MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'autism acceptance'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:36:44 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3429368&cid=t_105128_133_f&fid=35082&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.gbrettmiller.com%2Fa-theme-for-autism-awareness-month%2F Every year when April – otherwise known as Autism Awareness Month – rolls around, I ask myself, “Awareness? Awareness of what exactly?” Most times I forget my own advice and try to find a “one-size-fits-all” answer to the question. (My advice: there is no such thing as one-size-fits-all for anything.) Some times I just bail on the question altogether. This year I decided to try something different. Instead of trying to go “big picture” awareness, I’m going to focus on one aspect – a theme, if you will – of autism awareness. A consistent theme throughout all the various incarnations of this blog, not to mention my life as the parent of an autistic son, has always been that autistic people are just people like everyone else, w... 29 Marbles blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3429368 Wed, 31 Mar 2010 22:47:03 +0100 3429368 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1012373&cid=t_105128_133_f&fid=35081&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmikestanton.wordpress.com%2F2007%2F11%2F08%2Fthink-differently-campaign-and-treating-autism%2F The Independent today published a letter signed by leading members of Treating Autism, [TA] a UK charity which believes that autism is treatable using the biomedical methods championed by Defeat Autism Now!  Their main complaint against the National Autistic Society’s Think Differently Campaign is that it paints too rosy a picture of autism, ignores the suffering of [...] (Source: Action For Autism) Action For Autism blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1012373 Thu, 08 Nov 2007 00:49:32 +0100 1012373 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=840642&cid=t_105128_133_f&fid=35081&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmikestanton.wordpress.com%2F2007%2F09%2F04%2Fapna-asmaan%2F “Learning to accept autistic kids is crucial.”  So says Kaushik Roy, the father of a son who, according to his father “is mildly autistic, a slow learner and not like regular children.”  Roy is a successful businessman with a passion for film that is hardly surprising when you consider that he is the nephew of  Bimal [...] (Source: Action For Autism) Action For Autism blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=840642 Tue, 04 Sep 2007 23:06:46 +0100 840642 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=838860&cid=t_105128_133_f&fid=35081&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmikestanton.wordpress.com%2F2007%2F09%2F04%2Fautism-demons-and-disordered-thinking%2F Kev has just blogged about an interesting discussion on ABMD, an email list devoted to biomedical interventions for autism. The bare bones are that a parent asked some obvious questions about how many recovered kids there were and where was the research that followed them up. From the subsequent replies three points struck me.  1. The [...] (Source: Action For Autism) Action For Autism blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=838860 Tue, 04 Sep 2007 01:04:14 +0100 838860 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=830008&cid=t_105128_133_f&fid=35081&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmikestanton.wordpress.com%2F2007%2F08%2F29%2Fa-tale-of-two-autisms%2F The Sunday Times has published a thoughtful piece on autism by Mark Henderson, entitled ‘We ask ourselves, can we separate Alex and autism?’  Alex is 12 years old and described as being “at the less extreme end of the autistic spectrum.” This was not always the case. He regressed when he was 14 months old, losing speech and [...] (Source: Action For Autism) Action For Autism blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=830008 Wed, 29 Aug 2007 23:58:43 +0100 830008 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=785915&cid=t_105128_133_f&fid=35081&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmikestanton.wordpress.com%2F2007%2F08%2F07%2Fit-is-not-a-disease-it-is-a-way-of-life%2F This article is in today’s Guardian. It provides a useful introduction to the positions of some of the supporters of autism acceptance, including myself and fellow bloggers Kev Leitch and Larry Arnold. The article begins: Today, an event run by and for autistic people kicks off in Somerset, the latest act of a burgeoning autism rights movement. Emine [...] (Source: Action For Autism) Action For Autism blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=785915 Tue, 07 Aug 2007 17:46:59 +0100 785915 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=645155&cid=t_105128_133_f&fid=35081&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmikestanton.wordpress.com%2F2007%2F05%2F28%2Fwhen-your-normalcy-gets-too-big%2F NTs who struggle with theory of mind. Last week I spent a very pleasant and productive two days attending a conference organized by Autism West Midlands and the Autism Awareness Centre. It was very well organized and the content was both interesting and practical. I also had the pleasure of meeting Maureen Bennie, one of the organizers, whom readers may remember from an earlier blog post of mine. My only regret was that I had to leave early to catch my train and so missed the closing presentation, “Understanding My Autism” by John Simpson.  