07T18:52:29.424+01:00I am too. awareness isnt enough though, not all pu...I am too. awareness isnt enough though, not all publicity is good. and supporting a company that wants to silence and exterminate us is stupid & dangerous. there are companies that educate support & advocate without shunning & discriminating against us the way Autism Speaks does. AS promotes harmful & dangerous information against us. they leave us out of the whole conversation & dont have anyone on its board who is #actuallyautistic.<br /> Why not try the <a href="http://autisticadvocacy.org/" rel="nofollow">Autism Self Advocacy Network</a>, the <br /><a href="http://autismwomensnetwork.org/" rel="nofollow">autismwomensnetwork</a>, or <a href="https://www.aspergerexperts.com" rel="nofollow">Aspergers Experts</a>? all these organizations actually advocate for Autistics and their families, promote education & #AcceptanceNOTAwareness, and they definitely dont spend all their money trying to eradicate, euthanize, or cure us. best of all they are run by #ActuallyAutistic people. there are PLENTY of campaigns started by the Autistic community that promote education like:<a href="http://www.boycottautismspeaks.com" rel="nofollow"> #BoycottAutismSpeaks</a>, #DontLIUB, DO #REDInstead, #ToneItDownTaupe, <a href="http://profile.actionsprout.com/o/3AD637" rel="nofollow">#ColorTheWorldForAutismAcceptance</a> (click the link for a FB filter), #AutismSpeaksDoesntSpeakForME and many others. dont settle for awareness of what Autism Speaks treats like a sickness to be cured or obliterated when we can have education & acceptance. The whole world already knows autistics exist, they just dont know what its like for us to exist, its time to move the conversation to acceptance & advocacy & show them.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17406855992013708112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28040139.post-21783715466766504302016-04-07T17:20:01.783+01:002016-04-07T17:20:01.783+01:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Brian Jacksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08109051334544793890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28040139.post-90476266071204337222016-04-02T15:24:41.942+01:002016-04-02T15:24:41.942+01:00My problem would be lightening up blue is if someo...My problem would be lightening up blue is if someone who was generally interested looked at the reason for blue and this Autism Speaks company come up they might get the wrong impression of what autism is and what they can do to help. I understand people do it for the right reasons but is it really helping who just helping the lies autism speaks says carry on.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15104459273967273418noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28040139.post-27413974201858957782015-06-12T23:45:55.958+01:002015-06-12T23:45:55.958+01:00*Check out "For The Love Of Ann - The true st...*Check out "For The Love Of Ann - The true story of an autistic child" by James Copeland, (published way back in 1973, ISBN 978-0099071204) It's truly awful and should come with a trigger warning for survivors of ABA and other forms of behaviour modification training, and of childhood physical and emotional abuse... and it's very very "Inspiration Porny". <br />Here's one blogger's puke inducing review of it http://www.donotlink.com/fizq (I daresay this particular blogger supports Autism $peaks)<br />I'd love to read some reviews by neurodiversity bloggers, on FTLOA.Purple Haired Welsh Aspiehttps://twitter.com/Wossnimnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28040139.post-40383619007936541312015-05-26T22:31:21.593+01:002015-05-26T22:31:21.593+01:00Its amazing so many different views on this letter...Its amazing so many different views on this letter. For a group presentation on portrayals of autism, we decided to use this letter and show all angles and sides. We are doing a small survey and we would like to get an idea how the following 5 groups feel about this letter and if it has an affect on peoples persective on autism; general public, professionals, parents, siblings and neurodiversity movement. <br />We ask 3 questions:<br />1.How did this article make you feel?<br />2.Why did it make you feel this way?<br />3.Did it change your perspective on autism?<br />If there is anyone that would like to reply please do, also if possible please let us know to what group you 'belong'?<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> peopleEllynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28040139.post-28220020804846619422015-05-20T19:00:18.199+01:002015-05-20T19:00:18.199+01:00Saying something in the heat of the moment to a tr...Saying something in the heat of the moment to a trusted confidante is one thing, sitting down to write an article for publication in a major newspaper is quite another. There is no excuse for what this man wrote. I reserve all my compassion for his wife and child who I fear are living with someone who could be dangerous.<br />We may all face difficult times in life but we must recognise that there is widespread and pervasive discrimination against neurodivergent people. What Guardian Dad did adds to that. Sharon McDaidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550156204691696968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28040139.post-68966424246133822002015-05-20T11:06:39.365+01:002015-05-20T11:06:39.365+01:00All kind of thoughts and feelings came up reading ...All kind of thoughts and feelings came up reading the letter and all the comments posted.<br />For me neurodiversity is about celebrating human diversity, with all its humans colours, ways and abilities. Our world with this beautiful and great variety of human beings. It is about understanding that we all play a part in existence, embracing all humans. We should not exclude anyone, but accept all, autistic or not, every life is to be celebrated.It does not matter what we are, or even who we are, but just the simple fact that we are and we are here to learn from one another. Everyone of us faces difficult times in life and we all say or do things that we maybe should not have. But the fact is we do and sometimes we do because we have to learn, or need help to understand why we see or feel as the person we are, to grow and open ourselves to life, to what it brings. Or sometimes it opens something in others, so they might learn or understand. We do not know how it is to be the other. To judge the other is to judge ourselves.We all look at the world from our own little world. But if we try to understand or feel compassion for the other, we in fact embrace ourselves. A very wise man once said;<br />All diversity springs from one unity!