You said: “Though I suppose that gets back to the problem of autistics as autonomous agents, really, which seem to be the root of all kinds of these debates.”

I believe we are all active agents, even if the individual is in need or greater assistance than another. I do not believe that the absence of “activity” as we come to understand it, precludes the existence of being one’s own agent, necessarily.

You’ve challenged me to put this together. But you are right the root of all the debate is “agency.”

But I’ll take my own crack at the question here, regardless. “Culture”, as I have best understood it, is defined as intellectual activity and production that exists autonomously (if not independently) of the sphere of the state and the economy, both of which are defined broadly (so the state includes things like marriage and the “daily political”, economy refers to all distributive processes). Given that, one can almost ascertain that an “autistic community” or even the ability to correctly use “autistics” as active agents would grant some kind of culture. That’s hardly something to be fearful of, really. Though I suppose that gets back to the problem of autistics as autonomous agents, really, which seem to be the root of all kinds of these debates.

Now, as to the sphere and kind of that culture and its effects? I’m not really sure. Have autistics, as a group, collectively acted enough outside the political and economic sphere to make a profoundly significant one? I don’t know about that, really. And one has to untangle what defines autism from all of this (thus, one shouldn’t say “values introspection” too uncritically as “autistic culture”, as that’s a personality characteristic that is present by the means of definition). But I will leave that question open-ended, really; that’s something that really deserves its own investigation.

That’s absolutely true. In fact, I relish that he becomes more so by the day. But that does not mean that I would not accept him or think he was of lesser “value” if he wasn’t. It does not mean that if he does not become Dr. Temple Grandin, I would be disappointed. I’ve learned to appreciate everything in Adam. Perhaps because I’m an older mother, I don’t know. Adam sure has taught me so much grace.

We are talking about simple prejudice here, dare I say. As I said in the post, autistic language and culture, disabled culture is prevalent… 80 million and counting. It carries with it a dialogue, an aesthetic, a common purpose and in autism, a language and a whole lot more. We should list the websites and the blogs again in one post (but that is done on many autism sites by autistic people like neurodiversity.com and autism.org, among others. I wish I could design like Asperger Square 8 right now — I have this vision in my head that puts all that into one piece of art — the illustration of all that is culturally autistic.

I hesitated to make this post too long. But what I didn’t mention were some of the Fuegian words and the Yamana language “a language of sublety” as Hawken wrote. Let me quote directly from him: “It has sixty-one words for kin, compared to twenty-five in English. Guratuku means to marry someone selfishly with impure intent; taisasia is to be covered up on the ground like eggs in a nest; porapola was a freshwater seaweed but also referred to striped bears; mamihlapinatapai indicates that two people are looking for each other, hoping the other will do something they want but that neither wants to do…”

Hello? Are we getting the point about language and how I see and experience Adam’s language? When Adam writes “red jar” it doesn’t just mean a literal red jar. I can tell because I am with him in the moment. I can feel his mood, dare I say, intention, (even if I have to still assume my assumptions and appropriations to his meaning on my meaning). Red can mean full of love and good feelings on a good day associated with something in particular in the moment; or in a state of anger, something agitated and different. If combined with “jar” it could mean “contained,” which could be a good or bad thing depending on a variety of words, gestures and circumstances around it.

Language, and I am by no means an expert, is the most interesting complex topic! We CRAVE and live to communicate to one another… and we can fail miserably at it in the best of times. The idea “to be seen” is the same as “to be heard” or “understood.” It takes a great deal of (here’s that word again) reciprocity, give and take…lots of patience and trying over and over again. (Gosh, if we did this, we might not have skyrocketing divorce rates, but I digress….).

All the autistic people I’ve met, even the “severest” can communicate. Birds do it, bees do, even non verbal people do it….

You’re creating straw-men and putting words in people’s mouths.

That is to say educated but not ignorant (of autism as it exists beyond her personal construct of it)

Temple G should stick to her own field or animal science, autism is not her speciality and she is certainly not an expert.

At least my doctorate will essentially be in Autism.

Mind you education in any “endeavour” is better than non.
Even anthropology, though they have a lot to answer for.

Heres hoping that farmwifetwo’s children live to be as educated as, and as old as Claude Levi Strauss who will be 101 this year.

Whether he is still living independently or not I do not know.

Same garbage, different target.

I don’t really like change, but I’m not afraid of other peoples’ progress either. I just don’t agree that there’s only one right way to do things. It’s a sad thought to me that we should all need to be the same.

Some people need public assistance. I may need it some day. If I do have to go “on the dole” or if anyone’s child should happen to grow up to be a person who needs public assistance, well, I certainly hope that person can be respected as a fully human individual nevertheless.

I think Farmwife is mad at me because I couldn’t meet her last time she was in Toronto. I apologized, but I think since then she got a little angry with me.

Farmwife, you constant emails and comments which make VAST assumptions about me and my life are just silly. You know very little. To cast a wide brush (after all these years as I know you’ve been reading my blog for a long time), and suggest that I just expect Adam to evolve with no education or life experience or assistance is again, just silly.

You accuse me of not being activist enough. I am on Inclusion Committees and work behind the scenes. I can give you my current resume if you wish, but most of it is already on the TAAProject website (although it’s not recently updated).

Rather than assuming, let’s just stick with the important ideas. Education, independence, dependence, interdependence, intelligence, autism, disability, are not exclusive.

The point is very basic. Autistic people are not accepted as valued members of society, if so valued more so, would receive better access and education and be better able to contribute to the world overall.

If your child doesn’t turn out to be Temple Grandin (and let’s face it, the average child won’t turn into Dr. Temple Grandin), then where does that leave you? Perhaps we all have to manage our expectations and keep moving along the road of grace, acceptance, social justice and human decency.

Wrong question…..

“Blog has been removed

Sorry, the blog at farmwifetwo.blogspot.com has been removed. This address is not available for new blogs.”

(“Why did you delete your blog?” would be more appropriate)

I actually find your comment very distressing and discriminatory.

Why would I like to leave them at the mercy of society forever and the hopes that society will look after them when I’m gone.

Sorry…. we’re aiming for independance, education, and having our own lives and family that isn’t dependant on someone else.

My epic is slowly being written…. I’ve gotten off my fence. My FSW is coming to read what I’ve got done so far tomorrow and my MP knows it coming… I’m fighting for an education for my children. Someone has to combat the “evolution, culture, please don’t educate the children b/c it’s cruel” stance.

I think adults with autism have one huge fear – change. They hate change. They hate the thought that if those children born after them can be educated and off the “dole”, than those powers-that-be that control their $$$ will want to know why they can’t work and become independant. I have noticed that these “autistics” don’t like Dr Temple Grandin and other autistics that think it’s not a culture and that they should join mainstream society.

Which one’s right…. personally, I’m hoping my children turn out like Dr Temple Grandin… educated and independant.