The headline speaker was Temple Grandin. Having read her books and heard her speak before, I found little that was new in  her presentation. She did make it abundantly clear that she struggled with abstract concepts and had to be able to ... Action For Autism blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=645155 Wed, 30 May 2007 14:33:13 +0100 645155 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=629263&cid=t_105128_133_f&fid=35081&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmikestanton.wordpress.com%2F2007%2F05%2F21%2Fblogging-about-thinking%2F Kev just nominated me for a Thinking Blogger award. The official rules for participation in the Thinking Blogger Awards meme are as follows: 1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think, 2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme, 3. Optional: Proudly display the ‘Thinking Blogger Award’ with a link to the post that you wrote. Ilker Yoldas, the originator of this meme, also enjoins us to “Please, remember to tag blogs with real merits, i.e. relative content, and above all - blogs that really get you thinking!” Apart from feeling a buzz because Kev has nominated me in this category, I also feel obliged to choose carefully. This may be a bit of fun. But it is serious fun. It gives me an e... Action For Autism blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=629263 Mon, 21 May 2007 00:35:48 +0100 629263 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=579918&cid=t_105128_133_f&fid=35081&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmikestanton.wordpress.com%2F2007%2F05%2F01%2Fdisablism-and-autism%2F April was Autism Awareness Month in the USA. Its ending coincides with Blogging Against Disablism Day, May 1st. On this day we are invited to write on any subject, specific or general, personal, social or political, anything which states an objection to the differential treatment of disabled people. So I thought I would write about the misrepresentation of autism in the media. There was  a lot of that last month. There were attempts to link autism to the tragedy at Virginia Tech. There were misleading press reports in the UK that ABA had doubled the IQ of autistic children. I could have selected any of the media coverage of an “autism epidemic” caused by exposure to environmental toxins, vaccines. Then there are all the articles which refer to autism as “this devast... Action For Autism blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=579918 Tue, 01 May 2007 00:38:00 +0100 579918 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=575060&cid=t_105128_133_f&fid=35098&url=http%3A%2F%2Fclub166.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F04%2Fmixed-emotions.html photo-Buddy Boy on a zip lineTonight we went to a gymnastics event. It was a fundraiser for Autism Speaks (indirectly). The fundraiser was sponsored by Buddy Boy's school, who sponsors a team annually for the Autism Walk in our town each year.The walk used to raise money for NAAR (National Alliance for Autism Research). NAAR is one of the organizations that Autism Speaks has merged with/absorbed. Thousands walk each fall in the annual Autism Walk, and it's a big deal. Teams walk and raise money thru pledges and other events, such as the one we attended tonight. Now that NAAR has been absorbed into Autism Speaks, the money goes to them to sponsor research.Like many, I don't feel that "Autism Speaks" for me. They propagate a message that portrays autistics (my son included) as a damaged, hid... Club 166 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=575060 Sat, 28 Apr 2007 06:31:00 +0100 575060 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=520180&cid=t_105128_133_f&fid=35098&url=http%3A%2F%2Fclub166.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F04%2Fdeath-and-dying-justice-and-autism.html photo credit CindytooI've been thinking of some seemingly unrelated things lately. Death and dying, the American justice system, and autism.In 1969, Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, MD wrote "On Death and Dying", a classic text that outlines the psychological stages that most people go thru when they are in the process of dying. By the 1960's technology had advanced enough that people were separated somewhat from the whole process of dying. Dying people were crated off to hospitals, and then shoved off in the corner. No one cared about them, or cared to understand what they were going thru.Dr. Kubler-Ross sat and talked to these patients, listened to what they had to say, and wrote about how these people felt. She identified what have become the generally accepted 5 stages of grieving that people go... Club 166 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=520180 Wed, 04 Apr 2007 03:57:00 +0100 520180 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=486970&cid=t_105128_133_f&fid=35081&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmikestanton.wordpress.com%2F2007%2F03%2F16%2Flanguage-culture-and-autism%2F Mike Danatos left this interesting comment on one of my pages. I decided to blog it because it deserves a wider circulation. I am currently a Grad Student in an ABA program at Rutgers University. I am interested in pursuing doctoral research on autism. My review of the current understanding of autism depicts a clearly Anglo-centric view derived from research and interventions that have historically been based in either the United States or Western Europe. Two of the DSM-IV criteria (social, language) are likely to evidence significant variability in the non-Anglo world. Uta Frith reports in her research that it is not surprising that children with autism “confuse deictic terms and even personal pronouns.” Does this observation apply only to children whose ‘natural’ langua... Action For Autism blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=486970 Fri, 16 Mar 2007 23:32:25 +0100 486970 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=486971&cid=t_105128_133_f&fid=35081&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmikestanton.wordpress.com%2F2007%2F03%2F11%2Freasons-to-be-cheerful%2F AUTISM IN CANADA  Regular readers of Michelle Dawson’s blog [and, if you are not a regular reader, I commend it to you] will be aware that the major autism societies in Canada are fervent believers in the ability of intensive behavioural intervention, by which the mean the applied behaviour analysis of Ivor Lovaas,  to normalize the behaviour of autistic children. They are persistent in their attempts to make such treatment mandatory for all autistic children and are not above using misinformation to win their case.   