



Archive for January 20th, 2011
First Published Wednesday, 6 May 2009
Five people with Autism Spectrum Conditions will meet with Care Services Minister Phil Hope to respond in person to a consultation on Autism which launches today.
The meeting will appear online on the National Autistic Society website, You Tube and the new Department of Health consultation webpage. The issues raised will be formally submitted as the first responses to the consultation, which asks for opinions on what should be in the Government’s National Autism Strategy to be published later this year.
The consultation will run for 20 weeks and seeks views from people with autism, their families, their carers and those involved in delivering services, to make sure that the final strategy makes a real difference on the ground.
People responding to the consultation will be asked for their views on five key themes. They are:
- *Health
- *Social Inclusion
- *Choice and Control
- *Awareness raising and training for staff
- *Access to training and employment
As well as writing and e-mailing their views, people can respond to the consultation by:
- *filling in a questionnaire that can be completed online or on paper and by individuals or groups;
- *taking part in a locally organised stakeholder discussion event – a consultation pack can be downloaded from the Department of Health website;
- *taking part in a regional discussion event; or
- *logging on to the discussion forum at http://www.dh.gov.uk/en//en/Consultations/Liveconsultations/DH_098587
Ministers have already committed to issuing statutory guidance to ensure the final strategy has teeth and is put into practice at a local level.
Phil Hope said:
“People with Autistic Spectrum Conditions should have the same rights and freedom to enjoy life as everyone else.
“I want as many people as possible to respond to the consultation and let us know about their experiences, in their communities.
“The people I’ve met have strong opinions on what changes will make a difference to their day to day lives. With their responses to the consultation, and the views of people from across the country, we can make sure that the national strategy we’ll publish at the end of the year really delivers where it counts.”
Mark Lever, Chief Executive of The National Autistic Society and chair of the strategy’s External Reference Group, said:
“After months of campaigning, the Government have given adults with autism an unprecedented opportunity to have their say in a strategy which could make a real difference. It is important that as many people affected by autism as possible take part to help shape the final strategy and the action that is needed at a local and national level. Without the right support autism can have a profound and sometimes devastating effect, so I urge the Government to reaffirm their commitment to giving the strategy the legal force, which is absolutely necessary to deliver real change.”
Source: http://www.medilexicon.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=148508
First Published Wednesday, 6 May 2009
National Advisory Board Issues ‘Declaration for Independence’ : A
Call-to-Action in Healthcare for Seniors and People with Disabilities
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.,* *May 5, 2009 /PRNewswire/ — America’s healthcare and
long-term services need to undergo a radical, modern transformation to
better meet the needs of today’s seniors and people with disabilities,
according to a report released today by a 15-member private, national
advisory board. The report, which will be supported by a nationwide “Day of
Dialogue” on Thursday, May 21, calls for changes in public policies that
both recognize and foster individual preferences for independent living
through better integrated community-based services.
The report, entitled “Declaration for Independence: A Call to Transform
Health and Long-Term Services for Seniors and People with Disabilities, ”
seeks to compel consumers, legislative officials, community-based
organizations and healthcare providers to engage in efforts to modernize the
healthcare infrastructure.
The Day of Dialogue – a virtual town hall meeting – will be held on
Thursday, May 21, at 2:00 p.m. EDT. The public is invited to participate in
the dialogue. Full details and registration are available at *
www.declarationfori ndependence. org*<http://www.declarat ionforindependen ce.org/>or
*www.mydfi.org* <http://www.mydfi. org/>.
“Within the discussions to reform our Nation’s healthcare, we hope to serve
as a catalyst for an open dialogue on how to address the long-term services
and support needs of seniors and people with disabilities. More than talk,
we want to offer solutions that work for everyone involved,” said Lex
Frieden, Convener of the National Advisory Board (NAB) on Improving Health
Care Services for Seniors and People with Disabilities that released the
report. Mr. Frieden was an instrumental contributor to the landmark
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
“In addition to the report issued today, we also are holding a Day of
Dialogue, including our virtual town hall meeting, to broaden our call to
action,” Frieden said.
“The problem we face today is a critical limitation of options for care,”
Frieden added. “The social and economic consequences of providing only
institutional options for care are antiquated at best. Given the growing
number of aging Baby Boomers, the dramatic advances we have in technology
and the increasing choices for independent living and care, now is the best
time to ensure that our public policies catch up to the 21st century.”
As the report cites, by 2030, the number of people age 65 and older will
double. Today, the U.S. census bureau identifies 41.3 million Americans as
having a disability, many of whom are individuals who eventually will need
long-term services and support. Further, 87 percent of people with
disabilities who are age 50 and older prefer to live in their own homes. For
the cost of providing assistance in a nursing facility for one individual,
nearly three seniors or people with disabilities can receive services in the
communities where they live.
The NAB’s report makes recommendations for changes based on the following
six principles:
1. Enhance Self-Care through Improved Coordination
2. Encourage Community Integration and Involvement
3. Expand Accessibility of Services and Supports
4. Uphold Personal Preference
5. Empower People to Participate in the Economic Mainstream
6. Invest in Improved Technology.
To learn more, including downloading the full report or registering for the
Day of Dialogue, visit
*www.declarationfor independence. org*<http://www.declarat ionforindependen ce.org/>or
*www.mydfi.org* <http://www.mydfi. org/>.
*About the National Advisory Board*
The National Advisory Board on Improving Health Care Services for Seniors
and People with Disabilities was created by AMERIGROUP Corporation in 2007.
Drawing from a wide range of distinguished community advocates and
healthcare experts, the 15-member National Advisory Board has provided
advice and guidance on delivering the highest quality services and ensuring
the best health and community living outcomes for seniors and those with
disabilities.
*About AMERIGROUP Corporation*
AMERIGROUP Corporation, headquartered in Virginia Beach, Virginia, improves
healthcare access and quality for the financially vulnerable, seniors and
people with disabilities by developing innovative managed health services
for the public sector. Through its subsidiaries, AMERIGROUP Corporation
serves approximately 1.7 million people in Florida, Georgia, Maryland,
Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas and
Virginia. For more information, visit
*www.amerigroupcorp .com*<http://www.amerigro upcorp.com/>
CONTACT:
News Media: Peter Lobred
Vice President, Communications
AMERIGROUP Corporation
(757) 321-3592
Hello,
Some of you may find this of interest. As a reminder, ASAN has an action alert
out on this issue – long term services and supports as part of health care
reform. You can participate in advocating for this by going to
http://www.change. org/autisticadvo cacy/actions/ view/pass_ the_community_ choice_act_ with_comprehensi ve_health_ care_reform
We will message you with more information on how to participate in the
upcoming Day of Dialogue and how to advocate for real health care reform if
you go to the link provided and join the over three hundred advocates who
have already worked to help include the disability community’s concerns in
the upcoming health care reform package.
Regards,
—
Ari Ne’eman
President
The Autistic Self Advocacy Network
1660 L Street, NW, Suite 700
Washington, DC 20036
http://www.autistic advocacy. org
732.763.5530
First Published Wednesday, 6 May 2009

Depression can ‘make your brown eyes blue’
George Hunka
It’s more than just feeling bad. Clinical depression affects the way we process information in the brain, negatively affecting memory, attention span, and the brain’s ability to learn new things.
Now new research provides evidence that depression changes our visual perception as well.
A research team headed by Dr Uri Polat of the Goldschleger Eye Institute at Tel Aviv University compared the visual perception of healthy people to those hospitalized for depression. The clinically depressed, they assessed, lacked the ability to fill in parts of a picture when those parts were missing or faint.
