Tuesday, May 27, 2008

would you like some cheese with that whine department

I recently posted a comment on the left brain/right brain blog in response to blogger Kevin Leitch's comments that though he might not stand in the way of a cure, he was not sure it would be necessary as there might be some alternatives. As is so typical of those involved in the neurodiversity movement, he neglected to give any specifics. In response, I asked what alternatives are there. The only person who responded to my question and gave any answer was Joseph of the natural variation blog. He stated that we should study the successful adult outcomes and see what influenced them. I did respond to him, but one point that I did not but should have made in my response was that this might be a legitimate thing to do, however, if we could find what influenced the adult outcomes and modify the environment or diet or whatever factors might lead to these outcomes assuming they exist(which is questionable) and the person was able to live a normal (or typical for those who prefer that word) life why would they not be cured? I also asked that question of Kevin in my original post. It seems to me that Joe and Kev just want to have it both ways, which is not an uncommon phenomena for those who preach neurodiversity.



Another person diagnosed me with clinical depression and suggested that i get some sort of treatment for this. I guess it is inconceivable to some that a person can be depressed because their autistic symptoms have so greatly impaired their life and made it so difficult.



One of the most, in my opinion, interesting responses was from someone who calls herself alyric who accused me of making one big whine and saying my whining does not accomplish anything.



If anyone holds the records for the most non-productive whining in the world it is those who are involved with neurodiversity. They take umbrage to someone using a ransom note metaphor concerning autism and spend their time complaining about something so silly and quashing this, pressuring the New York University person to pull these ads. They whine about a non-existent cure which even if it did exist, no one is proposing they be forced to take it against their will. It does not seem to occur to them these parents who wish their children could be cured have no interest in curing them, just their own children. They whine about organizations like autism speaks accusing them of bigotry and genocide. They whine about the direction tax payer funded research should take. Interestingly enough, I am pretty sure two of these whiners, Michelle Dawson and Mike Stanton have never paid a dime in American taxes yet feel they should have a say on how U.S. tax dollar research should be funded.

They whine about the murders of autistic children like katie McCarron and blame anyone who wants a cure for those murders. Yet they shed no tears for children like Ashley Brock who recently drowned most likely due to being autistic. They shed no tears for the boy who was killed by a train in North Carolina due to being too autistic to know the danger.

They whine about parents saying autism is any sort of deficiency or pathology or bad thing.

They attempt to engage in petty censorship claiming that publically funded usenet newsgroups are "autistic friendly space" saying anyone who posts anything negative about autism is violating them. Steve D., one neurodiversity activitist, complains when someone posts a link to my article "neurodiversity just say no" in the autism speaks newsgroups because he is offended by it. Yet it is okay for them to post all sorts of things that undoubtedly offend other people.

All I can say to Alyric and other neurodiversity proponents is, "would you like some cheese with that whine?"

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