Get your Vaccination!

 Local Vaccine Roll-Out Information:

Lane County Public Health has opened up pre-registration for vaccination to all Lane County residents. 

This pre-registration information effort will help populate a centralized database to help vaccinating health partners countywide contact those who wish to be vaccinated and schedule an appointment when they are eligible. 

You can pre-register online in either English or Spanish right now by clicking the link below:

www.lanecounty.org/covidvaccine

Important things to consider when pre-registering:

• We encourage anyone who has internet access to pre-register on the online portal. 
• If you have a friend or loved one who does not have internet access, or has difficulty navigating the internet, we encourage you to please help them by assisting them in pre-registering online.
• We will have phone pre/registration available in the coming days. 
• You only need to pre-register once and by only one method (either phone or online, not both to avoid duplicate entries). 
• If you have already registered with a provider or with your workplace, please DO NOT register again with the County’s database. We are all working from the same information and doing so will slow down our process.  
• If you are part of Phase 1A  and have not heard from Lane County Public Health or a local provider to receive a vaccine, please DO re-register using the new link.
• If you provide an email address you will receive an email confirmation that your registration has been received. 
• Pre-Registering to receive the vaccine DOES NOT mean you will be contacted to schedule an appointment right away. We will still follow Oregon Health Authority eligibility guidelines AND as always, our timeline to get you vaccinated depends on supply. In other words, even if you are eligible it may be some time before we have enough doses to offer you a vaccination appointment. Your patience is deeply appreciated. 
• Please remember, Lane County does not determine which groups are eligible nor the supply of vaccine that is available to administer.
• Once you have pre-registered, we ask that you not call the call center with additional registration questions unless you believe there is a critical error in your registration.  
• This process is NOT first come, first serve. We will be working from the phases and eligibility guidance provided by the Oregon Health Authority.  
• PRIVACY STATEMENT: Some personal demographics will be collected during registration process to identify which phase/group you are in. Information entered will only be used for the vaccination effort and will not be shared outside of the HIPAA compliant partners distributing vaccines. As vaccine becomes available, you will be contacted via your preferred method by Lane County Public Health OR a vaccinating health partner to schedule an appointment.

HERE’S HOW THE REGISTRATION PROCESS WORKS:

Step 1: Register via the online link provided or by phone. Please take your time to answer each question as accurately as possible. 

Step 2: If you register online and provide an email address, you will receive a confirmation email that we have received your registration. 

Step 3: You will receive a weekly, automated email letting you know who is currently eligible and that you are still registered.  

Step 4: When you are eligible and we have doses to vaccinate you, Lane County or a partner agency will contact you to schedule a vaccination appointment via the contact information you provided on the form. 

—

Loretta McNally, Executive Director

KindTree – Autism Rocks

Happy New Year 2021!

This is Tim Mueller, long-time KindTree volunteer and Board member, introducing our new Executive Director Loretta McNally. She will be revitalizing this blog throughout 2021, sharing what we at KindTree are up to, our goals and dreams, and your part in it. Thank you, Loretta, for joining our team!

Loretta brings 20 years of diverse nonprofit management experience with an extensive resume of creative and positive problem solving. She has worked for White Bird Clinic, Animal Rescue Teaching, Seattle International Film Festival, Washington Women’s Employment & Education, Tibetan Cultural Association with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the 2002 United States Winter Olympics, and more. In addition, she is a crew coordinator with the Oregon Country Fair and the parent of a daughter living with disabilities.

Loretta is excited to bring her skills and energy to our team of dedicated volunteers and staff as we grow our presence in the community. With the assistance of Charli Overman, STiLE Coordinator, the organization will be focusing on expanding our Skill Training for an Independent Living Experience (STiLE) Program, our Art Program, and of course our unique and essential Friends & Family Camp, coming up on its 24^th year. The organization is looking forward to hosting Social Skill Building Fundraisers and developing strong working relationships with our community.

Most importantly, Loretta shares KindTree – Autism Rocks core belief, that providing an environment of acceptance and respect for all people, and freely giving each individual the support they need to succeed, is the true key to unlocking the hidden talents, strengths, and potential in all of us that lead to a successful and happy life.

We look forward to a long and productive relationship, and hope you will follow this blog to get to know her and what KindTree is up to! Autism Rocks!

The Importance of Service Dogs and Why We Should Include Them and Their Handlers in Our Community

Amber Perry wrote a wonderful article about the KindTree Autism Rocks camp, a fun and relaxing trip where autistics "can just be themselves, free to stim, socialize with others without having to worry about ridicule or having any kind of authority forced on them, eat food that suits their dietary needs, enjoy plenty of arts and crafts and other activities to ground them and exercise their never-ending minds." I've gone twice before and it was a lot of fun, just as her article describes. I was excited to volunteer this year. I want to get more involved in the autism community, and of course thought this was a great way to do it. I was, however, disappointed to find out I would not be able to volunteer, or even go at all. It is upsetting to find out that a community that prides itself on being accepting of all types of people, can truly fail to be.

I wasn't allowed to go because the camp doesn't permit service dogs.

          When I attended camp years before I didn't have my service dog yet. A service dog is a dog which is trained to do specific tasks that aid a disabled person. A service dog, by law, must be allowed to go with their owner anywhere the public is allowed. Camp Baker Boy Scout camp is where KindTree's retreat is held, and due to some loopholes in the law the Boy Scouts are legally able to ban service dogs because they identify as a private club. This is like banning a person with a cane, or a wheelchair, or insulin to treat diabetes. And because the Boy Scouts have decided to grant KindTree’s Autism Rocks camp access to Camp Baker, it leaves little leverage for KindTree to advocate on behalf of its community members for ADA law without risk of dislodgement.

          Service dogs are a life-saver for thousands of people with a variety of disabilities. These dogs can be trained to smell the breath of a diabetic in order to assess their glucose level. They are trained to open doors, pick things up, aid in balance, alert people of imminent seizures, and call for help. They can provide a focus point for someone who is overwhelmed by their environment or events going on; this is called grounding and it's what my dog does for me. From an outsider’s view it looks like an excited puppy jumping up and down, being extremely adorable, and licking my face continuously. But even though T’Pol is an incredibly cute dog she has been trained to act that way. She is small, and easily fits onto my chest where she is trained to lay down just beneath my chin so she has perfect access to kiss my nose. When T’Pol does this I can focus on her, ignore the world, try to get my head together, and enjoy life.