“Vision is processed in the brain, and we already know that depression affects cognitive functioning,” says Dr Polat, whose team pioneered a study on visual perception in people with depression. The new results linking depression to eyesight could result in a breakthrough tool to accurately diagnose depression.
To investigate the effects of depression on visual perception, Dr Polat developed a computerized test that let him assess “the filling-in process” that a healthy mind undertakes when looking at objects. The researchers asked 27 control subjects and 32 patients hospitalized for major depression to look at identical images and report what they saw. The control subjects were able to successfully fill in and “see” missing parts, while the depressive ones were not.
“We see with our brain, not with our eyes. The eye is only the tool,” says Dr Polat, who is studying the brainwave activity of patients during the experiment. He found very unusual patterns emerging: the brain activity of depressed people looked different from that of the control group.
“We are now taking our results and looking at ways we can take the signals in the brain and turn them into an objective tool, both in diagnostics and for monitoring the course of treatment,” says Dr Polat.
With such a tool, visual perception tests might give psychiatrists a better way to diagnose depression. Currently there is no non-biased test to assess whether someone is clinically depressed. Because of the biases inherent in self-administered tests, diagnostic questionnaires can produce inaccurate results, denying patients medication or hospitalization.
Dr Polat’s work might also assist physicians in monitoring the effects of antidepressants such as fluoxetine (Prozac®) within days. Currently, it can take up to six weeks after the start of treatment to know if the prescription is right for the patient.
Dr Polat and his Tel Aviv University team are now taking the next step and developing an EEG test that could be administered in any clinic or hospital in America to scan brain activity for the signature signs that depression creates.
“A standardized tool for depression could save the healthcare system millions of dollars in costs resulting from misdiagnosis, and would give depressed people peace of mind,” says Dr Polat. “Knowing the severity of one’s condition could help a depressed patient decide when to medicate, and then to know whether or not the medication is working. It could also help psychiatrists better understand depression in children, and in people who have multiple dysfunctions that prevent them from communicating their feelings to a psychiatrist.“

Zomet A, Amiaz R, Grunhaus L, Polat U. Major depression affects perceptual filling-in. Biol Psychiatry. 2008 Oct;64(8):667-71 Â [Abstract]

Evidence suggests poor sleep increases risk of depression
Tough times keeping us awake at night
By Sharon Kirkey, Canwest News Service
With reports that “economic insomnia” is robbing people of sleep, researchers are warning poor sleep can unhinge the mind and increase the risk for depression and other full-blown psychiatric conditions.
“When you are tired, when you’re worn out, then everything becomes more of a challenge for you,” says Dr Adam Moscovitch, medical director of the Canadian Sleep Institute in Toronto and Calgary.
More…
© Copyright (c) Canwest News Service
First Published Wednesday, 6 May 2009
Zac Smith/The Daily <http://oudaily.com/staff/zac-smith/
Autism Speaks is the world’s largest and most prominent autism advocacy
organization. Through its partnerships with Toys “R†Us and other businesses
and its stable of celebrity spokespeople, it is able to raise well more than
$30 million per year.
It would be natural to assume that donating to such a medical charity would
be a good thing. Advances in the efforts to cure diseases such as breast
cancer and AIDS have come largely as a result of widespread public concern.
Wouldn’t a few dollars one might otherwise spend on luxury items be better
placed in the hands of Autism Speaks?
Contributing to an organization that speaks up for autistic individuals
would be wonderful. With my donation, this group could campaign for greater
understanding and acceptance of those with autism and help influence society
in such a way as to be more accessible to them.
Such an organization would be well deserving of your and my support.
However, such an organization also would be pretty much the polar opposite
of Autism Speaks.
Autism Speaks, whose sole concern seems to be “fix[ing]†those with autism,
engages in scaremongering, distorts facts and dehumanizes those they are
supposedly speaking for, all as a matter of policy.
Autism Speaks has likened having autism to being in a car wreck, being
struck by lightning and being fatally ill. Autistic children are said to
have been “kidnapped†from their families.
Learning to live with and understand a person’s autism-related
characteristics is not an option– autism must be defeated, and the person
rescued.
This attitude has been most effectively distilled in an advertisement
designed by the unrelated New York University Child Study Center.
The ad, which is presented in the form of a ransom note, reads, “We have
your son. We will make sure he will not be able to care for himself or
interact socially as long as he lives. This is only the beginning. [From]
Autism.â€
This variety of approach, while no doubt useful for scaring up donations,
obviously promotes the stigmatization of autism.
Autism Speaks is abundantly eager to engage in these tactics. Autistic
children are “stolen†from their families – soulless husks, they live lives
devoid of human emotion, or so the portrayal goes.
The incitement of hysteria fills Autism Speaks’ coffers, but at the cost of
further alienating a group of individuals who already face numerous social
challenges.
The most unsettling example I’ve seen of Autism Speaks’ dehumanization of
autistic individuals is contained in their 2006 film “Autism Every Day,â€
which features, among other things, a mother claiming that she would have
murdered her autistic daughter but for the existence of her other,
neurotypical daughter.
That this would have been an insane or at least critically misinformed
choice is not highlighted.
Individuals on the autism spectrum, when not being obliquely portrayed as
soulless androids, are turned into mascots.
My favorite example of this is the Toys “R†Us-associated charity that
offered donators of $10 or more a complementary tote bag decorated with art
by a real autistic person. Oh boy! For $20 can I get a souvenir photo taken
with him, too?
How is it, one might wonder, that an autism advocacy organization could be
comfortable promoting these views?
Why don’t those autistic individuals involved in the group’s running do
something to moderate its speech?
The answer is that the autistic are not represented, even by a single
individual, in the group’s leadership.
Perhaps having an autistic board member would betray the fact that autism
doesn’t render one totally nonfunctional.
Autism Speaks is like an all-white NAACP.
The organization also spends a significant portion of its budget researching
the connection between childhood vaccination and autism.
The hypothesis that vaccination can lead to autism is unsupported by any
evidence and runs counter to what we do know about autism’s probably
primarily genetic basis. But this has not stopped Autism Speaks from pouring
funding into research on the topic, presumably in the hope of finding a link
which would accentuate the paranoia around autism.
The truth is that, while individuals on the autism spectrum face difficulty
integrating into a society constructed by and for the neurotypical, many
autism-associated idiosyncrasies are useful and positive.
Take, for example, the characteristic attention to detail and fascination
with repetition that led artist Andy Warhol, who was probably autistic, to
create some of his most recognizable works.

Dan Aykroyd and Daryl Hannah, singers Ladyhawke, Gary Numan, Craig Nicholls
(of the Vines) and Peter Tork (of the Monkees).

In fact, many high-functioning autistic individuals and individuals with
Asperger syndrome (“aspies,†for the hip) prefer to live as they are,
regardless of the inconvenience, and find the notion that they must be
rescued from the ravening demon of their autism insulting.
But, even if one accepts the premise that autism must be controlled
(presumably through prenatal testing and abortion, as with Down syndrome),
Autism Speaks remains an unprincipled organization that actually fights the
understanding and acceptance of the people it purports to represent.
If you’d like to contribute to an organization making an effective effort to
improve the lives of autistic individuals, I’d suggest the Autistic
Self-Advocacy Network, found online at www.autisticadvocacy.org.
The next time a Toys “R†Us cashier tries to guilt you into giving a few
dollars to Autism Speaks, buy yourself an oversized Chupa Chups instead.
-Zac Smith is an English junior.
