http://embracingchaos.stephanieallencrist.com The Autism Blog Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:04:03 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Over the last several months I have been exposed to a lot of statements regarding privilege.  This concept of privilege has been used to cite “white privilege,” “straight privilege” and “neurotypical privilege,” just to name a few.  These concepts seek to describe the discrepancy of treatment between individuals among a ... http://embracingchaos.stephanieallencrist.com/2010/03/on-privilege/ Little things seem to be undervalued.  Even the label little things implies insignificance.  Not too long ago a little thing set my world reeling.  “I love you,” I said, sincerely but also distractedly. “Yeah, but sometimes I wonder why,” my husband responded. I stopped in my tracks.  Distractions…gone.  Words…gone.  Thoughts…gone.  Seconds passed and ... http://embracingchaos.stephanieallencrist.com/2010/03/the-little-things/ At first, I envision one of those old cartoon trains or factories.  Some boiler made out of cartoon silly putty is about to explode.  Then, just in time, they let the steam off and all is well. Perhaps a better vision is a simple teapot.  “I’m a little teapot, short and ... http://embracingchaos.stephanieallencrist.com/2010/02/%e2%80%9cletting-off-steam%e2%80%9d/ There are two basic problems that impede autistics who are able to work from obtaining a job, especially one that suits their skills.  The first impediment is that employers, i.e. the managers and human resource professionals whose job it is to hire appropriate personnel, are not adequately (or sometimes at ... http://embracingchaos.stephanieallencrist.com/2010/02/getting-hired-101/ “The true meaning of valuing diversity is to respect and enjoy a wide range of cultural and individual differences, thereby including everybody,” (The Fundamentals of Organizational Behavior, 4th ed., by Andrew J. DuBrin, 2007, pg. 381). Diversity goes beyond recognizing that we are different in measurable ways.  Diversity goes beyond tolerance.  ... http://embracingchaos.stephanieallencrist.com/2010/02/the-true-meaning-of-diversity/ The question has been lurking in my mind: Am I on or merely near the “spectrum?  When I was gathering some more links for my collection I came across three different quizzes.  Here are the results if you’re at all curious. First, I took a quiz from PsychCentral: They call theirs an ... http://embracingchaos.stephanieallencrist.com/2010/02/quiz-me/ Yesterday morning, I sat at the dining room table after what had already been another more-hectic-than-usual morning, reading through Willy’s notebook one more time.  The words struck me as wrong, and I puzzled over them, growing increasingly frustrated with myself. “Willy knows to…”  It said.  Why did those words strike me ... http://embracingchaos.stephanieallencrist.com/2010/02/discovering-the-wrongness/ Alex, who is predominantly nonverbal, has been behaving in a way that indicates that bi-polar disorder or mania may be an appropriate co-label to apply to him.  While Alex’s behavior is very different from Mark’s, who has a diagnosis of bi-polar disorder, there are certain similarities.  After discussing the matter ... http://embracingchaos.stephanieallencrist.com/2010/02/asking-the-right-questions/ Recently I had a discussion with an individual who described charity as giving that is motivated by pity, and used this definition in a Christian context.  I tried to explain to this individual why this was not the case.  Yet, this form of “charity” is so engrained in the American ... http://embracingchaos.stephanieallencrist.com/2010/02/on-why-pity-isnt-charity/ Generally I consider myself pretty open-minded.  That being said, open-mindedness is not about lacking prejudice, but the willingness to re-evaluate and discard prejudices when faced with new information.  Prejudices and bias are natural human tendencies, resulting from our subjective perceptions and limited ability to process and extrapolate information from our ... http://embracingchaos.stephanieallencrist.com/2010/02/is-being-%e2%80%9cmorally-challenged%e2%80%9d-a-disability/