We are all familiar with meltdowns. Sometimes our brains just can't deal with the overload of information the world offers. I have found, personally, that I can't focus on just something, but my sentient 3lb ball of furry energy can force me to focus by going, "Hey! They don't matter! Look at me! I'm so cute and soft!" I can sit and concentrate on her and then after a short time get back in there and deal with that horrible bright light called sunshine and those awful florescent bulbs. I can cope better when my neighbor decides he enjoys blasting "music" with overly heavy bass at odd hours, and I can make it through all the different kinds of social interactions I’m presented with without shutting down and running away. A simple addition of a fuzzy friend in a blue vest (not required by law, but often used to mark service dogs) is all I need to calm down instead of freaking out to the point of exhaustion, resulting in the need to sleep for the next 6 hours or more.

Not everyone on the autism spectrum uses service dogs, but many do for issues caused by autism as well as other disabilities not connected to autism. They are part of the autism community, but they are not welcome at this amazing, so-called accepting retreat so many of you look forward to all year. The Boy Scouts have been in the news numerous times for discriminating against a variety of people. Most likely you have heard about the lawsuits pertaining to the LGBTQ community, however there are others affecting wheelchair users, blind and deaf folks, as well as Down Syndrome and other disabilities.

I understand why KindTree felt they couldn’t press the Boy Scouts to support ADA law so I could attend this year. They had all of you to protect too. The needs of the many can certainly outweigh the needs of a few, but sometimes the needs of a few represent the needs of the many, and their rights. Should we be having our most beloved event held at place owned by such an unaccepting, discriminatory group? I don't have a solution. It’s a tough thing; where else would we have the retreat? I am sure it would take some searching, but I have to believe there are other places where everyone truly will be accepted.

As we continue to learn and advance and grow as an autism community, so will the tools we use to help us navigate life, like service dogs, giving us a wider degree of access and security in our crazy world. I will not be the last person to be denied access to an otherwise safe and accepting place I have every right to be. I sincerely hope we as a community find a path that allows the freedom we’ve fought so hard to find come to fruition for everyone, fairly and equally.

What Autism Is Not: 10 Myths About Autism

Autism awareness has increased several times over in the last two decades. Autism is now a household word. This awareness, however, has not significantly decreased some of the misconceptions about autism.

It's easy to find material about what autism is. You probably already know a fair amount. It's a developmental disability marked by deficits in communication and social navigation, as well as displaying intense, narrow interests.

Unfortunately, it can be more difficult to find information about what autism is not. That's what I would like to focus on in this piece. I've chosen ten of the most destructive myths about autism.

1. Autistic people do not experience empathy.

Let's start with one of the more pervasive myths. This is still frequently quoted by experts when describing autism. However, it's simply not true.

Empathy is usually described as the ability to copy another person's emotions. Doing this correctly requires at least some understanding of how th other person's mind works. That is always more difficult when the other person has a different neurotype.

It may appear that autistic people have more trouble with that because most of the people around us have minds that work different from ours. Once we can learn how the neuronormal mind works, empathy becomes much easier, and in fact, it tends to be easier with other autistic people.

2. Autistic people do not experience emotions.

Perhaps the root of this myth has to do with the fact that autistic people, especially children, do not tend to use nonverbal communication the same way as the people around them. This means that we tend to show emotions in different ways that most people are not used to seeing. In addition, the same situation will often trigger different emotions in autistic people from what it might cause in a neuronormal person.

3. Autistic people can't form relationships.

From what I can tell, most autistic people do place more importance on our own personal interests than other people. However, that does not mean that relationships, whether familial, friendship, or romantic, are any less important to us.

Don't forget that a relationship is a two-way process. If an autistic person is interested in pursuing a relationship with a person, and the other person is willing to reciprocate, autistic people can and do form meaningful relationships with others.

4. Autism is usually accompanied by an intellectual disability.

There have been times when the majority, or even all, of recognized autism diagnoses came with an intellectual disability. For a time, that was even part of the definition. It was reinforced by the fact that autistic children were often institutionalized and placed in a setting where learning opportunities were not present.

With the recognition of “high-functioning” autism and the addition of Asperger's syndrome, we know that autistic people are often quite intelligent. In fact, upwards of 70% of recognized cases of autism have no intellectual disability.

This has also led to a belief that all autistic people are geniuses, which is equally untrue. We are all individuals, and each of us is different. Autistic people exist along the entire range of human intelligence.

5. Autistic people are all the same.

This usually takes the form of, “I've seen [insert TV show or movie here],” or, “My [insert relation here] is autistic, so I know all about autism.” It can even take the form of, “I'm autistic, so all autistic people can be like me.”

The truth is that there appears to be several different kinds of autism. Even within that, we're all individuals. Each of us has different abilities and different needs. Some of us struggle with things that others find easy. A common saying in the Autistic community states that “if you know one autistic person, you know one autistic person.”

6. There is a normal child trapped inside an autistic shell.

This can be a particularly destructive myth. It's typically quoted by those claiming to provide a cure or a miracle treatment, playing on parents' desperation. It often leads to parents focusing so much on trying to save their child from being swallowed up by autism that they forget to build a relationship with their child.

The truth is that building a relationship is the most important thing you can do. Nurturing the child's interests, planning activities with the child, and just generally having fun are the best ways to cause the child to open up and grow as a person. The child will always be autistic, but that doesn't have to be a setback.

7. There is something in the environment that caused autism or aggravated symptoms.

Whether it's vaccines, lead, smoking while pregnant, or any number of others, something must have caused this autism.

In all likelihood, autism appears to be genetic. Unfortunately, the myth of an environmental cause often diverts resources away from needed supports and services, and directs them instead to trying to find the source of the autism. It can also lead to some off the same problems caused by myth #6 in this list.