These self appointed ‘autism advocates’ argue that unless autistic children receive IBI/ABA in the early years they will be unable to learn and will face a lifetime of institutional care. Like the mercury malicia in the USA they sieze upon headline f... Action For Autism blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=486971 Sun, 11 Mar 2007 23:53:57 +0100 486971 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=486973&cid=t_105128_133_f&fid=35081&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmikestanton.wordpress.com%2F2007%2F03%2F06%2Fwhen-friends-fall-out%2F A few weeks ago in my post on Rett Reversal and Neurodiversity I wrote Now that there is a real possibility of a cure for Rett Syndrome some time in the future, will it undermine the movement for autism acceptance and encourage those whose aim is normalization? Some will certainly see it that way. But in the short to medium term I predict that it will increase the tension between organizations like Autism Speaks that are funding research into genetic causes for autism and those like NAA and Safe Minds who think they already know the cause and the cure and are only interested in research that confirms their prejudices.  Well, it has happened. J. B. Handley, the driving force behind Generation Rescue and Put Children First, is circulating a letter entitled Bernie versus Bryna: The Trou... Action For Autism blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=486973 Tue, 06 Mar 2007 23:58:09 +0100 486973 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=487196&cid=t_105128_133_f&fid=35098&url=http%3A%2F%2Fclub166.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F03%2Fsmall-victories.html I've written before about "Little Hurts". Well today I get to report on the other side of the coin, the small victories.I work in a department of about 100 people. Our offices are in several different buildings spread over 4 or 5 city blocks. About two years ago or so, our department was approached by a local agency that helps support disabled people in finding (and keeping) jobs. Up until this time each individual section tasked someone to interface with the campus mail system. When this agency approached our office manager to inquire whether we could use anyone, she decided that she could free up secretarial time (which we needed to do) and create an internal mail distribution person for our department.Susan (our office manager) doesn't have kids of her own. She is a perfect employee, a... Club 166 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=487196 Fri, 02 Mar 2007 01:32:00 +0100 487196 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=486975&cid=t_105128_133_f&fid=35081&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmikestanton.wordpress.com%2F2007%2F02%2F24%2Famanda-baggs-advocate-for-autism%2F I was going to post about the article in New Scientist on sociable computing that featured Amanda Baggs’ latest video on YouTube. Then Amanda made it onto network TV in the USA. She did a fantastic job raising autism awareness and promoting the ideas of autism acceptance and neurodiversity. Thank you Amanda. This must have cost her a lot in terms of nervous energy and sensory overload. Thank you again, Amanda for sacrificing your time and energy and privacy. And for anyone else reading this, please show your appreciation by following these links. Amanda’s blog [Be aware that all the media attention has been very stressful and Amanda may be taking  break for now.] New Scientist Amanda’s video, “In my language” Amanda on CNN Amanda’s guest blog on Anderso... Action For Autism blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=486975 Sat, 24 Feb 2007 01:10:06 +0100 486975 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=487139&cid=t_105128_133_f&fid=35093&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2Fblogspot%2FxShO%2F%7E5%2F94383800%2F55_estee_klar_wolfund.mp3 Episode 55: I talk with Estee Klar-Wolfond, director of the Autism Acceptance Project and author of the popular blog, the Joy of Autism. Listen NowShow Notes (Source: Autism Podcast) Autism Podcast blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=487139 Thu, 22 Feb 2007 19:58:54 +0100 487139 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=486976&cid=t_105128_133_f&fid=35081&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmikestanton.wordpress.com%2F2007%2F02%2F11%2Frett-reversal-and-neurodiversity%2F Rett Syndrome is unusual amongst autistic spectrum disorders for two reasons It is far more common in girls than in boys. We know what causes it - a mutation of the gene MECP2 on the X-chromosome. Because it is genetic, Rett parents have not been chasing cures like some autism parents. This has made Rett syndrome a relatively quack free zone, so far. On Thursday a team of researchers led by Dr. Bird of the University of Edinburgh announced that they had successfully activated the MECP2 gene in mice using Tamoxifen and that this had led to a reversal of Rett like symptoms and an improvement in brain function. Kev and Kassiane have both blogged their concerns that the purveyors of autism quackery will try to exploit this and I share their concerns. Fortunately Dr. Bird is not only a very ... Action For Autism blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=486976 Sun, 11 Feb 2007 17:02:17 +0100 486976