Many everyday practices (talking, reading, moving about, shopping, cooking, etc.) are tactical in character. And so are, more generally, many “ways of operating”: victories of the “weak” over the “strong” (whether the strength be that of powerful people or the violence of things or of an imposed order, etc.), clever tricks, knowing how to get away with things, “hunter’s cunning,” maneuvers, polymorphic simulations, joyful discoveries, poetic as well as warlike.

Empathy and communication go two ways, and neurotypical folks haven’t shown much interest in meeting neurodivergent folks halfway. Reciprocity is a basic tenet of social skills, and neurotypicals are often incapable of reciprocity outside of their usual scripts. We autistics are called mind-blind by folks who have made zero effort to understand and empathize with neurodivergent minds, who are utterly ignorant of alternative matrices of sociality.

Source: Autistic Empathy – Ryan Boren In that post on autistic empathy are many resources to help neurotypical folks develop empathy for neurodivergent perspectives. My school district’s work on in-class inclusion of neurodivergent and disabled students is a great and wonderful relief. Segregation is always lesser and wrong. Let’s continue that progress toward social model understanding with attention to the mutual incomprehension of the double empathy problem. “When the adults change, everything changes.”" … "“Empathy is not an autistic problem, it’s a human problem, it’s a deficit in imagination.” We can’t truly step into another neurotype, but we can seek story and perspective. I’ll leave you with this video offering a taste what it is like to endure the daily gauntlet of neurotypical questioning. To not respond to questions is to be called rude. To not respond will get you publicly color-coded as an orange or red and denied perks that the compliant NT kids get. To not exchange this disposable social styrofoam is to be a problem. Make it stop. Empathize with what it is like to navigate these interactions while dealing with the sensory overwhelm of raucous environments not designed for you."]]> ryanboren autism neurodiversity empathy 2017 communication inclusion inclusivity segregation marginalization unschooling deschooling schools education learning reciprocity https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:ce4cb2add356/ 2017-07-20T19:40:56+00:00 http://sarahendren.com/2017/07/20/avoiding-the-high-brow-freak-show/ robertogreco“A story needs a conclusion whereas a case-history may not have one. In fact, stories have all kinds of needs that a case-history will not supply, and Sacks is insistent that he is writing the stories of his patients, not their cases. This is not intended to fudge fact and fiction, but to enlarge patients into people. On the other hand, he is describing people with more or less devastating illnesses— that is his raison d’être—and his explicit purpose is to generalize from these, usually unhappy, accidents of life and nature, to a greater understanding of the human condition. In Awakenings he states: ‘If we seek a “curt epitome” of the human condition—of long-standing sickness, suffering and sadness; of a sudden, complete, almost preternatural “awakening”; and, alas! of entanglements which may follow this “cure”—there is no better one than the story of these patients.’ He is offering life, death and the whole damn thing in the metaphor of his patients. And it is true that these patients and others show us what it is like, as he says, ‘to be human and stay human in the face of adversity’. But metaphors are not in fact descriptions of people in their totality. They are intentional, and consciously or unconsciously edited tropes, not complete, contained narratives. I don’t know any kind of narrative, fictional or otherwise, that can present people in their totality, so perhaps it doesn’t matter, but Sacks is offering us people because of their sickness and the manner of their handling it. This is hardly an overturning of the medicalizing tendency of doctors. And when we read these stories, as we do, to tell us more about ourselves, we read them as exaggerations of what we are, as metaphors for what we are capable of. Their subjects may not be patients as freaks, but they are patients as emblems. They are, as it were, for our use and our wonderment. Around their illness, the thoughts of Leibniz, Kant, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche and Proust are hoisted like scaffolding, as if to stiffen their reality into meaning.”