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28040139.post-32367765684712671382015-05-19T08:39:17.950+01:002015-05-19T08:39:17.950+01:00Delia I don't wonder if he is autistic. I susp...Delia I don't wonder if he is autistic. I suspect that he is controlling and deliberately uncaring.Sharon McDaidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550156204691696968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28040139.post-36751853499185086372015-05-18T14:10:02.667+01:002015-05-18T14:10:02.667+01:00Anyone wondered if Guardian Dad might be on the sp...Anyone wondered if Guardian Dad might be on the spectrum? He appears to lack flexibility of thought to imagine how his wife and child feel.<br />(I have a son with Asperger who is now 22 and amazing, and a husband who although undiagnosed has obvious signs of ASD, and can be a nightmare to live with at times because he can't see how his acts affect others!)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14520370040785437642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28040139.post-29182536138813407252015-05-18T08:05:33.732+01:002015-05-18T08:05:33.732+01:00Comment moderation has now been turned on and I ap...Comment moderation has now been turned on and I apologise that several disablist statements were published while I was away.<br /><br />Teresa this is an autism accepting space and attacks on autistic people are not tolerated.<br /><br />Guardian Dad disparaged his wife and child in a public forum and that is unacceptable. He did not ask for help. His anti-autism rhetoric is damaging. Ideas about "getting autistic kids back" as though they are trapped on some other plane are damaging too. Such rhetoric absolves society of responsibility for the appalling way autistic and learning disabled people are treated especially as adults. Though Teresa is wrong to say that all young people with what is labelled "challenging behaviour" end up in residential care- too many do. That is not the fault of those individuals but is because they have been routinely dehumanised in the media. Their lives are thought not to matter.<br /><br />The best thing I did for my autistic son was to listen to autistic adults and learn from them.Sharon McDaidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550156204691696968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28040139.post-10667406724285218462015-05-18T00:42:07.225+01:002015-05-18T00:42:07.225+01:00@ cc if u are autistic then by your comments you h...@ cc if u are autistic then by your comments you have just insulted my 2 children it's not my feelings that hurt its my children I'm glad u have called mother of 2 autistic a bigot anbleist who has fought so hard for early intervention for them both I'm sure my children will appreciate my efforts to secure a better quality of life for them. Your own comments have being more then offensive to my autistic children Teresahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11163170155814956559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28040139.post-24436974239787942692015-05-18T00:24:56.099+01:002015-05-18T00:24:56.099+01:00You're calling me a coward why, exactly? I'...You're calling me a coward why, exactly? I'm an autistic adult who sees the harm that bigoted ableist parents do to autistic children. This article is disgusting and if you don't agree, frankly, you're part of the problem. Fuck your precious feelings when there are autistic lives at stake.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00643504747017689032noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28040139.post-68115056799604639372015-05-17T23:07:12.511+01:002015-05-17T23:07:12.511+01:00@cc most children with challenging behaviour ends ...@cc most children with challenging behaviour ends up in residential care not in foster care and end up in institutions after they turn 18 most families that provide foster care services don't provide care for children with challenging behaviours Teresahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11163170155814956559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28040139.post-47401430334908812382015-05-17T22:44:47.308+01:002015-05-17T22:44:47.308+01:00@ cc who ever u are great to sit behind a computer...@ cc who ever u are great to sit behind a computer and spit venom u need serious help by ur comments nothing but a coward Teresahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11163170155814956559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28040139.post-75465865434563575902015-05-17T21:37:08.935+01:002015-05-17T21:37:08.935+01:00"You got some of your son back?"
Stop ..."You got some of your son back?" <br /><br />Stop that right there with your ableist (I'm American, that's what we say) crap.<br /><br />Your son is autistic. He was born autistic and will die autistic, and to say that he is somehow "lost" is beyond offensive to anyone who is autistic. We're not lost or missing. We're right here. If you can't deal with it, that is YOUR problem. I'd rather a child be in foster care and have a chance at a good life than with a parent who sees their fundamental neurology as something broken. <br /><br />No. I am done with the hatefulness. Because it is hatefulness. If you use PCs and you had a kid who was a Mac user, you wouldn't consider him deficient. Autistic people are Macs in a PC world - not broken, not in need of correction. Different, and we have the God damn right to exist as different.<br /><br />I'm not saying that we're never wrong or that we don't handle things inappropriately. But for example, Autistic Kid from this letter, if he hits or has a meltdown, it's almost certainly because something is wrong. We don't melt down for kicks or to get attention - we do it because we can't handle reality anymore. Treating the "behavior" doesn't do anything - finding the underlying cause does. But parents like this male parent (not a father; a real father shows love!) don't understand that, because it's all about Them - everything happens to make THEIR life better or worse.<br /><br />This is a man who will murder his child someday if he is not educated. I am not being hyperbolic. I don't care what he needs at this point. I care about preventing abuse and murder of autistics.