Coach for Asperger's

Neurodiversity Online

Note: Added 11/3/10. This blog has moved! I'll be leaving the old blog up for a while, but updated posts will be on my new blog. For more info on this topic, as well as lots of book reviews, professional and personal resources for individuals of all ages with Asperger's, autism, ADHD and ASDs, please check my new blog, Thrive on the Autism Spectrum.

It seems like the word “Neurodiversity”, and the ideas of respect for autism rights that it represents, comes up more and more frequently online and in print. Yet, at the same time, I find that most of the individuals I meet, frequently parents of children with autism or Asperger’s, as well as adults who think they may be autistic or have Asperger’s, have never heard of the word neurodiversity. In this posting, I wanted to list some links to websites that deal with neurodiversity, so my readers can explore these ideas on their own.

The Oxford American Dictionary that came with my Mac, copyrighted in 2005, does not list the word “neurodiversity”. You’re going to need something more up-to-date. You could start with with WordSpy.com, “The Word Lover’s Guide to New Words.” This site defines neurodiversity as: “The variety of non-debilitating neurological behaviors and abilities exhibited by the human race.” Of more interest is that the site lists sample citations of the word, in the New York Times and Geocities, and the earliest citation of the word, in the Atlantic Monthly in 1998.

For a different, and somewhat more positive, definition, try Everything2.com  which defines neurodiversity as “The concept that variance in neurological structure adds needed diversity to the human race. The celebration of that diversity. Or, a word referring to the variety of ways in which the human brain can be wired.”

You can find a very inclusive listing of neurodiversity resources and websites at neurodiversity.com

For a frequently cited voice of the autism rights movement, go to ASAN. The Autistic Self Advocacy Network, defines itself as:

 “.. a non-profit organization run by and for autistic people. ASAN's supporters include autistic adults and youth, those with other distinct neurological types and neurotypical family members, professionals, educators and friends. ASAN was created to provide support and services to individuals on the autism spectrum while working to change public perception and combat misinformation by educating communities about persons on the autism spectrum. Our activities include public policy advocacy, community engagement to encourage inclusion and respect for neurodiversity, quality of life oriented research and the development of autistic cultural activities and other opportunities for autistic people to engage with others on the spectrum.”

The founding president of ASAN, Ari Ne’eman is featured in the public service announcement, “No Myths”, along with other autistic individuals.

And, just this week, Salon.com published "I am not a puzzle, I am a person", by Elizabeth Svoboda regarding the “autism culture movement”.

The online resources are endless, and I’m sure I missed some very important ones, but this list is a place for people to start exploring. If I have missed your favorite site, please send me a comment.

Reading Smiles and Facial Expressions

Note: Added 11/3/10. This blog has moved! I'll be leaving the old blog up for a while, but updated posts will be on my new blog. For more info on this topic, as well as lots of book reviews, professional and personal resources for individuals of all ages with Asperger's, autism, ADHD and ASDs, please check my new blog, Thrive on the Autism Spectrum.

One defining symptom of Asperger’s and autism is a difficulty in reading social signals, body language and facial expressions. But, lots of people struggle with this, not just those on the autism spectrum. Although for neurotypicals, reading others tends to be instinctive, everyone, autistic or neurotypical, can learn to pay attention and improve their skills.

There’s a fun self test on the BBC website where you can practice identifying real and fake smiles. The test has videos of 20 people smiling which you can analyze. During the test you can only watch the videos once, but if you want to study them repeatedly, you can review them after you get your results.

More Tips for Calming Down

Note: Added 11/3/10. This blog has moved! I'll be leaving the old blog up for a while, but updated posts will be on my new blog. For more info on this topic, as well as lots of book reviews, professional and personal resources for individuals of all ages with Asperger's, autism, ADHD and ASDs, please check my new blog, Thrive on the Autism Spectrum.

All individuals, whether they have a diagnosis of autism or Asperger’s or not, are faced with stressful situations. This might be a job interview, an athletic competition, a performance review with a boss, or all the testing that students have to go through. Some people just seem to sail through these experiences, others get completely caught up in the stress. A big part of how well you manage is related to how well you can soothe yourself, and that’s all about self talk.

The idea of self talk was parodied by Al Franken as Saturday Night Live character Stuart Smalley, where he repeatedly affirmed “I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me!” But it’s more than just a joke. Positive self talk has its roots in well researched psychology techniques such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). And, self talk can be effective for not just serious mental disorders like depression and anxiety, but for the more commonplace stresses we all face.

So exactly what is self talk? It’s those little comments running through your head when faced with a tough situation. Pay attention next time to what you’re telling yourself. Faced with a challenging math problem, is it something helpful like, “I can do this, I’ve done lots of practice problems.” or , “OMG, I’m awful at math. I’m always so stupid!”  When you encounter your critical boss, do you think, “Oh no, he hates me! He’ll be complaining about my report.” or can you shift to a more helpful, “”I did a great job on that report. He’ll be pleased with it even if he doesn’t comment.”

Learning to notice and even change your own self talk can be the first step towards success.