First Published Wednesday, 6 May 2009
Jacobus ten Broek was a founder of the National Federation for the Blind — one of the first organizations of people with disabilities to insist that those with disabilities sit on the board and direct the organization.
On Friday, April 17th, 2009, I delivered the following comments to the
National Federation of the Blind’s Disability Law Symposium. A recording of
the speech is available
here<http://www.nfb.org/images/nfb/Audio/JTB_Law_Symposium/2009/2009%20tenBroek%20Law%20Symposium/2009_JTB_Law_Symposium_Keynote.mp3>on
mp3 and a link to the rest of the symposium materials can be found at:
http://www.nfb.org/nfb/Law_Symposium.asp
The past half-century has seen a great proliferation in new kinds of
conversation about rights. Once primarily relevant in the context of
criminal justice and property disputes, rights-based discourses have
expanded their scope throughout our society. We have civil rights, human
rights, women’s rights, disability rights, immigrant rights, GLBT rights,
commercial rights, social rights, privacy rights, animal rights, children’s
rights, student rights, parental rights and countless more. Though we may
not all agree on the extent or even legitimacy of them, it cannot be
disputed that we have broadened our global conception of the role for this
concept called rights in our social, legal, economic, policy and societal
frameworks. And yet, at the same time as we have updated the role of
rights-based conversations in our society, we remain with some very obsolete
ideas about where rights come from. This holds us back.
We go out to the world and we tell them in so many ways that it is time for
our rights to be realized. We talk about inclusion, we talk about
integration, we talk about access, but when we are asked why, our answers
are typically phrased in the language of either cost-benefit or desperate
need. The one turns our civil rights struggle into a conversation on policy
technicalities; the other evokes the very charity-oriented model of
disability support that we have been trying to escape. Neither type of
response brings the understanding and the knowledge necessary to communicate
both the nature *and the urgency *of our priorities because both talk about
rights without talking about where they derive. To legitimize our rights, we
have to explain where they are from and so show that they do exist in the
ways we talk about.
But where do rights derive? That is the question. The enlightenment
political philosophy that our country was based on put forward the idea of a
social contract, arrived at by individuals in a state of anarchy,
determining to place some of their G-d-given natural rights into a central
government for the purpose of securing the remaining ones. This theory
carries with it much charm – it fits with our nation’s philosophy of
government by the people, for the people, it recognizes and respects rights
as inalienable, not temporal whims to be overridden by the first tyrant with
a passing fancy. Unfortunately, it is anachronistic and also inaccurate.
There has never been a state of nature and our modern ideas of rights go far
beyond the negative right protections against government intervention that
are all this model allows for. Our community would not be the only one left
out by such a limited conception of rights, but we certainly would be one of
the first and one of the worst served.
What does that leave us? Where do rights come from? The United States
Declaration of Independence says that men are “endowed by their creator with
certain unalienable rightsâ€. I believe that to be true – for both men and
women, it should be noted. And yet, for our purposes, this does not help us
very much. Because the very reason we seek a source for rights in the first
place is to help us understand what they are. Barring a theocracy tied to a
particular holy text, the belief that rights are divinely inspired does not
shed much light on their nature.
You, the people here gathered today, represent some of the most important
leaders of a movement devoted to securing and advancing recognition of the
rights of a segment of the global population that has been denied them,
perhaps more extensively and more pervasively than any other. For
generations upon generations the very idea that our population was
discriminated against, was deprived of rights was not even on the agenda.
Disability was – and in so many senses, still is perceived – as a problem
that should be solved by charity and whose persistence could be blamed only
on the lack of sufficient humanitarian instincts on the part of the public
and the as yet too slow progression of medical science. Disability rights
were not on the agenda as far as rights crusaders were concerned – that was
a province for those who ministered to the poor unfortunates of the world,
the sad accidents, the there but for the grace of G-d go I angels who gave
of themselves and found meaning in those tragic burdens.
Then things started to change – not so much with the world, though it is
starting, slowly and not yet by any means surely, but with ourselves. We
began not to conceive of our existences as mistakes, our misfortunes as
G-d’s will and our utility limited to being gracious for that which hath
been given us. We got activated. We got interested. We got angry. We looked
out on the world and found the blame for our misfortune lied not with G-d or
with medical defects but with a society that was built up for centuries upon
centuries without any thought to the prospect that people like us might live
in it. In that moment – and we have each found it at different points in our
lives – but in that moment, we saw power abused, we saw injustice – in
short, we saw wrongs and so our rights were born. In that moment – that
epiphany – the world changed for us, and disability rights were born.
In my own community – that of Autistic adults and youth, a group that has
been targeted with an unprecedented wave of fear and pity-mongering as of
late by entities that unjustly attempt to speak on our behalf – this
paradigm shift is motivated by multiple sources. At one level, the socially
constructed nature of at least some of our difficulties is a simple
conclusion to reach, as many of our challenges are social in nature. At
another level, our community’s outrage at lack of representation in the
national conversation about us brought us to the disability rights outlook.
This is represented for us in the neurodiversity movement, which seeks to
recognize our neurology as legitimate and change the autism conversation
from one of cures and eugenics to one of quality of life and equality of
opportunity. Our movement for what we desire – independent, understanding,
opportunity and respect – is a response to attempts to force on us what we
oppose – dependency, isolation, pity and loss of control over our own lives.
The very foundation of our legal system comes from something remarkably
similar. Why do we guarantee freedom of speech, freedom of petition, freedom
of assembly, much less the right to a speedy and public trial or to not have
troops quartered in ones home? It is a direct outgrowth of our experiences
with the British crown and it was only once we had that experience with
injustice that we could properly understand what justice looked like. A
quick look across history will reveal much the same thing. Our national
experience with slavery imprinted us with the right to freedom from forced
servitude on the basis of race. The gains of the civil rights movement were
not just the result of superior organization and a superb moral cause, they
were our nation’s recognition – still partial – of the legacy of lynching,
segregation and racism. Anti-Semitism was driven from the country club to
the conspiracy theory fringe when the knowledge of the Holocaust came into
our homes. Gay rights have advanced because of public awareness of brutal
hate crimes such as the torture and murder of Matthew Shepard. To quote
Harvard’s Alan Dershowitz, rights come from wrongs.
Let us be clear. This does not mean that we are purchasing social goods with
our victimhood. There are those who would put it in those terms – the people
who claim that we are owed something not because it is objectively just for
us to receive it but because of our community having been deprived something
else that should justly have been ours. Many aspects of the disability
policy framework built in decades past are built on that idea, the
retributive model of disability. This is the concept behind much of our
Social Security Disability infrastructure. The result of it has, in fact,
been a form of inaccessible infrastructure unto itself, with individuals
forced to swear, even as many are only just starting their lives, that they
are incapable of ever working in meaningful employment in order for them to
gain the government support necessary to survive. This system was built on
old assumptions of dependency – it was built for the conversation about
need, not for the one about rights and about justice. It is one of many
examples of the kind of infrastructure we must radically alter if we hope to
bring the conversation about disability into the 21st century. Another
example can be found in the judicial decisions that necessitated the
recently signed into law ADA Amendments Act. For what reason did the
disability community have to, eighteen years after the ADA first came into
effect, work to pass it once again for a considerable portion of the
disability population? It is because the judges that interpreted the narrow
definition of disability that the legislation sought to fix saw the ADA as a
law about charity – specifically, charity for the most severely impaired –
not justice for all those who are being discriminated against.