This myth is also built on the next one:

8. There is a massive autism epidemic.

Autism rates have increased from 1 in 10,000 in the 1960's to 1 in 68 now. That's a huge increase.

For this, it's important to recognize the difference between autism and an autism diagnosis. The definition of autism has increased dramatically since it was first described by Leo Kanner. The vast majority of us are in a part of the spectrum that wasn't even recognized in most of the world until the 1980's, and wasn't broadly known by professionals until the 1990's.

Furthermore, several studies have shown that when you use consistent definitions across the generations, there appears to be no significant increase.

9. Autism is a childhood disorder.

Autistic children grow up into autistic adults. It should seem obvious when you think about it. The problem is that most people don't think about it. That can lead to inadequate services for adults.

10. Autistic people can't achieve success.

This is usually based on the idea that there are no benefits to autism. We have plenty of advantages that we can use. Logical thinking, intense focus, and attention to detail, just to name a few. Additionally, as I've said before, we're all different, and we all have our own strengths and weaknesses. If given a chance, there is no reason an autistic person can't succeed in life.

I've had to condense most of these to fit them all in one piece. If you want to know more about any of them, keep checking back, or read any of the many other autistic bloggers out there. I look forward to exploring these myths further, as well as other autism-related thoughts, in the future.

Autiism in girls vs boys

            At he risk of sounding sexist, when I read this article my first thought was of course they are going to look at boys more than girls. Girls are supposed to be quieter and shy. Boys are expected to noisy and active, if they don't, parents and doctors rush to his aid and try to fix the problem, lest the boy grow up to be different. There's a lot of social politics about how a child develops, especially boys.

            Another problem the article points out, is how long it took for girls to be properly diagnosed. They just didn't see the significance of the girls behavior. Again, less attention is paid to girls.

             Think I'm exaggerating? I wasn't diagnosed until I was fifty, the psychologist merely confirmed what I told him and despite having friends who had it or had children with ASD, no one saw it in me.

             "But you act so normal," they explained when I questioned them. Yes, after decades of imitating neuronormals as a coping skill.

            The Lesson here is that adults need to get past gender expectations and pay attention to girls as much as boys or it will lead to the stress of undiagnosed girls struggling to develop or fit in.

           

Say Thank you instead of I'm Sorry

This is excellent advise for those on the spectrum. Try it.

http://brightside.me/article/stop-saying-sorry-if-you-want-to-say-thank-you-a-seriously-insightful-cartoon-57255/

Aren't We All A Little Bit Autistic?

You seem pretty normal. Aren't we all just a little bit autistic? What is normal? Labels go on soup cans.

You may have heard some of these before. If you have an autistic friend, you've probably even said them. In all likelihood, you meant to be inclusive and open-minded. After all, your friend isn't that different from you. Right? It doesn't make sense to slap a different label on them.

While this mindset doesn't go entirely unappreciated, many of us in the Autistic community feel that it's dismissive of the different challenges we face on a daily basis. Even those of us who might appear on the outside to be mostly normal have worked hard to be able to function in a neuronormal world.

For many of us, the difficulties are primarily centered around communication and social norms. These are things that do not come naturally to us. That's not to say we can't learn those skills. It just takes conscious effort for us.

The truth is that we autistic people are very well aware of our differences. Most of us have come to terms with them, and are not ashamed of them. Most of us have no problem with others acknowledging that those differences exist. In short, there would be no word to describe the differences if the differences weren't there.

What about severely autistic people? Surely it's a compliment to say those of us at the Asperger's end of the spectrum aren't like them?

In a word, no. Don't forget that we have the same diagnosis as them, usually for many of the same traits. To compliment someone by saying they aren't like severely autistic people is to say that it's more preferable to be 'normal.' Such statements can make us uncomfortable sharing more about ourselves too.

And let's not forget the people we're making the comparison to. Let's imagine for a moment if someone were to say that at least their friend isn't like you. My guess is that you would find that insulting. It should always be assumed that severely autistic people have feelings and know what's being said about them.

There does appear to be one time when no one seems to want to include themselves on the autism spectrum. That would be immediately following a mass shooting, such as the recent tragedy in Roseburg, Oregon.

Thankfully, the news media has made a decision to not mention autism in a story without some degree of relevance. When autism is mentioned without an explanation of relevance, most people will determine the relevance on their own, even when there is none. For example, speculating if a mass shooter is autistic may lead people to believe that autism caused the shooter's actions.

Unfortunately, most pundits and bloggers don't hold themselves to the same standard. In an attempt to understand what led a person to kill several people, some will attempt to diagnose the shooter. Not only is this impossible to do simply from a news story and some vague descriptions from friends and family of the shooter, but it's also highly irresponsible.

Making unprofessional autism diagnoses for mass shooters in an attempt to understand their actions has in the past caused autistic people to be afraid to go to work or school out of fear for how they might be treated. It has also spawned organizations, such as Families Against Autistic Shooters. The world this creates, even though it's temporary, only adds to the difficulties of living with autism, while doing nothing to promote understanding.

In summary, we in the Autistic community have no problem with society recognizing differences between us and those surrounding us. The differences are very real. The problem only comes when those differences are used to explain unrelated behaviors.

Ignoring or fearing difference only drives people further apart. In order to fully integrate the human family, differences need to be understood and celebrated. This is the part where I call for autistic people to be proud of yourselves and educate those around you, as well as for non-autistic people to talk to and learn from your autistic friends and family members. After all, we might have differences, but we're all human beings first.

Neurotypical Disorder Causes Problems for Some, Hope for Others

The following is a satirical work. All of the people are fictional. Any resemblance to real people is purely coincidental.

Sammy Henderson may seem at first glance like a typical six-year-old boy. He is very active, playful, and talkative. He shows a lot of enthusiasm when excited, such as by running where he's going or talking extremely loudly about areas of interest.

But Sammy is one of the 67 in 68 children who suffers from neurotypical disorder. Neurotypical disorder impedes the sufferer's ability to function separately from a social group, as well as limiting the logical thought process.

