Autistic Language: Naming and Acknowledgment
This year my autistic son Nicholas started calling strangers by their names. But are they listening to him?
7 Values to Live By: Autism Across Schools and Classrooms
I had the chance to participate in Dr. Tiece Ruffin’s Education 379 course — focused on Special Education — at the University of North Carolina Asheville in December. Dr. Ruffin invited me to come to the last class of the semester. Some of the best and most impactful people I’ve known in my life have…
A Little Sweet Bowling Vignette: So Old!
I had a running commentary with a younger friend this past year about how very old I am. But for much longer it has been a running commentary with my son, Nicholas. Lifting up a box of books, back going out on our weekly hike, or just moving slowly on a weekday morning, I can…
The Four Chambers: Love, Life, Lust, and Loss, for Autistics Just Like Everyone Else
I’ve been thinking a lot about joy lately, and especially about how the same experience or circumstance or day or week or year of your life, and perhaps the entirety of your life, can seem joyful or joyless depending on vision and context. All the things we all talk about, maybe too often, come into play:…
The Answer to How Is Yes: Photos of My In-Between Son
My son Nicholas turns 15 at the end of September, which is just ridiculous. In some ways he retains the pure innocence and excitement of a little boy. In others he’s already taken on the weight of a grown man. I wish he hadn’t done so yet, even as he consciously, purposefully offers support and…
Women and Men and Autism: Love and Bathrooms
My son Nicholas, who is autistic, has never really differentiated between men and women. He’s not much of one for differentiation, anyway. So, for example, Mr., Miss, and Mrs. don’t come naturally to him. For most of his life, he has been as likely to get the honorific wrong as right. He was, and still…
Independence or Connection: Part 6 of a Talk on Autism
[This entry is the concluding post of a six-part series presenting my talk on autism delivered at the Autism and the Pursuit of Happiness conference at the University of North Carolina earlier this year. I invite you to read all the parts in the series — the entire talk. Please see the links at the bottom of…
You As Autism or You As You: Part 5 of a Talk on Autism
[This entry is Part 5 of a six-part series presenting my talk on autism delivered at the Autism and the Pursuit of Happiness conference at the University of North Carolina earlier this year. I invite you to read all the parts in the series — the entire talk. Please see the links at the bottom of…
Acceptance or Self-Acceptance: Part 4 of a Talk on Autism
[Part 4 of a six-part series presenting my talk on autism delivered at the Autism and the Pursuit of Happiness conference at the University of North Carolina earlier this year. To read the other parts in the series, please see the links at the bottom of this post; the series starts with Part 1 here. Thank you!…
Support or Save: Part 3 of a Talk on Autism
[I open this post, the third in a six-part blog series presenting a talk I gave at the Autism and the Pursuit of Happiness Conference earlier this year at the University of North Carolina, with a sensory break. I incorporated four videos into the original presentation, and hopefully I’ll be able to bring them all into…