What does the idea of rights coming from wrongs imply then, if not
compensation for having been victimized? It should serve to show us what
direction our advocacy should take and, much more importantly, it should
show the public reason why the goals our advocacy aspires to realize are
important. For too long, our civil rights movement has been one by stealth.
Even as we built tremendous political power and created civil rights laws
and social welfare programs, we often did it not by making a credible claim
that this is the way the world should be, but by playing on the idea that
society should show “compassion†and “pity†for the disabled. This was not
entirely our fault. We’re dealing with a media and, as a result, a general
public that has not even begun to understand the nature and implications of
disability rights. But regardless of why we are here, we still have to deal
with the results of having won our legal and political victories while
bypassing the social ones that should have come first. The consequence is
that our movement and all the progress it has brought is still seen, in most
circles, as one of charity or worse still as a stopgap until – be it by
eugenics, euthanasia or medical cures – disability is no longer a part of
the human experience. This is what Dr. tenBroek was referring to when he
wrote about our “right to live in the world†and the failure of the broader
community to accept that right as of yet.
This knowledge places our struggle for recognition of even our victories on
the civil rights front in context. Why, almost twenty years after the ADA,
do we still see such extensive discrimination and lack of access in terms of
employment and places of public accommodation? Why, ten years after
Olmstead, do we still see institutions and nursing homes that are near
impossible for our people to escape? Why, after Deaf President Now and many
similar such actions are so many disability organizations groups that speak
about us, without us? Why after the MDA Labor Day Telethon and Ransom Notes
and countless other examples of unethical fundraising and advertising
tactics do we still see media campaigns that devalue our very personhood and
cast us as less than human?
The answer is because when we come to the public with our demands of rights
and speak those rights unto the world with all the passion of that
aforementioned epiphany, the world only sees part of the message. They see
the demand for rights but not the wrongs from which the rights were born.
They look at the individual who uses a wheelchair who cannot enter an
inaccessible building or the Autistic student who, like I myself have been,
is excluded from his home school and what they see is not an inaccessible
infrastructure but needy, pitiful dependents. And they may meet our
immediate demands for laws and public programs, as charity is still seen as
necessary and good and proper by so many well-meaning souls. However, the
enforcement of those laws and the implementation of those programs will
never be as urgent or as meaningful a priority to them as it is for the
“true†civil rights movements.
To them, this is still very much a conversation about need – not injustice.
This is not a petty distinction. To have a conversation about justice is to
call for a civil rights movement that all members of the human community
should feel a moral obligation to join and support. To have a conversation
about mere need is to call only for charity conducted mostly by those who
usually do not feel that need themselves and have their own ideas about the
manner in which it should be fulfilled.
I am reminded, by way of example, of an experience my group, the Autistic
Self Advocacy Network, had when leading a protest against offensive
advertisements depicting children with disabilities as kidnap victims posted
across New York City. The campaign, called “Ransom Notesâ€, consisted of faux
ransom notes from the disabilities that had taken the normal children that
were supposedly once in the bodies of now disabled young people. We
mobilized thousands of Autistic people and those with other disabilities,
brought support from two dozen national and regional disability rights
organizations and also garnered some support from sympathetic segments of
the parent and professional community. Finally, after thousands of phone
calls and e-mails, our story began to hit the media – with the UPI headline,
“Ads anger parents of autistic children.â€
Of course the story was accurately reported in other news sources and we did
succeed in getting the ads withdrawn, but there is a certain sense of
frustration over the lack of agency that is allowed our community. Even when
every single one of the organizations doing press outreach and explaining
our case to the public were consumer-controlled disability rights
organizations, the only available paradigm that the media could place this
in was one in which we were only passive onlookers as our parents fought on
our behalf. Every disability group and most disability rights activists have
similar stories.
And so even as we spend more money and more political will on disability
issues than we ever have before, we are limited in what we can achieve
because the conversation is not one about justice, it is not one about
recognizing wrongs and rectifying the institutions that continue to commit
them. It isn’t about putting power in the hands of the people who have been
deprived it. It is about charity and dependency and all of those other
things that infantilize and marginalize us, controlled by those who speak
for us on our behalf and without our permission.
The average member of the public does not know about *Buck v. Bell *or the
tens of thousands of Americans with disabilities or perceived to have
disabilities who were involuntarily sterilized as a result of the eugenics
movement. They do not know about Willowbrook or the countless Americans with
disabilities who have had to live out their whole lives in institutions –
much less the many Americans with disabilities who still must suffer this
segregation. They don’t know about the Judge Rotenberg Center or school
abuse through aversives, restraint and seclusion. The people in charge of
our futures do not understand our history. They don’t see ADAPT calling out,
“We Will Ride†or “Free Our Peopleâ€. They don’t see Deaf President Now at
Gallaudet. All they see is the Jerry Lewis MDA telethon or the Autism Speaks
fear-mongering television advertisements or Jenny McCarthy and Jim Carrey
promoting pseudo-scientific claims of pharmaceutical company-government
conspiracies to poison their children into autism with vaccines. It isn’t
just because the money and the media power is in the hands of those other
groups. It’s because the public narrative about disability doesn’t know
where to place groups like ASAN and the NFB and a movement like ours. The
ideas about dependency run so deep, the charity and victim models are so
ingrained, that the response of most reporters and members of the general
public to our message is one of cognitive dissonance before pigeonholing our
movement into whatever disability narrative is easiest for them to classify
us into. Maybe this is why the disability movement has not yet had our
Rodney King or Matthew Shepard moment – since the concept of disabled people
as suffering is a natural, normal, expected thing in the eyes of the media
and the public, suffering brought on from discrimination or abuse is simply
placed into the same, “unfortunate but unavoidable†category as all
disability-related misfortunes tend to be.
A perfect example of this can be found in the Supreme Court’s *Alabama v.
Garrett* decision, were the court struck down Congress’s attempt to abrogate
the sovereign immunity of the states from damages under ADA lawsuits on the
grounds that there was insufficient evidence to “identify a pattern of
irrational state discrimination in employment against the disabled.” To a
slim majority of the Justices of the Supreme Court, disability
discrimination is not the result of having built infrastructures for only a
portion of the population but a perfectly rational act that the equal
protection clause cannot be expected to serve as a remedy for. To quote the
Court, “the Fourteenth Amendment does not require States to make special
accommodations for the disabled, so long as their actions toward such
individuals are rational. They could quite hardheadedly–and perhaps
hardheartedly–hold to job-qualification requirements which do not make
allowance for the disabled. If special accommodations for the disabled are
to be required, they have to come from positive law and not through the
Equal Protection Clause.†Here, once again, disability rights are not
matters of equal protection given to full citizens under the law, they are
portrayed as matters of charity that good hearted people engage in.
The good news is that this does show us what our next steps should be. It
explains the biggest obstacle for the disability rights movement’s ascension
to the next level of rights discourse in America – placing us on par with
other minority groups based on race, religion, sexual orientation and
similar attributes. That obstacle is the failure to take our message to the
public. I’m pleased by the progress that we’re seeing in that direction in
respect to the growing Disability History movement, attempting to
incorporate the history of people with disabilities and our civil rights
struggle into the classroom just as the experiences of other American
minority groups has been incorporated. In many ways, finding a way to cement
our past into the American national narrative will be the best way to ensure
we have a future. We must carry that message forward, but to succeed we need
our President and Congressional representatives to join us in making that
case to the American people. Furthermore, it is important for us to
memorialize and to educate the public about the achievements of men such as
Dr. Jacobeus tenBroek as well as other disability leaders like Ed Roberts or
Justin Dart not just to pay respect to those who have gone before but to
show the world that we do have a history of taking control over our own
lives and that there is a real and legitimate civil rights movement of, by
and for people with disabilities. To quote Ed Roberts, “the greatest lesson
of the civil rights movement is that the moment you let others speak for
you, you lose.†Showing the world those parts of our past where we have
confronted the wrongs that are being committed against us and restored
agency to our community is one way for us to take back our voice.