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00643504747017689032noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28040139.post-65186221366531592622015-05-17T17:43:01.297+01:002015-05-17T17:43:01.297+01:00What I see is dispair anger grief and isolation is...What I see is dispair anger grief and isolation is what read all very normal emotions to feel when your at the grief process I remember saying to myself at one stage is this as good as it gets thank god with early intervention I got some of my son back, a child who wouldn't look at you push you away when you cuddled him, I suffered post natal depression after my first child was born I blamed myself for years because I didn't bond with after a c section, I made myself believe I gave my child autism it was only after the birth of my second child and after I had a break down myself that it wasn't anyone's fault. I can clearly see where this man is coming from its one very dark hole to come out of. Teresahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11163170155814956559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28040139.post-92168685054942343502015-05-17T17:29:50.774+01:002015-05-17T17:29:50.774+01:00Hi Michelle I don't interpret that way. This i...Hi Michelle I don't interpret that way. This is cry for help and support god knows I lived with someone who was quiet controlling as well and I can tell u he wouldn't have put it on paper as this man has done he would probably have kicked me and kids out of the house for disturbing his day of sports!!!Teresahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11163170155814956559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28040139.post-86988410927963283262015-05-17T17:16:07.562+01:002015-05-17T17:16:07.562+01:00Teresa, autism may not be black and white but blam...Teresa, autism may not be black and white but blaming your small child for your life not turning out the way you think you "deserve", calling your wife names, insinuating you would commit a violent act if you drank, is black and white wrong.<br />This guy is a "good person" as long as everything goes "his" way. <br />Having been married to a person like this, I fear for the child and wife, and I hope she leaves before it's too late.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17414508734191302660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28040139.post-60676860693354171412015-05-17T16:02:37.531+01:002015-05-17T16:02:37.531+01:00Some people view this as black and white it's ...Some people view this as black and white it's not as simple as that. Children on the spectrum have different challenges and are very complex behaviours very hard to understand. It's not black and white. Teresahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11163170155814956559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28040139.post-26159730377510707462015-05-17T15:46:53.094+01:002015-05-17T15:46:53.094+01:00Sharon a lot of people feel like this at times a l...Sharon a lot of people feel like this at times a lot of people with children with autism have a lot of challenges we don't know this mans circumstances regarding his child. People need to show human compassion and understanding. I know people who have had to put their children in care because of the constant physical and verbal abuse the receive from their children does that make them bad parents because they are taking other members of their family into consideration as well. People need to think before what they say on forum groups sensitivity needs to applied right across the board to other parents who are left with no other choice. Teresahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11163170155814956559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28040139.post-52717637983238256502015-05-17T15:36:46.317+01:002015-05-17T15:36:46.317+01:00Teresa he does need support and education on how t...Teresa he does need support and education on how to be a better parent and partner. Perhaps the Guardian should have given him sources of such support instead of publishing his venomous letter. Many families feel overwhelmed and unsupported- but they don't write a public letter blaming a little child for their problems, whining about the life they somehow felt entitled to (as though anyone knows what the future holds for their children) and disparaging their spouse in the most chilling terms. It's the wife and child I worry about most in this situation given what the man has disclosed.Sharon McDaidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550156204691696968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28040139.post-29402995555571052542015-05-17T15:32:04.073+01:002015-05-17T15:32:04.073+01:00Thank you all for taking the time to read and comm...Thank you all for taking the time to read and comment. Yesterday I engaged On The Guardian facebook page and it was very unpleasant. Most replies accused me of being horrible to the poor man and seemed not to care about the child or woman he was writing about. <br /><br />Lorraine, I too hope the child never reads that. I am just sorry so many autistic people will have read it. <br /><br />Mary yes those are good points. And like Anon says, his comment about what he might do if he drank is worrying. <br /><br />Thanks Siobhan. He comes across as very self-absorbed and I spot several red flags that lead me to suspect he may be abusive.Sharon McDaidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550156204691696968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28040139.post-46327171242894930202015-05-17T15:24:33.347+01:002015-05-17T15:24:33.347+01:00This man needs support not judgment education and ...This man needs support not judgment education and counselling would be of some help to him. Many families feel this way there is very little support out there for parents who have to first of all deal with diagnosis of their child with autism and secondly try and fight for services for their children which takes years in some cases to get. This is man who needs support for him to come to terms with this situation he is in. Teresahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11163170155814956559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28040139.post-22658229730303422932015-05-17T13:04:42.843+01:002015-05-17T13:04:42.843+01:00Thank you, thank you, thank you. Guardian dad supp...Thank you, thank you, thank you. Guardian dad supposedly hates himself (for being right). To my mind, he doesn't hate himself nearly enough (for being dead wrong).Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17308183138831512389noreply@blogger.com