Perspectives on Social Awkwardness
by Abram
It’s been a little over a week since this year’s Adult Conference at Northeastern University, and I am almost fully recovered. Every time I attend an event where the main attraction is a whole bunch of adult Aspies trying desperately to relate to one another, I come home feeling mildly depressed and in need of a stiff drink. What bothers me is the persistent feeling that I’m witnessing my own flaws from the outside; that as pitiable as some of my, er, less socially adept brethren may appear, that’s just how I look to the rest of the NT world. Read the rest of this post »
August 10, 2010
Posted in: Events, Life
Tags: endless anecdotes, irritation, social ineptitude
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Autism: Difference or Disorder?
by Nomi Kaim
Hi everyone,
Nomi here, grappling with my latest philosophical dilemma. It’s actually a long-standing one: Is autism a “disorder?” Many with Asperger’s vehemently protest the pathologizing of all forms of autism. I certainly would not jump to call my Asperger’s a disease. At the same time, however, I think I would be hard-pressed to convince the family members of a severely autistic person that such helplessness, impaired communication, and even self-destruction are simply “a different way of being.”
The way I currently view it, then, is that autism is Read the rest of this post »
August 3, 2010
Posted in: AS Community & Culture
Tags: Asperger's, autism, benefit, Diagnosis, difference, disease, disorder
3 Comments
The Meaning of Uniqueness
by Chris Damon-Cronmiller
On June 19th, I arrived at Arsenal Park right on time. A couple of days beforehand, I had offered to help and volunteer at AANE’s 9th annual Summer Barbecue, which is an event that is greatly looked forward to by many. I was looking forward to this event a great deal. On the other hand, there was another part of me that was skeptical about how this whole event would turn out.
I was of course diagnosed with autism many, many years ago, and have had it for as long as I can recall. As a result, Read the rest of this post »
July 22, 2010
Posted in: AS Community & Culture, AS News, Events, Testimonials
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Once In 10 Years
by Chris Damon-Cronmiller
There I was, sitting in Dania’s car with her on our way to the Massachusetts State House, not knowing in the least what to expect. Dania asked me a couple of days before my first day working as an intern for AANE, whether or not I would like to attend the ceremonial signing of the Autism Commission Bill with her and some of our organization’s other key members. Of course, I had to accept her offer- after all, who wouldn’t, particularly if it was during his or her first day of work? Nonetheless, Read the rest of this post »
July 20, 2010
Posted in: AS Community & Culture, AS News, Events
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