Another thing that we must do is to begin to confront and to confront
vigorously those organizations and groups that speak about us, without us.
When Jerry Lewis or VOR or Autism Speaks go to the public and claim to
represent the needs and perspectives of the disability community with their
calls for more pity, more segregation, more eugenics and more distance from
our dream of being recognized as equal citizens in this society, they
perpetrate upon us an obscenity. This obscenity nevertheless has use in that
teaches us about how important to the disability rights movement it is for
us to take control of our own message and our own community. We must
organize not just around laws but around the public conversation on
disability, confronting those corporate donors and political infrastructures
that give support to these repressive, fear-mongering groups that challenge
our right to live in this world. To quote Dr. tenBroek himself, *“there
are…large and powerful agencies abroad in the land, considerable in number
and vast in influence, which remain hostile to our movement in thought, in
speech, and in action. Under the guise of professionalism, [they] would
perpetuate colonialism. [Their] philosophy is a throwback to the age of the
silent client, before the revolution in welfare and civil rights, which
converted the client into an active and vocal partner in the programming and
dispensing of services. In…[their]…lofty disregard of the organized blind as
the voice of those to be served, [they] betray bureaucratic bias that
is…[an]…image of the blind client not as a person to be served but as a
defective mechanism to be serviced.â€* The same could be said about many
similar groups that speak about us, without us in many disability
communities.
* *
Finally, in order to communicate our message to the public, we must also
realize that the most effective social change comes not from activism but
from individuals. For the public to understand that the disability message
is a civil rights message, they must hear that message from their friends,
their family members and their co-workers with disabilities. Beyond this,
for us to accomplish that, we must succeed in broadening the base of the
disability rights movement to encompass a broader scope of people with
disabilities in general. There remain too many people with disabilities who
do not yet have the chance to participate in our community. We must broaden
our community and give every disabled person access to the disability
culture and perspective.
I’d like to end by quoting American philosopher Henry David Thoreau, who
said, “You have built castles in the clouds, now you must build the
foundation underneath them.†As we talk about how to imprint the American
public with the meaning and message of the disability rights movement, we
talk about what must be done to build the foundations that will show that
our vision is no dream. This is what we must do. This is what we can do.
This is what we will do. Thank you for your time and I look forward to
working with all of you to bring this hope into reality.
—
Ari Ne’eman
President
The Autistic Self Advocacy Network
1660 L Street, NW, Suite 700
Washington, DCÂ 20036
http://www.autisticadvocacy.org
732.763.5530
————————————————————–
Take a look at our innovative new Public Service Announcement produced with
the Dan Marino Foundation at http://www.nomyths.org
If you like what we do, help support the Autistic Self Advocacy Network by
making a donation at:
https://www.change.org/donation/create?charity_id=211198
Jan
20
HEADLINES
“Care home firm fined over death … A CARE home firm has been fined £250,000 for failures that led to the death of a resident. Autistic Jesse Moores, 26, choked on a ham sandwich at The Chine in Winchmore Hill in May 2005. Robinia Care Group ignored pleas from staff to employ more staff, Wood Green crown court heard. It also failed to ensure recommendations from a care home regulator were acted upon.â€:http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23678433-details/Care+home+firm+fined+over+death/article.do
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/essex/8029342.stm
“Newfoundland police chief apologizes for jailing of autistic teenagerâ€:
“Octuplets mother questioned over son with black eyeâ€:
Nugache worm creator avoids prison term “Five years’ probation for ‘talented’ botnet builderâ€:
http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/index.cfm?RSS&NewsID=115164
“Neighbors go to war over 4-year-old-boyâ€:
http://www.10news.com/news/19306624/detail.html?ref=rss
“Parents wonder how autistic boy, 13, flew across USâ€:
http://aspie-editorial.blog-city.com/parents_wonder_how_autistic_boy_13_flew_across_us.htm
UK “Free health checks for carers 8-14 June 2009â€:
http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=253&a=19477
UK “Have your say on the government’s autism strategy for adultsâ€:
http://aspie-editorial.blog-city.com/have_your_say_on_the_governments_autism_strategy_for_adults.htm
“UK Consultation launches, Minister receives first responses to Autism Consultation in personâ€:
http://aspie-editorial.blog-city.com/consultation_launches_minister_receives_first_responses_to_.htm
“NFB Disability Law Symposium Keynote Address by ASAN President Ari Ne’emanâ€:
http://aspie-editorial.blog-city.com/fwd_nfb_disability_law_symposium_keynote_address_by_asan_pr.htm
“Oklahoma Daily: Autism Speaks promotes hysteria, ignoranceâ€:
http://aspie-editorial.blog-city.com/fwd_oklahoma_daily_autism_speaks_promotes_hysteria_ignora.htm
“Hatfield family advise Government over Autism Strategyâ€:
“Autistic adults get boost from Pa. Effortsâ€:
http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20090420/HEALTH/904200301/1006/NEWS
“Recession’s threat to vulnerable peopleâ€:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/apr/22/social-care-older-people
“Police card helps autistic peopleâ€:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/8027375.stm
“Autism centre is unveiledâ€:
http://www.southmanchesterreporter.co.uk/news/s/1112775_autism_centre_is_unveiled
“Mums launch autistic society to help othersâ€
http://www.hexham-courant.co.uk/news/news_at_a_glance/mums_launch_autistic_society_to_help_others_1_545805?referrerPath=home
“Airport security humiliated manâ€:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/8024169.stm
“UK ‘least wanted’ list published … Talk show host Michael Savage – real name Michael Weiner – is also excluded. His views on immigration, Islam, rape and autism have caused great offence in America.â€:
http://news.myjoyonline.com/international/200905/29632.asp
“Blind boy starts China treatmentâ€:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/north_west/8037357.stm
“Phone calls for the deaf a step closer, hints ministerâ€:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/apr/23/telephony-deaf-people
RESEARCH & HEALTH
“Genes have key role in autismâ€:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8020837.stm
“Gene variant found in 65% of autism casesâ€:
“Autism’s DNA jigsaw unravelledâ€:
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/4/20090429/twl-autism-s-dna-jigsaw-unravelled-41f21e0.html
“Autism diagnosis often made years after it was possibleâ€:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090504161704.htm
“Section of brain larger in autistic toddlers, rsearchers findâ€:
“Helping autistic kids sleepâ€:
“Sleep and our sanityâ€:
http://aspie-editorial.blog-city.com/sleep_and_our_sanity.htm
“Robots for autismâ€:
http://www.theengineer.co.uk/Articles/Article.aspx?liArticleID=311089
“Research: Multilingual lip-reading systemâ€:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/norfolk/8011858.stm
“Anger may stem from alcohol and other drugs – Anger Management, Anxiety Attacks & Social Anxiety Disorderâ€:
http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=weblog&id=681&wlid=6&cn=116
**“Highlights of BJP – Includes Depression, genes, screening & childhood; Imaging autism and bipolar disorder, and lithium revisited, Psychosis, cognition, metabolism and early intervention/Related Articlesâ€:
http://bjp.rcpsych.org/cgi/content/full/194/5/A19
“Psychosis and autism: magnetic resonance imaging study of brain anatomyâ€:
http://bjp.rcpsych.org/cgi/content/abstract/194/5/418
“Father’s depression harms young … Mind, the charity was due to launch a campaign next week calling for “male-friendly” mental health services and better support for men.â€:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8028452.stm
“Social Phobia: No need to shy away from web therapyâ€:
http://aspie-editorial.blog-city.com/social_phobia__no_need_to_shy_away_from_web_therapy.htm
“Call to increase child therapistsâ€:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8029179.stm
