A Special Autism-Friendly Screening London’s National Theatre in HD The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Saturday, November 3 at 2pm http://www.mahaiwe.org/events.html Recommended for ages 13 and up $10 Reserved Seating Here’s a nice article in the Berkshire Eagle about the performance, and my involvement in it. I will be leading the post-screening …
Category: Personal
Aug 19
More on the Mystery of Executive Function
Those of us who are neuroexceptional are known to have difficulty with many of the cognitive processes that fall under the general rubric of “executive functions.” Why is that? If I knew that answer to that, there would probably be a Nobel Prize waiting for me. Still, I have given this a lot of thought. …
Jun 30
Is There An Autistic Personality? Part II
In which I continue my unscientific search for common features of the autistic personality. In Part I of this series, I noted several discordances between autistic characteristics, as I see them, and standard personality types. I believe these will prove to be the keys to understanding (hey, wait, don’t keys “unlock”? – add that to the …
Jun 29
Fledging From Free Food to Freedom
Yesterday was fledging day at my house. For several weeks, as I awoke at first light, I was greeted by the chirping of what was clearly a large crop of nestlings, as their parents brought them their breakfast. Finally, the day had come for them to leave the nest and fend for themselves. What is …
Apr 12
Boredom and Its Antidote: The Importance of Adults
Being autistic is a way of being in the world. Those who are blessed with the special perspective given to us by our autistic neurology are also cursed by the fissure that appears in our interactions with non-autistic (neurotypical) people. It is only natural for all people to assume that others think the same way …
Apr 11
Massachusetts Autism Awareness & Acceptance Month Proclamation
At the Massachusetts State House on April 9, 2012, I was given the distinct honor and privilege of making an award to our Governor. During the ceremony, His Excellency Deval Patrick presented a Proclamation to the sponsoring organization, AFAM. The 2012 Proclamation was the latest version of a document that has evolved over the years, …
Mar 19
Detached and Separate: For Me, Lifelong Feelings
“When did you first realize you were different?” I sometimes get asked this question. My answer invariably is, “I have always known.” Even the first time I was asked, I did not hesitate, so sure was I in this knowledge. Being apart from others is a fate that is thrust upon autistics by our neurology, …
Mar 18
Dilettantes Need Not Apply: Autistic Behaviors are Complex, but not Psychotic
One thing that struck me when I first began to grok what it means to be autistic was how very wrong were many of the “Freudian” explanations and bits of advice I had gotten over the years. I put the word in quotes to indicate I am using it in the vernacular sense of …
Mar 17
Autism is a Silver Car: The Story of Steve Jobs
Maybe, for me, learning that I am autistic was like buying a new car. A few years ago, I acquired a silver car. Suddenly, silver cars were everywhere! I never realized there were so many on the road until I tried to find mine in a parking lot. I have come to think of autism …
Nov 24
The illusion of multi-tasking
The following is a discussion that took place on Facebook, and I thought I’d reproduce (an edited version of) it here to preserve the record and also to allow my blog followers to add comments if they wish. Charles: Can relate to this. Linda: Lmao so can I John: you can be both sir …