According to Sammy's parents, Peter and Caroline, Sammy has difficulties in establishing a functional routine, adhering instead to his habits of procrastination or refusal to accomplish required tasks.

Even something as simple as washing hands after using the bathroom can be difficult. Caroline tells me that Sammy often dishonestly claims to have washed his hands, even though she did not hear the water running. “It's difficult. I don't go in [the bathroom] with him anymore, so I can't stand over him and make sure he does it. I'm not really sure what to do.”

More complicated tasks often present greater difficulties. “It's always a chore getting him into bed,” says Caroline. “He knows he's tired, but he refuses to acknowledge it.” Instead, she often finds him creating battles between action figures depicting characters who have never actually met in any official storyline. “I don't know why he has the Hulk fighting Megatron,” explains Peter, “but he seems to enjoy it.”

Although unrealistic, Sammy's imagination appears to be quite complex. When I met the Hendersons, Sammy spent much of the visit insisting that he was a dragon, going so far as to explain when he was “breathing fire” at us. This belief persisted, despite explanations that he is not a dragon, and, in fact, dragons do not exist. These facts simply did not appear to enter his awareness.

Sadly, these behaviors are far too common among children who suffer from neurotypical disorder. Many parents will also report that their children will run into a street in front of cars, for no other purpose than to chase a toy. This is obviously contrary to common sense, which would tell us that personal safety should take precedence over retrieval of a toy.

However, not all believe neurotypical disorder to be something to be feared. Meet Debbie Garrickson. Her daughter, Emylie, recently started her sophomore year of high school. Like Sammy, Emylie also suffers form neurotypical disorder.

Last year was a particularly difficult time for Emylie's family. The Garricksons had recently moved, and Emylie began her first year of high school, with no friends sharing the same school.

“Emylie has always been really attached to her friends,” says Debbie. “She kinda got real depressed without anyone to hang out with.” Debbie explained to me the effect this had on the family. “She didn't join in any family activities. Sometimes she yelled at us for moving away from her friends, but she mostly just holed up in her room.”

It wasn't long before Emylie found new friends. Debbie encourages this coping mechanism. “Sure, she still doesn't want to play on family game night or anything, but at least she's getting out and doing stuff.”

In addition to encouraging her daughter to spend so much time with her friends instead of at home, Debbie offers a lot of freedom to Emylie. “Oh, I don't know [what they're doing]. Hanging out at the mall, looking at boys, whatever they do….Sure I worry, but what can you do? It's not like I can follow them around everywhere they go. You gotta let go some time.”

This approach to raising children with neurotypical disorder appears to show a lot of success. When they grow up, the symptoms of neurotypical disorder may impede children like Sammy or Emylie in jobs, such as scientific research or computer programming, that require logical thinking and attention to fine details. However, the inherent social skills and desire to succeed in a competitive situation may help in careers such as sales and professional sports.

As of yet, there is no known cure for neurotypical disorder. Many have suggested that the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine may play a key role in curing neurotypical disorder, but the vast majority of current scientific research suggests that there is no link.

Others believe that a high-gluten diet may reduce the risk of neurotypical disorder in children. Gluten may kill off harmful gastrointestinal bacteria that cause a high dependency on social interactions. There is little evidence to support this theory, but it may be worth further investigation.

Still others believe that neurotypical disorder has always existed at its current rate. The decline in prevalence may simply be due to our increasing ability to discern it from other, healthy types of brains.

Many other theories about the cause and declining prevalence of neurotypical disorder exist. Obviously, further research is required. My hope is that we can find the cause, so we can help children like Sammy and Emylie, and perhaps prevent other children from suffering from this disorder in the future.

#AutismUnity

Columnist and autism advocate Steve Silberman recently published a column in the LosAngeles Times, in which he thoroughly criticized the actions of Autism Speaks, accusing the organization of not actually listening to the people they claim to be helping. I recommend reading Silberman's piece. He is a well-spoken advocate, sharing many views with the majority of the Autistic community.

In response, president of Autism Speaks Liz Feld wrote a piece the organization's blog, in which she attempted to refute the allegations made by Silberman, as well as calling for unity in the autism community. Much of the piece was spent seemingly confirming Silberman's criticisms, presenting them as positives. I do not wish to spend this post untangling those, or addressing the half-truths and outright lies embedded in Feld's writing.

Instead, I would like to focus my attention on the community's response to Feld's call for unity. On September 3^rd, the organization BoycottAutism Speaks organized a message bombing campaign on Twitter, using the #AutismUnity hashtag, encouraging members of the community to voice their opposition to Autism Speaks' message.

I understand there is a certain irony to promoting unity by shutting out some people from the discussion. The truth of the matter is that no one has done more to leave autistic people and differing points of view out of the discussion about autism that Autism Speaks.

In fact, we do need to promote more unity within the autism community. There are multiple facets of the community, including autistic adults and children, parents, professionals, and researchers. All have something to gain from and offer to each other.

I've felt for a long time that autistic people should be at the forefront of the autism discussion. We're the ones who are being talked about, and it's our futures that are being decided. I feel that many of us can make a difference simply by allying ourselves and talking to parents, as well as becoming role models for autistic children, who will become the next generation of autistic adults.

Almost as important in the discussion as autistic people are parents. Aside from raising us to adulthood, and in some cases, much further, parents tend to learn a lot about the system that is designed to help us function in the world. As such, they learn about many of the problems in the system that many self-advocates are all but unaware of. Communication of these problems is essential to make progress and improve the system.

I would also encourage professionals and researchers to take part in the community. I personally know some professionals who have done this. They appear to come away with a better idea of what autistic people need for our daily lives. It's also much harder to not think of members of your social circle as fully fleshed out human beings, as appears to have traditionally been a problem among researchers.

This kind of unity requires that we abandon the demeaning types of messaging promoted by Autism Speaks. We need to stop thinking of autism as a disease or affliction. There is no room in unity to say that some of us are “barely living.”

It's time to celebrate the diversity that exists within our society. We need to embrace autism as a part of the larger human family. Only then can we create the accommodations necessary for equality.