“Lithium in water curbs suicideâ€:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8025454.stm
“Immune fault link to narcolepsyâ€:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8025662.stm
“New campaign helps in dealing with stressful times – Live Your Life WellSMâ€:
http://aspie-editorial.blog-city.com/new_campaign_helps_in_dealing_with_stressful_times__live_yo.htm
“Mental Health Week 2009 – May 4-10â€
Women’s mental health hit hard by recession(but many show resilience and resourcefulness in coping with stress)/Father’s mental health impacts on children, study finds
http://aspie-editorial.blog-city.com/mental_health_week_2009__may_4__10.htm
“National Children’s Mental health Awareness Day – May 7, 2009â€:
http://aspie-editorial.blog-city.com/national_childrens_mental_health_awareness_day__may_7_200.htm
“Depression can make your brown eyes blue/Evidence suggests poor sleep increases risk of depressionâ€:
http://aspie-editorial.blog-city.com/depression_can_make_your_brown_eyes_blueevidence_suggests_p.htm
“Panic Attacks: Trapped indoors for eight summersâ€:
http://aspie-editorial.blog-city.com/panic_attacks__meet_the_girl_who_is_summerphobic.htm
“APA offers tips on managing anxiety about Swine Flu/Latest Swine Flu Updates/FAQ Symptoms, Prevention & Treatmentâ€:
http://aspie-editorial.blog-city.com/apa_offers_tips_on_managing_anxiety_about_swine_flu_latest_.htm
“Virtual Hospitalâ€:
http://www.uihealthcare.com/vh/
EDUCATION
“COPAA releases report detailing 143 incidents of aversive interventions in school programsâ€:
http://aspie-editorial.blog-city.com/fwd_copaa_releases_report_detailing_143_incidents_of_aversi.htm
“Autistic History whiz kid fights for Tennesse diplomaâ€:
http://www.whnt.com/news/sns-ap-tn–historywhiz-diploma,0,4633793.story
“Autistic students self representâ€:
http://aspie-editorial.blog-city.com/fwd__autistic_students_self_represent.htm
“Daily classroom routines for autistic studentsâ€:
VIDEO “Home Education for disabled child … A Rotherham couple claim they have been discriminated against because they have decided to teach their severely disabled daughter at home.â€:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/8036971.stm
EMPLOYMENT
“Equality Bill ignores discrimination faced by job seekers with disabilities, say charitiesâ€:
Position Available “LEXINGTON FAMILY SEEKS Psychology, Special needs, student female preferred to sit and help entertain 13year old girl with High Functioning Autism. Begin June 29-Mid- August at $10.00 per hour at least 3 hours per day and or evening. Number of days to be discussed. Call Elysa at 914 763-3049.â€:
http://kykernel.com/2009/05/04/help-wanted/
“Autelligent Laboratories
We believe all people have a contribution to make and deserve an opportunity to be productive.
With your caring and excellent help, we are creating jobs for the 40 million people worldwide who are diagnosed with Autism and Asperger Syndrome. Today less than one in five of us are currently employed. We are motivated and competent and we deserve equal employment. Help make this a reality.
Autelligent Laboratories is dedicated to creating a space where autistic software engineers can more than contribute, we can excel.â€:
Luxury Quality Scented Candles “Humbolt Candles – Autism & Disability Employment Companyâ€:
http://www.humboldtcandles.com/index.html
“Auties.orgâ€:
Individuality, Diversity, Equality, Achievement
Auties..org is an Aspie & Autie friendly site for all people on the Autistic Spectrum who are ready to dare reach out to occupation and employment, open the doors to the community and market their abilities directly to the public and for those interested in supporting these pioneers.
“Prospectsâ€:
http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=473&a=2348
“AutismJobsâ€:
Linking job seekers with vacancies in work related to autism, Aspergers and ASDs
http://www.autismjobs.org/?section=00010009
“Current job vacancies within the NASâ€:
http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=170
Recently Updated For further employment information, please viewâ€:
http://aspie-editorial.blog-city.com/employment_on_the_autism_spectrum.htm
GENERAL/HUMAN INTEREST
“Fostering: Who cares? …They are currently looking after three teenage boys with autism spectrum disorders. Neither Con nor Ann knew anything about autism before they started fostering but they received specialist training in order to meet the very complex needs of the children they care for. Sixteen-year-old John, for example, is at a similar stage of development to a toddler. He can’t be left unattended as he has no concept of danger and needs 24-hour supervision. He has no vocal skills and the couple are currently teaching him sign language, which they have only just learned themselves. Thirteen-year-old David stays with the couple ten days a month. He has nocturnal epilepsy in addition to autism and can have up to seven seizures a night. Con and Ann monitor him throughout his sleep via CCTV cameras in his bedroom. You feel like nobody else out there could look after them as well as you do and that’s how a lot of parents must feel when their kids are being fostered.”:
http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/spectrum/Fostering-Who-cares.5227606.jp
“Photographer pledges donations to autism … A photographer from North East England has pledged to donate £5 to The National Autistic Society (NAS) for every 8×12 print she sells for £20. Victoria, who has been taking photographs since the age of 14, has a sibling with profound autism and has previously supported the NAS by doing a sponsored skydive and a trek to the Himalayas. She has also skydived for her local Tyne and Wear Autistic Society.â€:
http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=2122&a=19371
“Garden restoration offers Leo new hope … An Ambitious garden restoration project has been launched that could give a disabled youngster a new lease of life. Four-year-old Leo Donaldson has Down’s syndrome and he may also be autistic.â€:
http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1201423?UserKey=
“Twins train showjumping rabbitsâ€:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/south_yorkshire/8014916.stm
GREECE
GIVE LIGHT “Greek Association of Autistic Asperger and HFA Adults
We, the Greek Autistic and Asperger adults, feel we must take matters into our hands and promote
a more accurate and realistic image of what Autism is, and how it affects our daily lives.
Because, unlike the way Autism is presented by the scientific community, Autism is not an illness,
or a condition that can be treated and cured! Autism is a way of life, a way of being, a way of
understanding the world around us. Without Autism, we would not be who we are, but someone else.â€:
http://www.aspergerhellas.org/campaign-english.html
2 Athenas Street
105 51 Athens
GREECE
tel: +30 210 321 6550
fax: +30 210 321 6549
e-mail: gspap@internet.gr
“Association of Parents and Friends of the Autistic Child “Espoir”
PO Box 48
57013 Oreokastvo
Thessaloniki
GREECE
tel: 30 31 697-614
fax: 30 31 696 460
“Greece Map, Facts, Information & Historyâ€:
http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/places/countries/country_greece.html
“Athens Landmarks Photo Galleryâ€:
http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/places/photos/places-athens-gallery-1/athens-1-feast.html
“Athens City Life Photo Galleryâ€:
ADD/ADHD
“Finnish Study Sleep deficits could trigger behavioural symptoms of ADHDâ€:
http://psychcentral.com/news/2009/04/28/sleep-deficits-could-trigger-adhd/5557.html
“ADHD and sleep problems in adolescents linked by studyâ€:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/148636.php
“Hypertensive kids more likely to have learning/attention problemsâ€:
http://www.physorg.com/news160673994.html
“Study links ADHD medicine with better test scoresâ€:
ADRES “Adverse Drug Reaction Electronic System(Adverse Drug Reactions Website)â€- This website provides patients, doctors, and other medical professionals with a comprehensive examination of adverse drug reactions (ADRs), side effects, and other safety information for both prescription and over-the-counter medications.. Our goal is to allow users of our website make informed decisions when taking (patients) or prescribing (doctors) drugs. We are providing unmatched information and analysis tools.
http://www.adverse-drug-reaction.net/
“adders.orgâ€
Our objective is to promote awareness to AD/HD (Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) and to provide information and as much free practical help as we can to those affected by the condition, both adults and children, their families in the UK and around the World via this website.
