A few years ago (in 2005) I wrote up this background material on my horse Stewart. In a couple of months, he’ll be 20 years old. He is still as feisty and energetic as ever, but he has calmed down some in important ways, has come to trust me more, and our mutual affection continues …
Category: Personal
Jul 17
Autism Acceptance: My Thoughts Captured in an Interview
Paula Durbin-Westby has been publishing a series of interviews with autistic people on the subject of Acceptance. Mine is the latest one that she has posted on her Autism Acceptance Day blog. Please take a look and tell me what you think. Also, poke around her site for many useful links and lots of good …
Jul 02
Caveat Emptor: TMS as Snake Oil
On the eve of my next visit to the TMS Lab at Beth Israel in Boston*, I came upon this blog post: TRANSCRANIAL MAGNETIC STIMULATION FOR AUTISM I’ve added a comment to that post, so won’t repeat myself here, but I did want to point out the very valid caveats they list. They talk …
Apr 17
Okay, I’m Superman
It pains me to write these comments, critical of one of my favorite neuroscience writers, but it must be done. V.S. Ramachandran has just published an online article that has taken an enormous amount of flak on Twitter, some of that from me. Also, the very first comment to the article cites a study that …
Mar 25
When Will I Learn (to take myself seriously)?
After all these years of observing how oddly (by other people’s standards) my body reacts to things, and even after several years of understanding that a lot of that has to do with being autistic, I still hesitate to assert myself. Case in point: I went in to my local clinic the other day to get a …
Mar 22
Empathy as a Form of Communication
Receptive and Expressive Language All communication has two aspects: receptive language and expressive language. Receptive language is what we hear and understand. Expressive language is what we say to others. I believe that empathy is also a form of communication; one that is as essential to each of us as is spoken, written, or signed …
Feb 10
Double Delight at Jiminy
I had a doubly wonderful experience today at Jiminy Peak. The conditions were absolutely spectacular. The only things I didn’t like were the crowds (well, it was a weekend, after all, which I usually avoid, but the forecast for tomorrow is for yuck — the “r” word-that-shall-not-be-spoken), and the pesky clumps of white fluffy stuff …
Dec 28
Who’s the Scientist Here?
My friend Ariane has written a post about her reaction to being attacked by someone who didn’t agree with her writing. If you know Ariane or have benefited from reading her blog, please go there and place a supporting comment. I did. I think we all know how traumatizing it is to be criticized in …
Dec 02
Neurobabble and All That
Neuroeverything After reading a couple of articles recommended by friends, I am going to have to rethink how I describe my reading habits. I have been saying I devour pop-science books on neuroscience. (Of course, I do read a lot of other things, too, on evolutionary biology, philosophy, ethics, autism, and more.) But it seems …
Nov 09
The Stockbridge Munsee Tribe
Chief Wilcox, Sherry White and Barbara Allen honor Mohican life in Stockbridge The “Chief” of this headline is not an Indian Chief, but my brother Rick, the Chief of Police in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. As explained in this nice blog post, he has carried on the tradition of staying in touch with the original inhabitants of …