Months of
clambering to
proselytize my son to
contravene the
leitmotif of his association with a certain “friend”, and
fulminating at my failures, have finally taken me to a place where I might find
quiescence of soul at last. It came with great difficulty, and new ways of seeing things is the result.
ABA can be a good thing, when it is done by intelligent therapists. But usually they are just kids with bachelor’s degrees who didn’t have the motivation to finish their education, or were unable to find more secure employment elsewhere. The end result can be quite frightening. Teaching any child to comply without question can only lead to heartbreak. An adult who only knows that he should comply makes great game for manipulative vultures who use intimidation to gain compliance. Don’t think, just do. I didn't know this would be the result back then, but I sure know it now. It is as the great Danish philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard once said "Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." This is what I have come to understand:
One of the most profound human elements I have been trying to come to terms with is autism advocacy. Over the past six months, I have been desperately trying to teach my son how to advocate for himself against someone who is far more socially competent than he is. I have failed - terribly. Over at the autism hub, there is currently a battle of wills taking place.
Larry and
Kev are currently battling with each other, and it seems everyone wants to put in their two cents. Larry thinks that non-autistic people have no right to advocate for NDs. Kev is a father who is trying to help pave roads for his son so that his son won't have such a hard time when he grows up.
Larry doesn't understand that advocating for anything requires a very good command of social skills and political maneuvering. I look at my son and wonder if he will ever have a good enough grasp of what motivates people to protect himself from the vultures and accept help from allies. I wonder if he will ever know the difference. I wonder if he is really any different from any other autistic individual when it comes to making themselves heard. As long as I have breath in my lungs, I will fight for the rights and dignity of people who struggle to be heard and valued in this superficial world.
Doc at
Autism Street posted this video about how neurotypicals can help autistic individuals. I like what it has to say. This really is all we want for our children. One can replace autism with any word that is used to isolate groups of people. It's about accepting the diversity that makes the human race so successful.
I had to mute my computer to get the message because the song they play happens to have an incredibly intense effect on my emotions. I haven't been able to figure out exactly what my soul thinks it means, but it often moves me to tears. And I don't even know the words.
Joel says something in
this post that I have been trying to tell people for a long time. Political incorrectness isn't about people being too sensitive, it is about people being too insensitive. A person says a lot about him/herself when the only way they know to build him/herself up is to tear other people down. It doesn't stop the damage, because the words one person uses in earnest today, becomes the "catch" word of society in general. Retard and retarded are the current words of choice. No one seems to care that every time they use those words, they are denying an entire population of people their dignity. And they do it without ever even trying to get to know someone who actually has a mental disability.
It is nice to have a little lighter fare to share this week. One needs some relief from life from time to time, and this is what I found this week to lighten things up a bit.
I feel the earth - move - under my feet Apparently, I traveled significantly farther than just 230 miles a day to get to and from school. In fact, I traveled 2,644,200,000 each day I went to Poky. Your supposed to calculate how far the earth moves while makin' it with your sweety, but I don't have one. We are really hauling ass folks.
Nevada has a new
power plant that is intended to be environmentally friendly. Would it be a better idea to have these solar panels installed on all of the roofs of the residents who will be using the power? 400 acres have been sacrificed for power. Is it environmentally sound to displace wildlife when we have so much city space and so many roadways that could be used to build solar plants on and along side of?
This is what I'm talking about! Put these
solar shingles on every house in the world! It is so much more sensible than taking up hundreds of acres of land to make power. Think of all the roofs out there that are nothing but wasted potential! Now, even
Al Gore's roof is solar! He had to fight to get them, but it was worth it!
What happens when we run out of oil?
Make it out of dead people! I remember seeing a bad b movie when I was a small child that was filmed at the Craters of the Moon Ntl. Monument here in Southern Idaho. It was about time traveling, and apparently, traveling into the future was bad, because if they were found by the people in the future,they would be used as fuel in cars. The little girl wondered what they would do if they ever ran out of those time travelers! She was about my age. It was a really long time ago.
I was quite surprised when I learned that Jericho had been cancelled. I thought it was a good show with believable characters and story lines. It had just enough suspense to keep me watching. Its time slot sucked, so I often watched it online. I guess a lot of people did, and when CBS cancelled it, people became so squeaky that CBS listened.
They're bringing it back! But now they are telling viewers they need to try to watch the actual broadcast. I imagine they will move the show to another time slot. I wonder if they will work around my schedule.
Cucumber Pepsi Anyone?I wonder if it's worth drinking? If it isn't too sugary it might be pretty good!
Plants are social beings! I always thought my weeping willow trees were whispering secrets about me to each other. Now, I know they are! Ok, so that's a stretch, but really, it could happen! Maybe.
And who knows
what distances they will travel to to spread the word!?!
And just like that (yeah, like it was easy) I am finally caught up with my blog reading. Whew! My head is swimming. In an ocean of words. Hmm. Ocean. What do you find in an ocean? Ships. What is on a ship? Pirates! That's right, I am finally going to go see Pirates of the Caribbean! Finally! I don't care if everyone says it's dull. I don't care if it didn't make as much money as spidey. I'm going to go see Pirates. Because Johnny Depp is it! Besides, I need a break. I need a laugh. I need some buttery popcorn.
I don't know how pirates say goodbye. But whatever it is, I'm saying it.
p.s. I thought it would be fun to play with words. I have taken the
word of the day words and tried to write them all into one or two paragraphs (starting with the last scrutator post) and hoping to come up with a paragraph that actually makes sense. It is really a stretch to say they actually make sense, but it's kind of fun to try. So don't judge me too harshly on my opening paragraphs. I would think that the more I do it, the better I will get. I guess time will tell.
