interesting background re Civil Rights defiance:

http://www.freep.com/features/blackhistory...oine7e_20050207.htm
is a link to a story about a black woman - Claudette Colvin - who sat on the bus and got arrested before Rosa Parkes did - I heard her on the radio yesterday. Although it doesn't say so in this link, her opinion (on the radio) was that she was not taken up as a symbol because she was too stroppy and too blackly black.

I can understand that; many Autistic adults are not permitted a platform to speak at conferences or any gatherings to decide how we should be viewed and treated because we aren't 'Autistic enough' to have any validity.

Blackly black? I've always wondered if some black people compete between each other with their skin tones like some people do with 'other' body parts and fast cars. I asked a black lad I did dancing with and as he knew as everyone else did that I am the typical nieve Autistic that never intentionally offends people, he said that young black men do seem to. I'm pretty sure that Claudette Colvin isn't a young black man, based on the evidence that the article says she is a black woman and presumably now quite old. I'll take their word for.

For a vivid portrait of science without ethics, see CAN's description http://www.cureautismnow.org/home/article/science/4764.jsp of their annual grant review meeting.

I wish I had a list of the 39 eminent scientists whose job was to evaluate grant proposals according to their "potential contributions for finding a cure for autism." Research which does not make such contributions is not considered valid.

Also,

"Dr. Levitt celebrated the spirit of the esteemed researchers who attend this gathering, noting that they dedicate their time as volunteers because they take seriously the responsibility to keep their eye on the cure and ensure that the research they recommend for funding will be truly meaningful."

I really want their names--these well-fed and fulsomely-praised researchers determined to stamp out autism. I want to tell them that they are not going to succeed in curing anything but ethics. Ethics are easy to cure--they respond extremely well to extinction procedures. If you ignore ethics, they vanish. Or do they? And are these researchers entirely sure that depositing ethics in the garbage before they roll up their sleeves to go to work is not going to have an effect on their science, and themselves?

"At Cure Autism Now we continue to accelerate the pace of autism research since we know for the families who live with this disorder, effective treatments and a cure cannot come soon enough. We believe that research of the highest quality that defines the basic biology of autism and identifies the affected pathways will take us there. On behalf of our loved ones with autism, we extend our gratitude to all those who participated in the grant review process."

I wonder when CAN will figure out how wrong they are in that first sentence, and how this wrongness, and the way this wrongness informs their practices, ensures that if they fund research that helps the autistic people they claim to love, it will only be against all efforts by CAN to reject this kind of research. This is quite apart from CAN's extraordinary effort to create a world which is hostile to autistics and dangerous for us to live in.

"The MMR sceptic who just doesn't understand science" http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/com...828,1606768,00.html

This is an entertaining and vigorous put-down of how some journalists report on the science.

"Health scares are like toothpaste: they're easy to squeeze out, but very difficult to get back in the tube."

No kidding. Just like the "autism community" scaring people about autism in order to get whatever they feel they need to fix their autistic kids. Easy to spread fear, dread, hatred, horror, intolerance, etc, of autism, even among autistics. And practically impossible to reverse this accelerating trend, never mind the damage already done.

Edited by author 11-02-2005 06:11 AM
News story in the Los Angeles Times about William Freund, a young AS man in Orange County, California, who shot dead Christina Smith and her father Vernon Smith, and then shot himself dead - http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-sh...l=la-home-headlines.

It is so sad and appalling. What depths of despair, misery and hatred drove Mr. Freund to deliberately murder two people then kill himself. It certainly was not because of his AS. There is a long and ongoing discussion about the topic on Wrongplanet.net - http://www.wrongplanet.net/modules.php?nam...le=viewtopic&t=6849. Also discussions on Asperger Community - http://www.livejournal.com/community/asperger/829838.html, and Aspies for Freedom - http://www.aspiesforfreedom.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2263.

I read several of the media stories about William Freund, as well as some (not nearly all) of the forum messages.

I wonder if an accurate account of what happened--eg., when was he diagnosed, how was he medicated, what kind of "help" he had--will eventually emerge.

The clinic where I work does crisis intervention (according to a report Dr Mottron presented last year, about 30 interventions per year, covering the entire province). The people at the clinic have come to believe that this kind of instantly-available, mobile, and autism-specific intervention is far more important and "effective" in keeping autistics safe and autonomous (or in obtaining safety and autonomy for autistics in danger from family situations, e.g.) than social skills training.

