Aspies For Freedom

Hi All,

Jerry Newport is a "Spokesperson for AS" and has written some books about AS and has a movie, that is soon to be released, based on his life..."Mozart and the Whale". He is a "Local Celebrity" here in Tucson.

He recently posted this on a listserve and I wanted to share it with you.

Quote:

   Intensely Mixed Feelings about New York Times Article....

I am saddened by the increasing polarization this article depicts. I can't side with those who insist that we must choose "ABA or the highway"  but I can't side with people whose personal autism experience is far less serious than what most of you parents face with your child, either.  I sent the attitude expressed by a vocal minority of self-appointed, internet "experts" that they, because of their diagnosis, are exempt from taking any compromises at all and are entitled to live on public support, partially paid for by working people like me who have the same condition but are willing to meet society in the middle.

Make no mistake about it, Aspergers is no picnic. But it is NOT autism as most of you parents know it. Many people who have AS like to pass themselves off as autistic because there is more glamour in that label. But challenging as it is, Aspergers is not the same as autism. Nonetheless, people with Aspergers can't have it both ways. If they really believe that they just have a unique way of living, then they can get off their butts and make a unique living like the rest of us.

Neither the "ABA Nazis" nor the "Aspergers impostors" have anything to offer in the long run. The solution is in the middle, not in ego-driven extremes. The bottom line is that families should have the right to choice of treatments. An array of options, including ABA, should be available as needed. Families have the right to make those choices free of the din created by intractable foes.

                                              Jerry Newport
                                              Author/Advocate/Adult with Aspergers

I know you'll want to contact him so I have decided to list his email address for everyone... wholphin48@hotmail.com. :lol:

Thank you for your time,

Crystal

This is so wrong on so many levels. :x

Here's my e-mail:

Quote:

Mr. Newport, according to a quote I saw today, you said that "people with Aspergers can't have it both ways. If they really believe that they just have a unique way of living, then they can get off their butts and make a unique living like the rest of us."

You appear to be saying that anyone who is unemployed or receives disability benefits is lazy, doesn't deserve social acceptance, and has no right to self-expression.  I find that attitude outrageous.  Surely you must know that autistics and others with neurological differences are often faced with significant discrimination in the workplace and are not protected under the equal employment opportunity laws.  As for disability, many autistics suffer from chronic depression and anxiety because they have been told, all their lives, that they are mentally defective and incapable of any worthwhile accomplishments.  Do you deny that depression and anxiety are genuine disabilities?

I am an adult Aspie.  I work and pay taxes, but I don't believe this gives me any more entitlement to freedom of speech and other civil rights than others who have been less fortunate in finding work.

Until we live in a world where no autistic child must grow up believing that he is defective, I will continue to support the autism rights movement, and I will make common cause with anyone else who values human diversity, regardless of whether they are unemployed or disabled.

It's quite interesting that, although you claim to be representative of the AS population, you contrast "people with Asperger's" to "the rest of us."  Hmmmm.

You have a right to express your opinions, but those of us who believe in tolerance and diversity also have a right to boycott your movie and books, and to urge others to do the same.

Sincerely,

Bonnie Ventura
Administrator, Aspergian Pride
http://www.aspergianpride.com

Lili Marlene Wrote:

I nominated Mr Newport and Mrs Newport as authors for an award I proposed for the worst book about autism or AS, for the book Autism - Asperger's and Sexuality: Puberty and Beyond I thought it was an odd achievement that a book by two authors who are autistic themselves should be nominated for such an award.

Is that that homophobic book on 'Asperger's and Sexuality' that barely gives a mention of homosexuality? Man, what were they smoking? A book on aspie sexuality without homosexuality!

Stella Wrote:

Is there are a private joke that I haven't got? Sad

I saw that the line about "smoking" meant to suggest that these were the unsound ideas of druggies, but I didn't get the rest of the allusions about homosexuality. :roll:

Stella

I was alluding to the (apparent or actual) disproportianate number of gays, lesbians and bisexuals among aspies, when compared to NTs. That in mind, it seems a bit silly to write a book on Aspergers sexuality that barely touches on homosexuality. OK, I admit I've never read it, :oops: :oops: :oops: I've simply heard that it was a dreadful, homophobic (where gays are even concerned) book.