Let me leave you with a few examples of #AutismUnity from Twitter:

Autism Speaks, stop speaking for people who can already communicate 4 themselves! #AutismUnity means it’s time to sit down and LISTEN!
#AutismUnity means we can't let the vile things Autism Speaks says about us and our neuro-siblings go unchallenged
#AutismUnity: Respect, Dignity & Acceptance for #ActuallyAutistic people, the opposite of what Autism Speaks does to us, without us!
#AutismUnity shouldn't mean erasure. Autism acceptance doesn't mean giving up on learning coping or self care skills. We can do both.
#AutismUnity is sitting with an autistic friend, stimming in sync. Being who we are. Supporting each other. Autism doesn't stop friendships
#AutismUnity is autistic people talking back to @AutismSpeaks, an organization that claims to speak for them. It's time to listen.
#AutismUnity is acceptance, accommodation, celebration of the diverse individuals that make up the autism spectrum. It is not cure culture.
#AutismUnity means listening to Autistic people. We should be leading the conversation about our own lives.

Neurotypical Disorder

Diagnostic Criteria for Neurotypical Disorder

A. Persistent dependence on social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts, as manifested by the following, currently or by history (examples are illustrative, not exhaustive):

1. Heavy reliance on nonverbal communicative behaviors in social interaction, ranging, for example, from automatically fixating on another's eyes; to use of facial expressions, body language, and gestures in place of words or phrases.

2. Dependence on developing and maintaining relationships, ranging, for example, from altering behavior according to various social situations; to absence of interest in solitary activities.

3. Visible distress when social-emotional reciprocity, ranging, for example, from social approach and normal back-and-forth conversation; to sharing of interests, emotions, or affect, is not given.

B. Mindless, routine patterns of behavior, interests, or activities, as manifested by at least two of the following, currently or by history (examples are illustrative, not exhaustive):

1. Specified or vague motor movements, use of objects, or speech (e.g., linguistic gestures, pretending a block is a car or a stick is a gun, metaphoric phrases, expectation that others will understand the meaning).

2. Lack of awareness of differences, mindless adherence to routines, or ritualized patterns of verbal or nonverbal behavior (e.g., obliviousness to small changes, scripted greeting rituals, taking the same route when going somewhere else).

3. Shallow, unfocused interests (e.g., little attachment to or preoccupation with unusual objects, lack of in-depth knowledge into recent interests).

4. Hyper- or hyporeactivity to sensory input or lack of interest in sensory aspects of the environment (e.g., adverse response to pain/temperature, apparent indifference to specific sounds or textures, little smelling or touching objects, no interest toward lights or movement).

C. Symptoms must be present in the early developmental period (but may not be fully apparent until social situations allow full manifestation, or may be masked in non-social situations).

D. Symptoms cause significant impairment in logical reasoning, interactions with inanimate objects, and other non-social areas of functioning.

E. These disturbances are not better explained by stalking behaviors. Stalking behaviors and neurotypical disorder frequently co-occur; to make comorbid diagnosis of neurotypical disorder and stalking behaviors, normal social behavior should be at expected developmental level.

Early Development:

Though diagnosis is usually not possible so early, research suggests that an early marker of neurotypical disorder may be strange and repetitive babbling during infanthood. This usually transitions into words and complete sentences during the child's second year.

Children with neurotypical disorder often gravitate toward other children with a similar condition. Groups of children with neurotypical disorder will often mimic characters or event they have seen in entertainment, such as acting like superheroes or behaving as if they are in space. Some will attempt to convince adults that they are animals, such as dogs or dinosaurs.

Many children with neurotypical disorder will specifically exclude children from play who are not suitably similar to them, sometimes to the point of bullying. A child may have no explanation for this behavior, other than “he's weird” or “she's gross.”

In the absence of a suitable companion, many children with neurotypical disorder will create a friend out of thin air. They will play with this “friend” as though he or she were there, and often introduce the “friend” to parents. Most will grow out of this behavior by adolescent years.

Adulthood:

Adults with neurotypical disorder are often more willing to engage in non-social activities, as required. They are still highly dependent on social interactions. Most show a preference to spending free time in public with friends, instead of, for example, staying home with a jigsaw puzzle.

An adult with neurotypical disorder will often take intense interest in the private lives of celebrities. Many, especially males, will exhibit screaming and yelling behaviors while observing sporting events. Much importance appears to be placed on the outcome of such events, though they appear to have little impact on the individuals' lives.

Many adults with neurotypical disorder seem to be more accepting than children of non-neurotypical individuals. Most, however, will still consider behaviors that they do not understand to be wrong, and will usually attempt to correct them.

Causes:

The primary factor in the development of neurotypical disorder appears to be genetic, though it may be possible that this works in conjunction with environmental triggers or the lack thereof.

Treatments:

Neurotypical disorder appears to be a lifelong condition, though some individuals appear to grow out of it, often by acquiring a different diagnosis. This is not common.

There is no known cure for neurotypical disorder. No medications have shown conclusive results. Research suggests that being in a group composed mainly of people without neurotypical disorder can relieve some symptoms.

Some adults attempt to self-medicate using alcohol, cannabis, or other substances. This is not recommended, as many can have sometimes unpredictable side effects, or even exaggerate symptoms.

Prevalence:

Current estimates place the prevalence of neurotypical disorder at 67 in 68. This has declined from 87 in 88 in the year 2008. Scientists are currently attempting to discover the cause of the decline in rates.

Autism Miracle Cures

Stephen Hawking once said, “The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, but the illusion of knowledge.” When we think we know something, we tend to ignore evidence to the contrary and look for things to support what we think we know. This isn't much of a problem when it comes to things like Hawking's area of expertise, black holes. However, there are some more commonplace subjects where the illusion of knowledge can cause some real damage.

One particular case that jumps to my mind is so-called miracle cures for autism. I will say up front that there is no cure for autism, nor do I think there ever will be one, short of a complete brain transplant. Despite this, there is no shortage of self-proclaimed experts selling their miracle cures over the internet, usually at great costs to their customers. It should also be noted that the intended recipients of these treatments are typically children, who are at greater risk of harmful side effects.