Stiffening their reality into meaning! It’s a cutting and exact criticism, especially when it seems that Sacks was utterly sincere in his search for human and humane connection—with these patients as clinical subjects and in his engagement with readers. Diski hints at the pushback Sacks got from scholars in disability studies, too; scholar Tom Shakespeare took a swipe at him as “the man who mistook his patients for a career,” calling his body of work a “high-brow freak show.” And when I re-read Sacks’s New Yorker essay, excerpted from the Anthropologist book, on autistic self-advocate Temple Grandin, I see a little bit what Shakespeare meant. There is something of the microscope being employed in that encounter, and somehow we walk away fascinated but maybe less than conjoined to Grandin’s experience. It’s rich with connection and with pathos (in a good way!), but there’s distance in it too. So—it’s not perfect. And yet: people read and loved that book, saw themselves in it. And Grandin went on to write several books in her own voice, to have a wide audience for her work and wisdom. The visibility of autistic self-advocacy has been greatly amplified since Sacks’s writing about it. (And yet—also—Diski says that Sacks has a way of making meaning out of disability that’s essentially a wonder at the human body via its ailments, as in “My God, we are extraordinary, look how interestingly wrong we can go.”) Is there a way to affirm the extraordinary without ending at: there but for the grace of god…? Without ending with gratitude that we don’t share someone’s plight? I want readers to come away uncertain: about where there’s joy and where there’s pain, about how they might make different choices, ordinary and extraordinary choices, if handed a different set of capacities in themselves or in their loved ones. But can a writer really calibrate that level of nuance? Lately I’m thinking that I can only write what I can write, knowing that it will be incomplete and partial in its rendering. I want a world full of disabled voices, people telling their stories in their own ways, with their own voices intact. But I also want a world of people to read about the collective stakes inherent in disability—and not just the rights issues that are being ignored, urgent as they are. I want people to see that spending time thinking about disability is an invitation to see the world differently, and to locate one’s own experiences differently. Not to erase the particularity of any one person’s very material experiences, but to help remedy the invisibility of disabled experience outside the inner circle of people who talk to one another, who know that these issues are important. And some audiences will need some interpretation, some cognitive-linguistic bridges to understand the import of disability—its wonder, its overlooked importance, and yes, even its lessons, if we may call them such. Lessons without moralizing, lessons without abstractions. *Yes, “disabled people,” not “differently abled” or even always “people with disabilities.” There’s no one right answer or moniker, but soon I’ll write a short piece on why “disabled people” is a preferred term among many activists." [See also this response from Alan Jacobs: http://blog.ayjay.org/writing-by-the-always-wrong/ ]]]> sarahendren oliversacks disability 2017 diversity morality moralizing difference humanism individualism interdependence variation jennydiski conclusions case-histories sickness sadness suffering life death storytelling narrative tomshakespeare templegrandin pathos correction autism self-advocacy meaning meaningmaking uncertainty joy pain grace writing howewrite voice invisibility visibility erasure experience alanjacobs disabilities https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:321f2bad2fe3/ 2016-12-01T02:58:53+00:00 https://accessibility.blog.gov.uk/2016/09/02/dos-and-donts-on-designing-for-accessibility/ robertogrecoaccessibility design karwaipun government webdesign autism dyslexia deaf deafness lowvision sfsh webdev https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:6fc2fcdc989a/ 2016-04-12T05:37:48+00:00 http://mashable.com/2016/04/02/apple-autism-dillan/#lR5K9wok0aqy robertogreco assistivetechnology autism apple 2016 ipad technology via:lukeneff https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:1ca75fcbe80c/ 2016-02-15T23:05:59+00:00 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTMLzXzgB_s robertogreco children aspergers autism adhd disability 2015 diversity learningdifferences schools education teaching learning neurodiversity disabilities https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:ccf8b5f8b024/ 2015-07-20T17:18:51+00:00 https://mitpress.mit.edu/authors/meryl-alper robertogreco books toread via:ablerism merylalper 2015 disability technology media homago social informal screens adhd autism disabilities https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:b9513a5b3c51/ 2015-05-14T06:34:59+00:00 http://www.superflux.in/blog/interview-sara-hendren robertogreco sarahendren 2014 assistivetechnology technology design community blindness deafness impairment disability vision aging sight sightedness autism difference disabilities https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:db60a13a4eb4/ 2014-10-20T19:29:31+00:00 