What does it mean to be normal? What does it mean to be different? These are big questions in any discussion about autism or other disabilities. The term “disabilities” itself begs this question, since a disability is defined based on “normal”. I like what Kristin has to say on the matter (the emphasis is hers): [...]
Also tagged 2.0, Asperger's Syndrome, autism, parentingMany parents of children diagnosed as autistic spend a large majority – sometimes all – of their “free” time trying to make their child “more normal” or “less autistic”, and not enough time on letting their child just be a kid. This is also true – maybe more so – at school, where the focus [...]
Also tagged autism, parentingConsider this opening paragraph from the book Strengths Finder 2.0: At its fundamentally flawed core, the aim of almost any learning program is to help us become who we are not. If you don’t have natural talent with numbers, you’re still forced to spend time in that area to attain a degree. If you’re not [...]
Also tagged acceptance, Asperger's Syndrome, autism, awareness, parentingAutonomy - Mastery - Purpose Aimed at adults who have already heard the starting gun, these are three things that Malcolm Gladwell (Outliers) and Dan Pink (Drive) have written about in terms of meaningful work and a meaningful life. These are also incredibly important parts of growing up. As infants and toddlers, the focus [...]
Also tagged acceptance, Asperger's Syndrome, autism, awareness, Mastery, parenting, passionAutism blogger Lisa Jo Rudy once challenged parents to “quit autism for just one day.” Your child with autism may always be autistic, but there are places and circumstances in which it either doesn’t matter – or in which your child’s special talents make autism irrelevant. Whether it’s at the beach, in the woods, at [...]
Also tagged acceptance, Asperger's Syndrome, autism, awareness, parentingI have had a lot of teachers throughout my life. Some taught me because they were paid to, some because they were supposed to, and some because they wanted to. Many of the best teachers in my life, though, had no idea that they were teaching me. (Or, perhaps more accurately, that I was learning [...]
Also tagged acceptance, Asperger's Syndrome, autism, awareness, parentingEvery now and then when I’m out with friends, or introducing myself to someone new, the topic of conversation winds its way around to autism. Sometimes the person knows someone who has an autistic child/niece/nephew/etc, or maybe they have an autistic child themselves. Since I am the parent of an autistic son they ask me [...]
Also tagged acceptance, Asperger's Syndrome, autism, awareness, parentingYesterday I participated in a Twitter party hosted by @TheOnlineMom * to discuss the questions: How much do we trust our kids online? Can we monitor them closely and build trust? The focus of the discussion was, as the topic questions hint at, how do we keep our kids safe? How do we protect them from all [...]
Also tagged 2.0, Balance, learning, parenting, technologyBack in April I wrote a post titled Different is the new normal. In that article I looked at “normal” and “different” in the cultural sense; this is the primary context in which most people put this discussion. It occurred to me a week or so ago, though, that it would be interesting to see [...]
Also tagged 2.0, acceptance, Asperger's Syndrome, autism, awareness, DIfferentIn his foreword to Marc Prensky‘s book Digital Game-Based Learning, Sivasailam “Thiagi” Thiagarajan (@thiagi) recounts the following (emphasis is mine): Early in my life, my mentor explained to me the three paths that lead to the creation of knowledge. The analytical path, where philosophers reflect, meditate, and make sense of objects and events; the empirical path, [...]
Also tagged 2.0, Books, Creativity, Games, Knowledge Work, learning, Mastery, thiagi, thinking
