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29
Jan
2022
Sunday January 30, 2022
A group of men, all over 70, meet by Zoom every Monday to solve the problems of the world. We call ourselves the Golden Guys.
Last week, we realized that we have more in common than age. Of the six Golden Guys present, every one of us had at least one child, grandchild, or close family relative with some kind of intellectual, physical, or emotional challenge.
Some of our young ones have been officially diagnosed on the autism spectrum. Some are in excellent physical shape, but have emotional handicaps. Some will never be able to read or do math above a Grade 4 level. Some have physical malfunctions.
I’m deliberately being vague, because this column is not, and should not be, about them.
It’s about us.
And about the Olympic Games, now less than a week away.
Categories: Sharp Edges
Tags: autism, Olympic Games, competition
24
Oct
2021
Sunday October 24, 2021
Jill Sanghvi wrote her thesis in India, for Vrije Universiteit in Brussels, Belgium.
Sanghvi recognized that most studies treated autism as a “deficit.” That is, it rendered the person less than normal. Handicapped. Victim of a disability.
The words themselves have negative connotations.
So if that’s what you’re looking for, that’s what you will find.
These studies were all by non-autistic adults. Writing ABOUT, or FOR, people with autism.
Sanghvi resolved to do something different. Young people themselves would tell their stories. And she would not ask them about the “deficits” they experienced as objects of ridicule, bullying, or pity. She would ask about their “wonderfulness.”
Tags: autism, India, Sanghvi
22
May
2016
Tags: autism, conclusions