http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/19/fashion/how-apples-siri-became-one-autistic-boys-bff.html robertogreco ios siri apple autism companionship sidekicks audio technology voice 2014 judithnewman https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:6b9590fa6c12/ 2014-06-28T04:07:10+00:00 http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/saturday/audio/2601412/playing-favourites-with-giovanni-tiso robertogrecogiovannitiso interviews 2014 blogging blogs music parenting autism newzealand memory memories language english italian academia death internet web online data digital place writing mourning identity https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:6b667f70fb69/ 2014-06-08T03:16:12+00:00 http://creativegrowth.org/category/news/ robertogreco art autism oakland disability ablerism disabilities https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:a74fb940fa97/ 2014-04-15T20:44:36+00:00 http://www.npr.org/blogs/codeswitch/2014/04/12/301814519/autism-like-race-complicates-almost-everything robertogreco autism race society parenting 2014 identity aliciamontgomery https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:74142f70291d/ 2014-03-10T00:53:32+00:00 http://www.madamasr.com/content/autism robertogreco madamasr autism learning hiddencurriculum communication 2014 conformity injustice society torture war egypt secretcurriculum hiddenconstitution alaaabdelfattah expression emotion emotions prison behavior violence power control colonialism domination https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:817adbe81ec6/ 2014-03-10T00:12:01+00:00 http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/09/magazine/reaching-my-autistic-son-through-disney.html robertogreco autism learning parenting comics disney health movies communication fables myths legends morals ablerism capabilities abilities differentlyabled capacities howwelearn howweteach neurotypical psychology dignity interestedness connection love howwelove friednship teaching listening folklore via:timmaly ronsuskind interested https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:d9c4dffcfb25/ 2013-07-30T02:42:11+00:00 http://www.pbs.org/pov/neurotypical/ robertogreco autism neurotypical 2013 film towatch via:ablerism https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:a5a12b82ffb1/ 2013-06-29T21:18:18+00:00 http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/jun/29/david-mitchell-my-sons-autism robertogreco autism 2013 davidmitchell naokihigashida https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:6ee06f3e540e/ 2013-06-09T23:53:32+00:00 http://www.metropolismag.com/June-2013/Family-Recipe/ robertogreco design autism cooking kitchen via:anne 2013 https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:8336fb1079ee/ 2013-06-05T21:58:00+00:00 http://www.ted.com/talks/andrew_solomon_love_no_matter_what.html robertogreco andrewsolomon parenting love children acceptance 2013 prodigies disabilities sexuality diability autism downsyndrome disability https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:38e7a615e27a/ 2013-03-30T19:56:31+00:00 http://www.thinkingautismguide.com/2013/03/colin-meloy-and-postive-autism-parent.html robertogreco autism colinmeloy parenting 2013 horizontalidentity identity children https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:db09688a82bd/ 2012-02-22T12:39:35+00:00 http://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-synesthesia-brain-20120220,0,6760571.story robertogreco davideagleman sensoryprocessingdysfunction depression epilepsy alzheimers schizophrenia autism music sudio sounds smells colors numbers ucsd networks senses brain neuroscience 2012 synesthesia https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:133f6a079c71/ 2012-02-21T00:09:33+00:00 http://annetrubek.com/2012/02/an-introverted-boy-against-an-army-of-label-makers/ robertogreco males boys academics introspection nclb productivity howwelearn unstructured creativity specialized learningdisabilities slowprocessing add dysgraphia dyslexia adhd overdiagnosis autism schooliness schools learningdifferences learning parenting education teaching introverts susancain 2012 annetrubek shrequest1 https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:b19df85a4560/ 2011-10-10T03:34:34+00:00 http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2011/10/steve-jobs-disability/ robertogreco disability timcarmody accessibility ipodtouch itouch stevejobs 2011 communication autism blind blindness design disabilities https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:d3d007a898b0/ 2011-09-19T03:57:02+00:00 http://snarkmarket.com/2011/7404 robertogreco autism aspergers timcarmody 2011 poverty class race diversity gender wealth independence childhood parenting adulthood privilege identity education diagnosis https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:7d05c5fd3d73/ 2011-07-20T22:18:28+00:00 http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21128191.600-specs-that-see-right-through-you.html?full=true robertogreco technology culture psychology nonverbalcommunication nonverbal communication listening rosalindpicard paulekman ranaelkaliouby simonbaron-cohen affectiva autism social faces mit https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:f355b0d2f341/ 2011-07-02T22:56:46+00:00 http://thinkingautismguide.blogspot.com/2011/07/on-matter-of-empathy.html