I just searched for 'sexuality' in this forum, and apparently there was a poll some months back . It seems to have disintergrated into a rather silly discussion about furry animals, so I'm not quite sure what was goin' oan back then... Perhaps a poll with simply a choice of hetero/non hetero is in order. Perhaps not.

http://www.aspiesforfreedom.org/phpBB2/v....php?t=246

Homophobia combined with Asperphobia isn't very pleasant Sad

. I wonder if it's just females with Aspergers who are more likely to be non-heterosexual than their NT counterparts? I do have a rather biased point of view of course, hehe Smile

Uschi Wrote:

Lili Marlene, I disagree with you. Gays have been trying awfully hard to find a 'gay gene' or some other way to prove that they are that way from birth. They have had no success, as it is a choice, and a lifestyle.

As Amy said, there is evidence to show there is a genetic component. Of course it isn't entirely genetic, that defies logic, but I think there is a strong neurochemical component. Homosexuality is not a choice, I can tell you that from first-hand experience. I don't choose to be victimised, I don't choose to be bullied, I don't choose to be seen as a sick pervert, I don't choose to be in a position that makes it harder to find a partner, and even if someone was mad enough to 'choose' to be gay, I don't think they'd have much success in changing their 'preferences'.

Quote:

Nobody can convince me that anal sex is natural. It leads to awful bowel and digestive tract diseases, as well as damage to the anus and bowels (including horrible hemorrhoids, which are the least dangerous of all those problems). I refrain from giving a real list here, as there are people too young here to read that kind of thing. And yes, I have done extensive research on the subject, since it was one of my obsessions for several years (stemming from research on AIDS).

And on average, gays and lesbians have a much lower life expectancy than heterosexuals. And that is NOT just my opinion, it has been proven (I can look up the numbers if you want to know them).

What constitutes something that's 'natural'? Homosexual sex has been observed in many different animals apart from humans.

Do we have a lower life expectancy? The suicides and gay bashings probably drive the figures down a bit. AIDS is a big problem in the gay community, just like it's a big problem in the heterosexual community. Conservatives use AIDS just to scare people away from gays. So often people at school say, 'Do you have AIDS?' just because I'm gay, or they try to make fun of my sexuality by implying I have AIDS.

Lili Marlene Wrote:

But I can't resist explaining my own theory. I would never categorically state that sexual orientation is gentically determined in all people or highly determined, but I do suspect that the gene that tips the scales in favour of autism is the same gene that tips the scales in favour of homosexuality. Apparently gay males and people with autism are two groups who tend to have longer ring fingers than index fingers, which is something to do with testosterone. We have longer ring fingers in our family. And gays are more likely than straights to be lefthanded, so something biological must be going on.

I'd never heard of gays more often being left handed, strange how the sinister handed were also treated like evil people, not that many years ago. I'm still quite sure there are more gays in the autistic community than among NTs, whether that's true or not I don't know. Maybe the gays among aspies make themselves heard a lot more, or aspies are more likely to come out and accept whatever their sexuality is than NTs.

Lili Marlene Wrote:

I don't find the rules of relationships confusing, I reckon I just live by a different set of rules. My aspie husband and I live by aspie rules of relationships.

Same here. I wouldn't describe my husband as aspie because he is much more social than the typical aspie, but he has an obsessive personality and hates surprises, so we go by aspie rules: avoid making any major changes that haven't been discussed, give each other plenty of quiet time alone for exploring various interests, and concede an argument when it's obvious that the other person cares much more strongly about the outcome.

I did find it confusing, at first, that he expected more communication than I was used to, and I didn't understand that he felt neglected when I was too quiet. I think that's chiefly a matter of expectations based on one's personal background, though. My husband's mother is very chatty and likes to know where everyone is. My parents are more inclined to let everyone in the family do their own thing and only keep in touch occasionally.