Some miracle treatments are relatively harmless, such as broccoli or camel's milk. These can even be beneficial, in that they provide nutrients that everyone needs. However, after having read about them, I'm unconvinced that there is any benefit to be gained from either beyond what a neuronormal person would experience.

There is one miracle cure from the 1990's that I'd like us to keep in mind throughout the rest of the list: auditory training. The theory was that autism is caused by a sensitivity to certain sound frequencies. Those selling this therapy hoped that by regularly exposing autistic people to these often painful frequencies, the sensitivity would be overcome, and therefore, the autism would be cured.

You may or may not see some problems with this theory. Either way, we'll come back to it later.

Looking back again at current miracle cures, one of the more common is chelation. Chelation is meant to extract harmful heavy metals, such as mercury or lead, out of the body. Its use as a treatment for autism stems from the belief that autism is caused by exposure to mercury from vaccines or other sources. The problem is that there is no evidence that autism has anything to do with heavy metals of any kind.

Further, chelation can be dangerous. When administered properly, it can cause low blood calcium, dehydration, and kidney damage. When it's used improperly, including when there is no heavy metal poisoning, it can cause an increased risk of cancer, neurodevelopmental disorders, and even death.

If I were experiencing obvious symptoms of heavy metal poisoning, I would probably take my chances on chelation. However, there is no medical or scientific reason to use chelation as a treatment for autism. Doing so can be very dangerous.

Another treatment that has been under scrutiny since 2008 is a solution called Miracle Mineral Solution (MMS). MMS is sodium chlorite dissolved in distilled water. It's said to cure anything from colds and flus, to cancer, to HIV, and yes, even autism.

What its promoters do not say is that the combination of sodium chlorite and water produces industrial-strength bleach. I shouldn't have to tell you that even small amounts can cause some very unpleasant side effects, up to and including death. Knowing that, it should be common sense to stay away from it.

Other common miracle cures include CocoKefir products, which have fallen under FDA investigation for false claims, and Epsom Salt.

We all know that Epsom Salt can be relaxing, which can benefit anyone who lives with a lot of stress, including overwhelming sensory input. However, long term use can have some unpleasant side effects as well, including dizziness, heart problems, skin irritation, and muscle weakness. I would suspect there wouldn't be a problem with periodic use, but don't expect it to cure your child's autism.

I should probably say something about gluten-free or casein-free diets. There is a movement claiming that autism is caused by gastrointestinal problems. I've seen several studies claiming anywhere from a strong link to no link at all. I don't know the details of most of them well enough to comment on the accuracy, but I can say a few things.

If you have a child that is unable to properly digest certain foods, it's obviously a good idea not to feed your child those foods, regardless of any other diagnoses they might have. I can also imagine the combination of autism and gluten intolerance to be a huge problem. Imagine if your stomach is in horrible pain, and you have little to no ability to communicate that to the person controlling your diet.

On the other hand, if there are no apparent issues with digestion or food allergies, it doesn't seem like there's any reason to avoid certain foods.

I won't talk about all of the products and therapies out there purported to cure autism. There are simply too many to list here. If you find one, some words to watch out for are “miracle” and “scientific breakthrough.” If you see those, view the report with a healthy amount of skepticism. You should also be suspicious of long lists of conditions the treatment is supposed to cure. And let me reiterate, there is no cure for autism.

So what about auditory training? It seems that for the most part, science happened to it. For one, we know that hypersensitive hearing and autism often go hand in hand. In this case, I think we can agree now that we may have mistaken the symptom for the cause.

Additionally, it's auditory training has not been convincingly proven effective. A huge part of this is having never been tested against a control group, partially because no convincing placebo has been found. It's difficult to prove the effectiveness of a treatment when you can't tell how much of the progress came from the illusion of receiving treatment, or even how much would naturally happen without treatment.

Before I finish, I want to say that I do understand the desperation that some parents go through when their child is diagnosed with autism. You're often given some very bleak predictions. You probably only want your child to reach their full potential.

The thing is, your child's full potential may not be less than if he/she were neuronormal. It's probably just on a different path. I'm not even talking necessarily about the Temple Grandins or the (possibly) Bill Gates's of the world. Severely autistic people have proven themselves as highly talented artists. Some have also shown more practical skills, such as assembling IKEA furniture.

So what kinds of therapies would I suggest? There's a few things that have worked for me, as well as many of my autistic friends. Speech therapy has been shown to have a positive effect. Also, many autistic children find it easier to communicate when they have a pet to focus on.

The most important things, however, are to interact with and communicate with your child as though he/she were normal, and to nurture and encourage your child's interests, no matter how bizarre or obsessive they may seem. You never know which path may lead to your child's full potential. Be creative.

Are Autistic Hobbies Really Obsessive?

Several Decembers ago, I found myself with some newly acquired Christmas money in my pocket and some time off work with nothing to do. I went to the local hobby shop to find something to remedy both of these problems. While perusing the plastic model aisle, my eye caught a Master Grade Gundam Mk-II. I wasn't especially familiar with Gundam at the time, but the fact that it was like an action figure that you build from a kit shot the cool factor off the charts.

After discovering the variety of Gundam models available, I quickly developed a new hobby. My latest project, which I just finished applying the decals to yesterday, was a Perfect Grade Unicorn Gundam, complete with the LED unit and Full Armor unit. It took me nearly a week to build it all, and another week just to apply decals.

Full disclosure, I am not a professional model builder, nor do I aspire to become one. I would not say that what I build is suitable for display outside my own place of residence. I just enjoy building Gundam models, as well as similar types of robot models from Japan, and then posing them and displaying them.

The only reason I bring this up is because of hobbies.

One of the defining traits of autism is obsessive hobbies. Activities that we will tend to devote most of our free time to. They stay on our minds when we aren't doing them, and we talk about them a lot to other people. Whenever our minds idle, they tend to gravitate toward our hobbies.

To be honest, this is a concept that I find difficult to understand. To me, the above paragraph defines not an obsessive hobby, but a hobby. If something doesn't fit that description, I consider it to by at most a mild interest.