robertogreco psychology empathy autism aspergers understanding credentials experts experience 2011 behavior cognitive cognitiveempathy emotionalempathy expressedempathy testing measurement nonverbal nonverbalcommunication stereotypes https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:a6576d4ff27c/ 2011-06-27T09:02:49+00:00 http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21028151.900-bipolar-kids-victims-of-the-madness-industry.html?full=true robertogreco children psychology health 2011 add adhd bipolardisorder psychiatry dsm jonronson robertspitzer overdiagnosis mania pharmaceuticals psychoanalysis checklists healthcare mentalillness mentalhealth medicine treatment diagnosis ptsd autism anorexia bulimia society conformity hyperactivity childhood parenting https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:1a2e799f4ab9/ 2011-02-05T20:57:27+00:00 http://www.tolerance.org/magazine/number-39-spring-2011/giving-students-room-run robertogreco lornagreene teaching tolerance differentiation differences specialed patience howto ability adhd autism communities modeling appreciation tcsnmy specialness respect understanding https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:cb2945e67c2d/ 2011-01-17T23:05:54+00:00 http://www.cjr.org/feature/the_trouble_with_experts.php?page=all robertogreco society journalism generalists specialization specialists credentials experts expertise autism jennymccarthy science blackswans tunnelvision via:coldbrain vaccines amateurism unschooling deschooling clayshirky amateurs https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:08519650abf7/ 2011-01-10T04:50:19+00:00 http://robinsloan.com/2011/1925 robertogreco metaphor empathy robinsloan frankchimero aristotle resemblance understanding learning genius autism https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:f6a13e754b6e/ 2010-10-23T17:48:28+00:00 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/8062306/Autism-and-HIV-when-maths-can-be-misleading.html robertogreco hiv autism statistics math mathematics research falsenegatives accuracy numbers https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:e2bb96c923ab/ 2010-09-19T02:15:33+00:00 http://kottke.org/10/09/vaccines-dont-cause-autism robertogreco autism vaccines science research parenting kids health family vaccinations immunizations whoopingcough medicine 2010 kottke immunization https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:bf13af35d393/ 2010-09-04T18:56:34+00:00 http://speedchange.blogspot.com/2010/09/on-kipp-and-question-does-philosophy.html?showComment=1283557399358#c5115476632392932831 robertogreco kipp autism standards standardization policy us education learningdisabilities learning sorting ranking arbitrary tcsnmy schools discipline onesizefitsall allsorts arneduncan rttt https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:b15a522f69d3/ 2010-08-16T08:25:09+00:00 http://www.sfweekly.com/2010-08-11/news/ihelp-for-autism/all/ robertogreco
Though there are other computers designed for children with autism, a growing number of experts say that the iPad is better. It's cheaper, faster, more versatile, more user-friendly, more portable, more engaging, and infinitely cooler for young people. "I just couldn't imagine not introducing this to a parent of a child who has autism," says Tammy Mastropietro…"]]> autism ipad interface education communication https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:54925a985966/ 2010-07-29T16:15:23+00:00 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/11/science/11robots.html?pagewanted=all robertogreco robots robotics education autism ai schools teaching ucsd artificialintelligence https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:6d6b96a935c0/ 2010-07-05T02:13:31+00:00 http://darryl-cunningham.blogspot.com/2010/05/facts-in-case-of-dr-andrew-wakefield.html robertogreco autism vaccinations immunizations hoax medicine uk science journalism mmr politics health antivax fraud ethics comics measles andrewwakefield controversy criticalthinking investigation research immunization https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:ba8a8292dce8/ 2010-02-28T23:42:11+00:00 http://www.ted.com/talks/temple_grandin_the_world_needs_all_kinds_of_minds.html robertogreco autism ted templegrandin learning understanding language nonverbal visual patterns verbal neuroscience tcsnmy https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:c62369c1e8bc/ 2009-10-28T03:52:32+00:00 http://www.wired.com/magazine/2009/10/ff_waronscience/all/1 robertogreco culture children healthcare publichealth pandemic drugs politics autism conspiracy safety medicine fear reading health parenting science vaccinations vaccines antivax epidemics pandemics https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:21840a58dd4c/ 2009-09-12T04:10:28+00:00 http://outside.away.com/outside/culture/200909/clay-marzo-1.html robertogreco surfing surf autism aspergers success sports brain behavior psychology cognitive cognition https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:181d7c7ea8ad/ 2009-07-21T07:56:28+00:00 http://chronicle.com/free/v55/i41/41cowenautism.htm robertogreco tylercowen academia aspergers autism psychology neuroscience intelligence education learning culture advantage neurodiversity https://pinboard.in/u:robertogreco/b:eec8f25d961a/