Thanks Brightman Smile

Lili Marlene Wrote:

Again and again the message that autistic children must be made to interact socially (and presumably enjoy it) is repeated, while the authors also advise that we should not pretend to be any kind of person that we are not. I�m sorry, Mr Newport, you can�t have it both ways.

I don't think that's necessarily a contradiction. Like anything else, social interaction can get easier and more enjoyable with practice and a greater variety of experiences. Although autistic children (and children in general) shouldn't be forced to remain in social situations that cause distress and anxiety, they can benefit from being encouraged to try different activities. For example, my son had no interest in soccer as an 8-year-old and just stood on the field watching the other boys play. Rather than assuming that he would always dislike all sports, we encouraged him to try karate and wrestling, both of which he enjoyed.

Lili Marlene Wrote:

The first time that I met my husband I concluded that he was delightful, but in my time I have run away in terror from another autistic man minutes after he introduced himself to me. I�m not sure that the difference between these two very different first impressions can be put down to a lack of knowledge or a lack of etiquette on the part of the aspie guy who made me want to run. I think the difference was more a matter of degree of simple mind-blindness. A person who is a bit disconnected from other humans will probably give the appearance of being cold or impolite. A person who is very disconnected from other humans will always come across as weird.

Hmmm. I suspect there was something else going on there. I've known some aspies who were pretty isolated and "disconnected" socially, and they seemed harmless to me. Maybe you were subconsciously picking up on something about this guy's body language or choice of words that indicated he might be violent or otherwise dangerous?

Lili Marlene Wrote:

The other night I heard some people joking on Australian TV that some people are not �put off� from �chatting up� a person at a party even if that person has just been vomiting from too much alcohol. This American book fusses over details like having a napkin ready when eating popcorn at the cinema. You need to have a bucket ready when �dating� in Australia.

LOL, we have plenty of drunks here too...

Lili Marlene Wrote:

A few times I have been in a situation in which I have recognised my kind of weirdness in others, and they obviously had more of it than I do, and I have found that unnerving, because I think I'm quite weird enough.

Maybe I've been around more weird Aspies than you have? That doesn't bother me at all. What I find really unnerving is when NTs decide there's something weird or *** about me and start treating me like a non-person. For most of my life, I didn't understand that some people assumed I was weird because of my voice, and I had no idea what made them act like total creeps. I thought maybe they were prejudiced against women, but that didn't quite account for everything.

Since learning about AS, I have felt more self-conscious about my voice, worrying that people will automatically put me in the weird category as soon as I open my mouth. I know I shouldn't let it bother me because it's their problem if they can't deal with differences, but it still does, anyway. Guess I need to do some consciousness-raising on myself.

Noetic Wrote:

it kind of alternates, I tend to be quiet when I am overloaded or distracted, loud when I rehearsed something over and over and don't check the volume before I speak, the singson is more when I am excited or forget to breathe.

That all sounds very familiar. My quiet voice is a monotone that trails off toward the end of a sentence, I often don't even notice when I'm being loud, and people tend to assume I'm angry when my voice gets both loud and fast, although I'm much more likely to be excited or nervous.

Noetic Wrote:

I just wish I could monitor this better :-(

I've been wondering whether my awareness and ability to control my voice would improve if I practiced speaking into a tape recorder and/or had a few hypnosis sessions. Have you ever tried either?

Noetic Wrote:

The tape recorder thing is a good idea, I did try this in my teens, after noticing how horrible my voice sounded and how right some people had been about how wobbly etc. it sounded. (We had to do some tapes for French and English class and I was horrified when I listened to them)

Everybody, aspie or NT hates hearing their own voice out of a tape player!

Quote:

Depending on just how uncouth they are - do you really want them there?

Why not, leave one Bushland and come to another bushland.

I think my pitch and intonation tend to be absent or very over exaggerated, depending how hard I'm trying. My voice goes places I don't want it to too. :cry:

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

crickey96

Bonnie Ventura

Dreamer

Dreamer

Dreamer

Dreamer

Dreamer

Dreamer

Bonnie Ventura

Dreamer

Bonnie Ventura

Bonnie Ventura

Bonnie Ventura

Dreamer

Dreamer