Wake of Echoes

Last week, I prepared my third blog post for Autism Awareness Month.  I wrote it, edited it, let it marinate and edited it again.  But I never posted it. I wrote about my frustrations with the way the media handles autism.  My position was that journalists – mostly fed by corporate and not-for-profit press releases – are not properly focused when reporting on the spectrum community.  In part, I wrote: That’s where the negative perspective is born:  a perfect marriage between two industries mostly concerned with their own survival.  While those writing press releases and newspaper articles try to justify their own existence, the only people putting the child first are those living on the spectrum every day… You can’t avoid the message the media are selling, which has included the following suggestions: Vaccines cause autism No it’s the environment Kids aren’t being diagnosed early enough Early diagnosis isn’t enough Autism is a growing epid...

Words are powerful.  They hurt or heal.  They tear down or build up. As part of Autism Awareness Month, I want to focus on ten words that are not about what you say, but about what you can do to make awareness personal and meaningful in the life of a child. If you know a child or teenager with Autism, you CAN do more than simply be aware.  You can put into practice these ten words: 1.                    Wait.   It may take longer than you like for someone with autism to answer a question, tie a shoe lace, complete a chore.  By waiting patiently, you tell that child that they can trust you:  that you will not rush them, make impatient noises or expect them to do what they cannot. 2.                    Listen.   If someone with Autism has something to say, listen....

Today is World Autism Awareness Day.  It’s a special day.  It’s like every other day. Paradox, contradictory truths, counterparts.  There are many in my life.  I bet you could say the same.  Consider this: ·          Autism is something to worry about.  Autism is something to celebrate. ·          People with autism often see the world in “black and white.”  People with autism often see a spectrum of complexity in the world that we who are neuro-typical miss. ·          People on the spectrum need to be taught how to engage with society.  Society needs to be taught how to engage with people on the spectrum. ·          My child with autism needs attention that my typical child does not.  My typical child needs attention that my child with autism does not. ·     ...

D id you see Jimmy Kimmel’s Book Club/Fight Club skit with Oprah Winfrey?  It aired after the Oscars on February 29.  It was funny, I’ll admit.  But when Jimmy said “reading is BORING,” I couldn’t help cringing. It feels like I hear this sentiment a lot, but it’s hard to quantify.  How many people read for pleasure anymore?  How many actually find it boring?  I tried to find some relevant statistics, but the results were highly suspect.  Some were incomplete, others were contradictory.  It depends on how the question is asked.  Some focused on books purchased, but not read -- or whether books were started, but not finished.  Some focused on how many people visit book stores.  Recent studies take in the growth of e-books and how that has influenced reading, but it’s too early for real analysis in that arena.   I’ve included some of these statistics at the bottom of this post, if you are truly interested.  But even if stat...

I know you. You hate stereotypes in fiction.   That’s what I say too. Usually, it’s the truth. The skinny heroine, the leading man who owns a mansion. The overbearing mother-in-law, the drunken stepfather. The husband who sleeps with his secretary, the strung-out rock star. But I’ve come to realize that sometimes I find comfort in the stereotype. Some characters are not meant to stand out, but to fit in. Sometimes a character needs to say what is expected, do what is cliché. Every once in a while, vanilla is the right flavor. And even though real people are as unique as their thumbprints, we don’t know them all well enough to see where they differ from “the norm.” We don’t know the quirks of everyone among our acquaintance, much less all those we have marginal contact with – and I’m pretty sure we don’t want to! (I think this is why complexity in every  character can make a story feel just as contrived as those without any.) So when do we use stereotype and...

What do you love that no one’s ever heard about?  I’m sure there’s something. I have my own list. There’s a talented guitarist named Doug Smith.  You would recognize one or two of his songs; they use them in TV and radio commercials.  But very few of you are likely to have heard his name.  How about George Winston, the pianist?  He’s great too, but if you know him, it’s not through major media outlets. I love a line of Japanese skincare products sold by a company called DHC.  They are fantastic, but few of my friends even knew they existed before I badgered them into knowledge. How about Elizabeth Gaskell – have you heard of her?  If you’re a reader, you may have.  She was a contemporary (and friend) of Charlotte Bront ë who wrote some wonderful pieces of literature like North and South and Wives and Daughters .  But I didn’t hear about her during all my years of school.  I only discovered her as an adult when my love for literat...

Katniss, the author You don’t know me.  My name is Katniss.  No, not that one; I can’t shoot arrows, and though I hear constant talk about these “wonderful books,” I don’t really read.  I have only vague memories of my life as it was before three months ago.  I’ve heard the Giant Ones tell the story to each other.  It’s not the exact truth, but close enough:  How the loud roar came, rumbling the earth beneath our nest, and the blades followed, making our golden canopy topple around us.  We ran as fast as we could.  I don’t know what happen to the others; I never saw our mother again.  But the three of us escaped the blades, crossing the black road where the Giant Ones speed by in metal dragons.  Their dwellings are on the other side. That’s where we found ourselves one cold evening, just as  the large mouth of one of those dwellings opened up to swallow whole a white metal dragon.  We hid in the bushes, shocked when three Gi...