This is what I wrote in my recommendations in the Senate brief ( http://www.sentex.net/~nexus23/naa_sen.html ),

"6. That the importance of autism-specific and instantly available crisis intervention be recognized, including legal intervention if necessary, so that sporadic difficulties, including basic survival problems, inevitably experienced by all autistics interacting with a largely hostile society, do not have permanent negative consequences for us, such as loss of our freedom and forced medication; further, that this kind of intervention take priority in funding over many other popular but unproven programs, including social skills training."

I doubt this kind of intervention is available in many places (and certainly not from a group which doesn't assume the autistic is "broken" and has caused the problem), and I have never seen anyone but our group demand this essential form of intervention from a government as a priority.

The absence of competent and timely crisis intervention has extreme consequences, because (as I can state from a lot of experience), autistics seeking help when in difficulty and pain are likely to be seriously and permanently harmed by this "help".

Blackly black... I don't think compete is the right word to use. I have heard many stories about people being discriminated against by other blacks because they are too light or to dark skinned. I think thats what this woman was refering too.

Edited by author 11-02-2005 12:58 PM
Wendolyn Marcrow who murdered her autistic Down's Syndrome son, Patrick, today received a two-year prison sentence, suspended for 18 months. See http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/beds/bucks/herts/4399832.stm, and http://society.guardian.co.uk/socialcare/s...890,1606961,00.html.

Ms. Dawson

thanks so much for your work finding out about this "autistic slavery". Of course they are not makeing licence plates like prisoners do here in the USA. It is a little known fact many places like ACLD have and run aspie ghettos. Where autistics live and work with no contact with the outside world except with parents and professionals.
I talked to a representive from ACLD and she said that they have computers and go online. I never met one. They are videotaped thru out the day with no or little privacy.

Joe Mele
http://autisticsociety.info/smf/index.php

Edited by author 11-02-2005 07:25 PM
"Judge shows mercy after hearing parent was at her wits’ end coping with autism and violent outbursts" http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1855286,00.html

This is The Times story about the murder of Patrick Markcrow by his mother, who, like Danielle Blais before her, has received a short "merciful" suspended sentence.

"After her son had listened to the same Elton John CD all day, shouting the word “Elton” repeatedly, Mrs Markcrow was “at her wits’ end”, Oxford Crown Court heard."

So she killed him. I wonder if an equivalent situation would be accepted as justification for killing a persistently annoying neighbour.

The judge said, "This case is indeed exceptional."

He is totally wrong http://www.geocities.com/growingjoel/murder.html . "This case" has repeatedly happened and will continue to so long as disability is an acceptable reason for killing someone.

"However, after a happy childhood during which he attended college, his condition worsened and he started punching himself in the face, once so violently that he had to be rushed to hospital for surgery on a detached retina. He also started throwing unstoppable tantrums when asked to go to bed and kept his family awake night after night."

But elsewhere it is implied, as a mitigating factor, that Patrick Markcrow was a terrible burden all his life, e.g., from the Guardian article Philip links to,

"The judge said the unbearable pressure Mrs Markcrow had been under, as Patrick's sole carer for more than 30 years, made a "merciful sentence" the right one for him to impose."

Also, no reason is given for Patrick's reported change of behaviour. After all, he's disabled. Don't disabled people just act weird? Aren't we just naturally bizarre and out of control?

I punch myself in the eyes. I have frequently had black eyes. My face has been distorted by accumulated injured tissue resulting from my hitting my face around my eyes with objects and tools, including hammers.

I don't think this means someone should be able to kill me because I'm so appalling. And there were and are reasons my behaviour is "challenging". There are times when my behaviour is much better than other times, and there are reasons for this.

Patrick Markcrow really needed to get out of that house. He didn't and his mother killed him and everyone seems to think that's fine--and what else would a reasonable person have done?

Here is the judge's judgment:

"He said that while most cases of unlawful killing ought to carry a prison sentence, he had never come across such an exceptional case and believed that a merciful sentence would be right."

Merciful to whom, Mr Justice?

Cases where a carer kills their caree are becoming increasingly frequent in the UK. Everytime one is reported I can't help but draw comparisons with the also increasing reports of Autistics being convicted(rightly or wrongly, mostly wrongly) and given absolutely no sympathy whatsoever. We are nearing the anniversary of the conviction of Paul Smith, diagnosed AS who was accused of the murder of 11 year old Rosie-May Storrie at a christmas party.

