What autistics want – may not be what you think

So very often when arguments are raging between people – especially between neurodiversity activists and self-proclaimed allies – the old line is trotted out again. We all want the same thing, why can’t we all just set aside our differences and work towards our common goal? On the surface this suggestion seems innocuous and, well, [...]

“We all have our little quirks.”

Several people have said this to me after I have described one or more of my peculiarities to them. Being autistic I have quite a few of those. Peculiarities, that is. And by far the line that has been repeated at me most often is the headline of this post. “We all have our little [...]

We Are Not Broken Souls

Well, let me start out with something nice. The media have, unfortunately, often shown and written about how parents of autistics (not to mention professionals) think autistics are empty shells or soulless husks. That is some seriously scary rhetoric right there, especially when you belong to the group they’re talking about. I don’t feel particularly [...]

Whose are the difficulties?

“It is wonderful when technology can make a big difference in difficult situations like these parents face every day.” It sounds innocuous, yeah? Like technology really helps these parents. It’s a quote from this article about how the iPad has shown itself to be a useful tool for autistic children. Let’s take it again, shall [...]

How to Give Your Daughter a Shitty Day

No, it’s not me who had a shitty day. I am, in fact, having a very nice day. I and my mum went shopping in Germany. Wine, beer, spirits, cheese, flour, jam, honey and candy comes in more variety and much cheeper there, so we have major huge re-stocking-the-kitchen trips twice or thrice a year. [...]

I Hate

Well, no. I really don’t. Hating takes so much energy, so much presence of mind. In my 26 years on this planet I have had only very, VERY few occasions to truly hate. Most of those were back in my childhood. I think, perhaps, as children we have a quicker route to the extreme ends [...]

Murderer? Then you’re autistic

Find my headline problematic? Offensive? Inaccurate? Good. It’s supposed to be. It’s pretty close to being a summary of what my hitherto preferred Danish newspaper said on June 1st. Yes, you read that right. That day the paper’s op. ed. was written by Tøger Seidenfaden. I will not post all of it here as it [...]

BADD pt.2: To Have Or Not To Have

In Part 1 of my BADD postings I took issue with, how someone who has lived with a person with a disability thinks they cannot possibly be ableist. “My mother/father/brother/friend/partner/boss/employee/whatevs is disabled, so I can’t be ableist” is NOT an appropriate defense when called out on hurtful language or actions. In this post I wish [...]

BADD pt. 1: What’s Wrong With This Sentence?

Warning: Monster post ahead. “I can’t be racist. I have black friends!” “I can’t be sexist. I love my wife!” Though my writing has stalled the past months I do still read around the blogosphere a lot. Sometimes I comment, mostly I don’t, I haven’t had the spoons, due to my life being pretty spoon-consuming [...]

Minister shows restraint

Recently there’s been a lot of concern about the use of force in psychiatric wards here in Denmark. Many stories of patients being restrained to their beds for weeks on end have rolled over the headlines, and the Council of Europe have expressed concern that there seems to be an overuse of patient restraints in [...]