“ADDISS†The National Attention Deficit Disorder Information and Support Service…
http://www.addiss.co.uk/index.html
“ADDAâ€:
“hi2u ADHD Pagesâ€:
“CHADDâ€:
http://www.chadd.org/am/CustomPages/home/CHADD_Home.htm?CFID=2282059&CFTOKEN=38105335&jsessionid=f2303343221169802693562
SPORT
“Chairman’s cash call for learning-disabled sportsâ€:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/may/04/disability-sports-special-olympics-investment
“Autistic student shines in martial artsâ€:
http://www.dailybulletin.com/ci_12234972
“It’s pedal power to Paris for Stephenâ€:
http://www.northantset.co.uk/news/It39s-pedal-power-to-Paris.5230822.jp
“Runners make history in fastest London marathonâ€:
“35, 000 in record-setting marathonâ€:
http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/uk_national_news/4321759.35_000_in_record_setting_marathon/
“NAS: London Marathon success. Details for 2010 Marathonâ€:
http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=253&a=19372
“Cycling: Silver party for cyclistsâ€:
http://www.iwcp.co.uk/news/cycling/silver-party-for-cyclists-25963.aspx
“Trek the Inca Trail – 22-31 May, 2010â€:
http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=1863
“Trek Ben Nevis – 19-21 June, 2009â€:
http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=1971
“Flora London Marathon 2009â€:
http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=1823
“It’s back! The London to Paris Bike Ride 2009 – 15-18 Mayâ€:
http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=1860
5-8 June, 2009 “Five Countries Bike Ride – England, France, Belgium, Holland and Germany”:
http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=1970
“Racecourse Bike Ride – 12 July, 2009â€:
http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=2116
“Trek Hadrian’s Wall – 7-9 August, 2009â€:
http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=2088
“Trek Jordan 2009 – 10-14 Septemberâ€:
http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=1833
“Cycle India – 27 November – 6 December, 2009â€:
http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=1832
“Sky Diving”:
http://www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=1726
MUSIC
Derek Paravicini & Rex Lewis-Clack
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_GUPcg25QI
“The AutisMusic Projectâ€:
ART
GLIMPSE – the talents of the autism community
They are painters, sculptors and photographers; poets and storytellers; musicians and creators of amazing video games. They are kids, teens and adults. Last year, a new online publication arose to celebrate the talents of autistic individuals and other developmental disabilities: GLIMPSE, offered by ICDL (The Interdisciplinary Council of Developmental and Learning Disorders). In late 2008, Volume 2 of GLIMPSE was released, and was expanded into a print book and notecards. The works are serious, humourous, deeply personal and illuminating. See it for yourself, share it with others, submit your own/your child’s work for inclusion in Volume 3, to release later this year. Find information and ordering details at www.icdl.com
“ARTROOM ………where under 17s can make and display art onlineâ€:
http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/artroom/index.php
MOVIES/ENTERTAINMENT
“Callum’s got talent for viewersâ€:
http://www.hertfordshiremercury.co.uk/hertfordshiremercury-news/displayarticle.asp?id=414149
“Picturehouse cinemas hold autism-friendly screenings in Mayâ€:
http://aspie-editorial.blog-city.com/picturehouse_cinemas_hold_autismfriendly_screenings_in_may.htm
“Edinburgh Film Festival boasts 23 world premieres … Highlights include Spread, the first Hollywood outing by David MacKenzie, the Scottish director, and Adam, the closing-night film, a romantic comedy centred on a man with Asperger’s syndrome, starring Hugh Dancy.â€:
http://news.scotsman.com/latestnews/Edinburgh-Film-Festival-boasts-23.5242557.jp
“Actors for Autismâ€:
http://www.actorsforautism.com/
BOOKS
“Moving House: A Guide for Children with Autism Spectrum Disordersâ€
NAS Publication
“You Are How You Move: Experiential Chi Kungâ€
Author: Ged Sumner
http://www.jkp.com/singingdragon/catalogue/9781848190146
“Integrated Yoga: Yoga with a Sensory Integrative Approachâ€
Author: Nicole Cuomo
http://www.jkp.com/catalogue/book.php/isbn/9781843108627
“Yoga for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Step-by-Step Guide for Parents and Caregiversâ€
Authors: Dion E. Betts and Stacey W. Betts
Foreword by Louise Goldberg, Registered Yoga Teacher and Joshua S. Betts
http://www.jkp.com/catalogue/book.php/isbn/9781843108177
Hyperlexia “When Babies Read†A Practical Guide to Helping Young Children with Hyperlexia, Asperger Syndrome and High-Functioing Autism
Author: Audra Jensen
http://www.jkp.com/catalogue/index.php/cat/hyperlexia
“Art as an Early Intervention Tool for Children with Autismâ€
Author: Nicole Martin
http://www.jkp.com/catalogue/book.php/isbn/9781849058070
“Understanding Motor Skills in Children with Dyspraxia, ADHD, Autism, and Other Learning Disabilities: A Guide to Improving Coordinationâ€
Author: Lisa A. Kurtz
http://www.jkp.com/catalogue/book.php/isbn/9781843108658
“A Blessing and a Curse: Autism and Meâ€
Author: Caiseal Mor
http://www.jkp.com/catalogue/book.php/isbn/9781843105732
“Autistic Authors, Booklist & Factsâ€:
http://www.autistics.org/library/booklist.html
MOVIE
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (Rated TBA)
Official Movie Site & Trailer
Release Date: June 24, 2009
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is an upcoming science fiction/action film due for release on June 24, 2009. It is the sequel to 2007‘s Transformers, which was the first live action Transformers film. Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg return respectively as director and executive producer, while Shia LaBeouf reprises the role of Sam Witwicky, the human caught in the war between Autobots and Decepticons. The film introduces many more robots and the scope has been expanded to numerous countries, the most important of which is Egypt.
http://www.transformersmovie.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transformers:_Revenge_of_the_Fallen
The new Star Trek movie goes back to the series’ basics, but is it as inspiring as the original?
“Star Trek: New technology beams up old franchiseâ€:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16993-star-trek-new-technology-beams-up-old-franchise.html
VIDEO GAME
Burnout Paradise (Xbox 360 & PS3) 3+
Burnout Paradise Review for Xbox 360
http://uk.gamespot.com/xbox360/driving/burnout5/review.html
“A personal trainer plugged into the TVâ€:
http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/25/a-personal-trainer-plugged-into-the-tv/?ref=health
TECH
Eight Things You Didn’t Know About The Internet
http://www.newscientist.com/special/unknown-internet
LIFE
Morning Sickness May Be Sign Of A Bright Baby
Take Care,
Julie
First Published Friday, 8 May 2009
By JACQUI SWIFT
LADYHAWKE aka Pip Brown gave SFTW one of our top debut albums of last year.