That has made me wonder how it is that an autistic person's interests differ from those of a neuronormal person.

To be clear, I'm not talking about obsessions that we might consider unhealthy, that negatively impact other parts of the person's life. Things like hoarding decades' worth of newspapers or losing your life savings to gambling. I'm talking about interests that those around us might be bothered or concerned by, but otherwise don't have many negative consequences, such as my Gundam hobby I mentioned at the beginning.

The first thing I think of when I hear “obsessive hobby” is how much time and resources a person spends on his/her hobby. It is true that when I'm in the middle of a project, I tend to spend the vast majority of my time working on it. Other times, I want to make sure I have adequate tools and supplies and a functional workspace.

This is not dissimilar to the habits of other autistic people I know. I personally know people on the autism spectrum who spend most of their free time painting, writing fan fics, or just sketching characters for future projects. I've also known people who spend their time drawing road maps or researching the weather or various points in history.

However, I have to ask how this differs from how a neuronormal person spends his/her free time. For example, I remember my mom used to spend hours alone in her sewing room. She seemed to lose track of what was else was going on while she was working. I also remember a coworker of mine, who enjoys metalworking, excitedly telling me about acquiring a $500 toolbox for his garage.

Another prime example is musicians. We all know how often musicians will take out their instruments and start playing, given the chance. They also tend to spend a lot of time and money customizing and maintaining their instruments. In fact, it would be fair to say that music is a full time hobby. Some may consider musicians to be obsessive, but I've never heard anyone describe that level of interest in music to be autistic.

So, if we're more obsessive about our interests, I don't think it's because of the amount of time and resources we put into them. Maybe it's how much we talk about our interests.

Again, I'm going to have to disagree. If you know a car guy, you have almost certainly seen pictures of his latest accomplishment. It's not unlikely that you've even seen before and after pictures, along with verbal descriptions of what he's done. He's not obsessive. He's just sharing his interest with you, whether you care or not.

I'll also have to point to sports culture. Before and after every game, I'm always surrounded by talk of football, something I have absolutely no interest in. People talk about not only the players and coaches, and who they think will win and why, but also how the results of the game will affect the rest of the season and who will go to the playoffs.

This aspect of sports culture is fully acknowledged and accepted, as evidenced by the fact that some will ask that others around them not talk about the game that they recorded to watch later. That request is almost always respected.

Of course, when an autistic person is talking about his/her hobbies, the conversation seems a little more one-sided. I will not dispute that. However, I will dispute that it's indicative of obsession. You have to remember that autism is a social disability, which affects our conversational skills. We have a tendency to monologue at people when we talk, no matter what the subject is. Taking that into consideration, I think we can discount that as well.

Looking at the evidence, I think it's only reasonable to conclude that either autistic people are not obsessive about their hobbies or that neuronormal people are. It's simply a normal human behavior, filtered through a different type of brain.

Minorities Have Made Gains, But Still Have Far to Go

This Thursday, June 18^th, was the tenth annual Autistic Pride Day. A day for autistic people to celebrate our differences. It's a day for verbal and nonverbal people, those with intellectual disability or not, all across the autism spectrum to come together and focus on the positives of being autistic.

Since the creation of Autistic Pride Day, more and more people have become comfortable being openly autistic. Awareness and acceptance of autism have spread. It's becoming more common for even those outside the autism community to be accepting of autism as a natural variant of a healthy brain.

Unfortunately, tragedy struck on the same day in the United States, in the form of a domestic terrorist attack. A man entered a public building and announced of the inhabitants that they have “raped our women, and [they] are taking over the country ... I have to do what I have to do.” He then proceeded to kill nine people, including South Carolina State Senator Clementa Pinckney.

If you've been paying any attention at all to the news the past few days, you know what I'm talking about. I will not name the shooter here because I don't want to give him any more recognition than is necessary, nor will I talk about the politics of gun control, since I think that's best left for another time.

I will, however, say a few things about the mental health discussion. There seems to be a pattern in the reporting of high profile crimes like this. When the suspect is Muslim, we tend to hear talk about the supposedly inherent violence within Islam. If the suspect is black, there's talk of family structure and parental responsibility. In the case of a white suspect, the discussion often turns to mental health.

I'll say up front that I believe all of these to be inappropriate, since they all attempt to draw a line between 'us' and 'them.' Instead, I feel it's more important to look at the real motivation for each case. In this case, whether the shooter was mentally ill or not, this crime was not caused by mental illness. It was clearly caused by hate. Unlike mental illness, hate is taught by others. It's important to fight that by spreading not just tolerance, but acceptance of diversity.

Personally, I feel that the most offensive part of this story is the way it was covered on Fox News. Fox has presented story after story saying that this man's motivation was to kill Christians. While it is reasonable to assume that the victims were all Christian, comedian Mike Yard asked the question on The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore, how many churches this man passed on the way to this one, occupied by entirely black people? This, combined with what he said himself before opening fire, strongly suggests that this crime was racially motivated.

There is a reason I mention both of these events together, Autistic Pride Day and the attack in South Carolina. Few people would argue that the racial equality movement has made considerable progress. The fact that this attack has gotten so much attention, when similar attacks were common in the 1960's, demonstrates that. However, the fact that this attack happened at all in the 21^st century illustrates another point that I want to highlight.

No matter how far an equality movement comes, and no matter how unpopular hate against a minority gets, there will always be those who oppose equality. It is important to always continue pushing forward. Otherwise, the movement can easily lose ground and start slipping back.

The support of those outside a minority is vitally important. It's expected, for example, to hear a black person talking about racial equality. It tends to mean more to those who need to learn to hear it from someone they perceive as being one of their own.

Now, I know in the autistic community, we don't usually have to worry about mass shooters targeting us. We do have our own concerns, though. We are often shut out of the job market. Several of our number have been killed by their own caregivers, who are then made to look like only a victim in the story. We even have our own self-appointed advocates who actively speak against our message.

In fact, all minorities have their own sets of concerns and problems. Whether we're talking about racial or religious minorities, women, Native Americans, the LGBT community, or those with any type of disability, we need to stand together. Find out what each movement wants to say, and stand up for them. Never give up the push for equality. We're all human beings first.

