Just a few small items I noticed and figured I would post links to:

1. An article on technological tools from LD Resources (which I found while looking for information on portable word-processing keyboards). The article is written by a dyslexic man who utilizes various technologies in order to express his thoughts clearly — but the article is not about dyslexia, per se. The author makes the excellent point that “The label “assistive technology” is redundant: all technology is assistive.”

I like that a lot: All technology is assistive. The article makes several other good points about the use of tools and the various misconceptions that can surround such use.

2. Bev at Asperger Square 8 has posted a picture of a very cool-looking house, along with some commentary on the bizarre and destructive effects of socially enforcing norms. She writes:

Social norms, and sometimes architectural norms, are enforced through the use of sanctions. These consequences apply not only to the individual in question, but also to associates. In the case of odd houses, this means neighbors who might share in spillover victimization or at least see their property values decrease.

In the case of odd people, sanctions can range from sideways looks all the way through murder. Potential friendships are discouraged by fear of declining “cool” values; everyone who has ever been 12 knows about this. Talking to somebody “weird” makes one an instant suspect, and few teens or pre-teens can afford the tax levied for such associations. For many, this fear of contagious stigma persists into adulthood, contributing to the myth of difference as a moral issue, and creating a society in which the few throw bricks and the many stand by quietly and “understand”.

3. From Whose Planet Is It Anyway? comes the Empathy Quotient 2.0. The “EQ 2.0″ is a perceptive (and delightfully snarky) send-up of the commonly-cited online test called the Empathy Quotient.

4. From Neurophilosophy, we have On The Peculiarities of the Negro Brain, a scary look at one historical attempt to propose a “scientific” basis for racism. If anyone wants to know how ridiculous a lot of modern mainstream autism reporting looks like from my perspective, read the quotes from the 1906 paper referred to in the Neurophilosophy article. Confirmation bias, anyone?

5. From The Guardian, a decent run-down of the nascent civil rights movement as it pertains to autistic persons.

Date posted : August 7th, 2007 by AnneC Last Modified : August 7th, 2007 / Filed under : Feeds / Report a Concern Navigate : Previous post / Next post / Top of Page
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