Alongside Little Boots and La Roux, the Kiwi is one of the cool girls taking over the electro-pop scene.
Taking her name from the title of the 1985 Oscar-nominated fantasy film starring Michelle Pfeiffer and brought up on a musical diet of The Beatles, Nirvana and Metallica, Pip’s popularity just keeps on growing.
Here she tells JACQUI SWIFT about battling low self-esteem, refusing to wear girly clothes, hating being mistaken for an Aussie and why Ladyhawke might not be her only alter-ego.
HAVE you been surprised by the success of your self-titled album?
Yes, it’s just been bizarre. It was released last September and wasn’t doing very well. Then while I was in the States it went gold and I said: “What? What happened?”
Now you’re re-releasing your debut single Back Of The Van.
It was an online release before, like an introduction to me. It’s a summer romance song, about a road trip in the early evening, drinking beers and the excitement of being with someone new.
Which bands got you into music?
My first love was The Beatles then I got into Michael Jackson’s Bad when I was about eight or nine. As a teen, I became an obsessive Nirvana fan and then it was Metallica.
And Courtney Love is a huge fan?
Yes, she sends me the odd message on MySpace. I don’t know how she found out about me but I’ve never met her. She saw me wearing a Nirvana T-shirt and got in touch.
Does being a multi-instrumentalist make things easier?
I can play guitar, drums, bass, percussion and synths and that means I can do everything myself.
How do things change on the road?
Making my album was collaborative and I find I bounce off people who “get†me. Going from that to travelling with a live band was hard. I lost my way a bit. For quite a few months I hated the live show. Now I’ve found my feet.
You say you suffer from low self-esteem. Does it affect your work?
Yes, I’m my own worst enemy. I’m such a perfectionist and my fear of playing live holds me back. Sometimes I don’t put my all into the show as I’m so terrified and I need a few drinks to go on stage. Anybody who knows me knows the ordeal I put myself through.
Have you been treated differently being female?
Yes and it has really got to me. I hate being treated like a mannequin at fashion shoots. I hate being dressed and styled. I’m happy the way I am. I know people think I’m difficult but I’m not. I just don’t want to wear female, girly clothes.
Does being your alter-ego Ladyhawke on stage help with your self-esteem?
Yes. It’s a confidence thing. I thought it would be a good way for me to break free. But I can’t keep hiding behind Ladyhawke. It’s something I’m going to have to overcome in my own time. I’m just really mean to myself when I get off stage.
You suffer from Asperger’s syndrome. How hard does it get for you on tour?
I don’t really talk about it but it gets hard. I know it sounds a cop-out but sometimes people won’t see me for days after a show. I just won’t talk or see anyone. My paranoia can be set off by loud noises like motorbikes and trucks outside the venue. It switches something in my brain and I feel like screaming, which I did when I was younger.
You moved from New Zealand to Sydney and now live in London. Where’s home?
My visa here is up very soon so I am probably going to go back to New Zealand and see my family. Then I want to get started on my album, probably in Sydney where I will be based for about six months in the summer over there.
New Zealand brought us Liam Finn, Flight Of The Conchords and The Veils. Are you proud to be Kiwi?
Yes, it’s awesome as people always link New Zealand with Australia and we don’t like that. I get really upset when people call me an Aussie. I am a Kiwi born and raised. There are so many incredible artists in New Zealand and now it has a bigger profile maybe people will hunt out more music from there.
Back Of The Van is released May 18 and the UK tour starts on May 15 at Glasgow Oran Mor.
Source: Â http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/sftw/article2418003.ece
Related Articles
“Ladyhawke: You Have No Idea What I have Been Through”:
https://www.aspie-editorial.com/2011/01/06/updated-independent-article-ladyhawke-you-have-no-idea-what-i-have-been-through/
“Austin Music Source: Ladyhawke”:
https://www.aspie-editorial.com/2011/01/17/austin-music-source-ladyhawke/
Jan
20
First Published Sunday, 10 May 2009
May 9, 2009
On Sunday, we celebrate Mother’s Day and this year we have some articles and blog entries that are worth your while, if you’re so inclined.
For every mother out there, I wish you a very Happy Mother’s Day! You certainly deserve it.
Postcard to My Mom: Wish You Were Here
Six Ways To Deal With Mother’s Day When Mom Is Gone.
Mother’s Day can be rough on those of us who can’t take our mothers to brunch or pick up the phone to wish them a good day….
It’s Never Too Late To Find a Mom
Mother’s Day is the second Sunday in May. For those who have a loving relationship with their mother, this is a special day set aside to celebrate that bond.
Moms and Daughters: Promoting a Positive Body Image
Does this sound familiar? You’re standing in front of your full-length mirror scrutinizing your hips or thighs, and whispering to yourself how you should really lose some weight ASAP.
We Shouldn’t Need a Day of Our Own
Everybody in the United States is terribly aware the second Sunday in May is Mother’s Day — the floral and greeting card industries won’t let you forget it. Mother’s Day is big business.
Mother’s Day Rally for Moms’ Mental Health
Something awesome will be happening on Katherine Stone’s Postpartum Progress blog on Mother’s Day, May 10. It’s called Mother’s Day Rally for Moms’ Mental Health.
Mother’s Day Thoughts by a Mommy of Angels
I have been thinking. I have 6 Angels waiting for me in Heaven. I have miscarriages. The couple weeks surrounding Mother’s Day contain several significant dates for me anyway.
Source: Â http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2009/05/09/happy-mothers-day-2009/
First Published Sunday, 10 May 2009
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on May 8, 2009
Everyone’s heard of the “winter blues,†the phenomenon where some people get more depressed during the wintertime (also called seasonal affective disorder). What most people don’t know is that seasonal affective disorder can occur during any season, including the summer.
A new study suggests that the suicide peak during the summertime in Greenland may be related to insomnia caused by the nonstop daylight experienced by residents of the island country.
Karin Sparring Björkstén from the Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, led a team of researchers who studied the seasonal variation of suicides in all of Greenland from 1968-2002. They found that there was a concentration of suicides in the summer months, and that this seasonal effect was especially pronounced in the north of the country — an area where the sun doesn’t set between the end of April and the end of August.
“In terms of seasonal light variation, Greenland is the most extreme human habitat,†Björkstén said.
“Greenland also has one of the highest suicide rates in the world. We found that suicides were almost exclusively violent and increased during periods of constant day. In the north of the country, 82 percent of the suicides occurred during the daylight months (including astronomical twilight).”
The researchers found that most suicides occurred in young men and that violent methods, such as shooting, hanging and jumping, accounted for 95 percent of all suicides.
No seasonal variation in alcohol consumption was found.
The authors speculate that light-generated imbalances in turnover of the neurotransmitter serotonin may lead to increased impulsiveness that, in combination with lack of sleep, may explain the increased suicide rates in the summer.
“People living at high latitudes need extreme flexibility in light adaptation,†noted the researchers. “During the long periods of constant light, it is crucial to keep some circadian rhythm to get enough sleep and sustain mental health. A weak serotonin system may cause difficulties in adaptation.”
“Light is just one of many factors in the complex tragedy of suicide, but this study shows that there is a possible relationship between the two.”
The study appears online in BMC Psychiatry, an open access journal publishing original peer-reviewed research articles in all aspects of the prevention, diagnosis and management of psychiatric disorders, as well as related molecular genetics, pathophysiology, and epidemiology.
Source: BMC Psychiatry
Source: Â http://psychcentral.com/news/2009/05/08/sunlight-linked-to-summer-suicides/5800.html