After his conviction, the wholesome virtue of Rosie-May was given such great attention and compared to the problematic loner Paul. Calls were made by commentators and letters to newspapers for the death penalty to be reinstated in Britain because of this. It's funny how attitudes to Autistic people operate on a 'one rule for THEM, another for us' no matter where you are in the world.

Edited by author 11-02-2005 09:06 PM
I can hardly wait. This is from the FEAT BC comment board.

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Just to let all my friends in BC know, I will be going up to Ottawa in my capacity as Executive Director of FEAT of Ontario and Auton intervenor for the anniversary rally on the Hill. I will be speaking at the press conference. It looks like it is shaping up nicely with confirmations of MP's and senators coming in on their attendance. It wouldn't be a bad idea for people to ask their Federal MP's to attend. I think Andrew Kavchak has the particulars on time and location, perhaps Andrew you might post if it hasn't already been. I encourage people to attend the BC rallies and hope we will have media coverage on this national event.
Best to all in BC
Norrah Whitney
E.D. FEAT of Ontario

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Ms Whitney is in Mr Kavchak's league when it comes to extreme pity- and scare-mongering rhetoric. After having compared the autism "epidemic" to SARS (of course, autistics need to be quarantined so our fatal contagion doesn't infect anyone else), and the failure to fix all autistics via ABA to the forced internment of Japanese Canadians during WWII http://www.parl.gc.ca/38/1/parlbus/commbus...38&Ses=1&comm_id=47 , and autism itself to a deadly bacterial infection http://www.oacrs.com/News/2004/October/Oct06_letters.htm#letter3 --what is she going to say this time?

And of course, Ms Whitney's organization spawned the Auton intervention in which, in the Supreme Court of Canada hearing, autistics were described (among many other grossly false and pejorative terms) as less than half living.

She must be just furious that the Court did not seem to entirely agree with this view of the worthlessness and non-aliveness of our unfortunate existence as autistics.

I wish one of us would be allowed to attend the press conference, to read jypsy's Senate brief http://www.isn.net/~jypsy/AuSpin/senate05.htm , in which Ms Whitney's claims are revealed to be not entirely accurate.

Edited by author 11-03-2005 06:27 AM
More about the murder of Patrick Marcrow. Here is a Guardian article - http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1607106,00.html. Patrick had "flourished in early life" and had attended school and college until he was in his 20s; but "he developed autism" and started to self injure. It's news to me that people develop autism in their 20s.

Also Mrs Marcrow had refused help for Patrick which had been offered by her county council social care section.

I heard an interview this morning on the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 with the mother of a son with Down's Syndrome and Marie Benton of the Down's Syndrome Association (DSA). It can heard on http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/listenagain. Go down Today's Running Order to 6.55. Ms. Benton said she was pleased that Mrs Marcrow had not been jailed.

Here is a comment by Carol Boys, Chief Executive of the DSA - http://www.downs-syndrome.org.uk/DSA_detPressRelease.aspx?pr=29. She said that "We are very pleased to hear that Wendolyn Marcrow will not have to face a prison sentence"

The verdict, though unjust to Patrick Marcrow and to all disabled people, is what I expected.

Just to balance something out, though Mrs Marcrow should have pleaded guilty to murder(and demonstrated that she was actually sorry and was punishing herself), the social services were extremely incompetent in this matter.

Marcrow did have quite a good reason to turn down the county council's and social service's offers; her son appeared to suffer under the supposed 'help' they provided before and she wasn't convinced anything was about to change. The services for Patrick were just simply not able to meet his needs.

Edited by author 11-03-2005 10:59 AM
Interesting observation made by an apparently revered pillar of psychology. I don't know this guy--Theodore Millon--probably because his work is in mental illness generally and more specifically in personality disorders. This is from a description of a radio interview with Dr Millon, http://www.mindhacks.com/blog/2005/11/theodore_millon_on_m.html :

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As well as discussing some of the developments since he started practising over half a century ago, he also talks about his own personal experiences.

I was particularly struck by one, in which he recounts how he spent several days living in a psychiatric hospital he was working at, to better understand the experience of the patients.

He soon became disoriented and started to doubt whether he was a doctor or patient, and had to phone a colleague to test reality.

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Incredible, an apparently mentally healthy man spends just a few days in a psychiatric ward and he quickly develops a temporary identity crisis.

There is a common saying in the UK "The lunatics have taken over the asylum". If this were ever true, the asylum would likely see improvement and get better reviews.