An Overdue Apology

Shortly after the first time I was published in our local newspaper, The Register Guard, I was contacted by a woman whom we'll call Mary. She was impressed by what I had written, and wanted to meet me. She also wanted me to meet her son, we'll call him Jim, who is also autistic.

Mary is friendly and outgoing. She came across as a caring and open-minded mother. I might also add generous (thanks again for lunch, if you're reading this). Jim seemed kind of shy, but not at all unfriendly. He's independent, and one of the autistic people lucky enough to have found a steady job.

Overall, I thought it was a fun meeting. Although, I feel like I owe Jim an apology.

Naturally, most of our conversation centered around the subjects of autism and the autism community. As you may know from reading my writings, I have a lot to say about that, and I can get rather passionate about it. That may not have been a problem in a less public space.

I'm pretty open about my own autism. Of course, I don't tell every single person I meet. There are a couple of reasons. The most obvious is that I don't want to spend that much time explaining what it means. The other is that I do notice that people tend to treat me differently depending on whether I tell them I'm autistic right away, or if I give them a chance to get to know me first. By and large, though, I don't feel as though I should have to hide that I'm autistic.

Jim, on the other hand, takes a very different view. Mary was telling me that he's somewhat embarrassed by his diagnosis, which I should have noticed while we were talking. My understanding is that he doesn't share it with his friends and coworkers, for fear of being judged.

The thing is Jim's fears aren't entirely unfounded. In my experience, most Millennials and many Gen Xers tend to be willing to see autism as it is when it's presented to them. However, many people still think of Dustin Hoffman's Rainman when they hear autism. It can be frustrating trying to show someone that you're not stupid, while simultaneously telling them to do their own math.

Other people will sometimes appoint themselves as social skills teachers. While this can be appropriate coming from parents, teachers, caregivers, and significant others, it's probably best left alone by friends and coworkers. A lot of people often get the lessons wrong, and even if it's correct, it can still feel demeaning.

Even worse is when a person, who may be otherwise respectful and open-minded, takes the knowledge that a friend of their's is autistic as permission to share it with anyone they choose. This then extends the problems with disclosing to people that you may not be aware know about your diagnosis. I try to remember now to tell people that I want to be the one to choose when and how to disclose to others.

Being openly autistic, I choose to take these risks along with it. My goal in doing so is to create a world in which people like Jim do not need to worry about being treated differently. However, as things are now, Jim should have a right to choose not to take those same risks that I do.

To be honest, most of the autistic people I know are comfortable with their autism, and at least marginally comfortable sharing it with others. Of those who aren't, either autism is not normally the topic of conversation when I'm with them or we're surrounded by members of the autism community. Further, I consider it a failure on my part if the majority of the neuronormal people I know don't have a positive and accurate view of autism.

Because of the environment I've created for myself, I sometimes forget that others are uncomfortable with being autistic. I'll try to be more sensitive to that in the future.

Jim, even though I've changed your name here, I trust you know who you are. I hope you accept my apology.

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Update: "Mary" sent me the following response, which was intended as a comment, but exceeded the character limit. I would like to post it here:

DAVID .... Sorry it took me a few days to respond, but I've never "blogged" before.  (Smile).  

It was compassionate and generous of you to offer your apology, but heavens, one surely was not needed!   You did nothing at all to apologize for.

When I saw your great articles about autism in the Register Guard, I was inspired to contact and meet you -- as outside of my son (whom we are calling "Jim" here), I've never met an autistic person who is functioning out there as "normal" in the real world.  I thought it would be good for Jim to meet someone similar to himself -- as although he functions in the world with no apparent handicap, he goes through a lot of stress trying to piece together and understand conversations.  (An autistic brain thing, most likely).  This causes him great angst at work.~

Jim works for a large lumber mill running a machine, and has held this job for almost 15 years.  He interviewed for and got the job totally by himself, and no one there knows of his autism -- although some probably view him as a bit "different." 

Jim was diagnosed as "clasically autistic" at age 4, and didn't have meaningful speech until age 7.  Fortunately, there was no retardation. 

I wrote to Dr. Bernard Rimland (the "father of autism") back in the 60's for help, as no definitive help existed out there.  He referred us to work with Dr. Ivar Lovaas at UCLA (renown at the time), and through many wonderful people and relentless hard work, Jim improved each year.  (Too lengthy to go into here, but David Olson has my "story" about Jim detailing much of this).

Jim is now 52, has had his steady job at the mill for 14+ years, owns his own home, drives his car(s), and for all practical purposes is integrated successfully into society.  He has never married (oh, the heartbreaks and rejections I've gone through with him~), but am happy to report that he has now been in an exclusive "relationship" for over 5 years. 

For about 25 years (mid 20's to late 40's), Jim was plagued with panic attack type "melt-downs", mostly out in public, when he experienced "information overload."  These manifested in seizure-type episodes, and so many times ambulances were called.  These were so stressful for both of us!   By the miracle of Jim's inner strength and fierce resolve to overcome, I'm happy to report that he has actually "trained his brain" not to have these -- and instead he covers his mouth, takes deep breaths, and walks away from the perceived stress.  David, this is what you saw the day the 3 of us met for lunch -- smile.  We were seated outside next to other folks, and Jim could see they were listening to our conversation about autism (including his).  He was mortified about this for various reasons.

First, he still carries the stigma of going to elementary school (to Special Ed class) on what kids called "the retard bus."  He learned back then that if he was to be accepted (instead of taunted) by his peers, he needed to be like they appeared to be -- "normal."  

Fast forward ahead to when he got his job at the mill over 14 years ago.  Again, they never would have hired him (risky machinery to work around, etc.), had they known he was afflicted with a malady of any type.  So for all these reasons, Jim must remain "underground" about the autism.

One of the reasons I loved the articles you wrote, David, is because you are directly addressing autism and educating the public (however long it takes them~) about this little understood malady.  I doubt if the "good ole boys" at the mill would really "get it" and show any tolerance at this point in time -- but it's people like you (ha, if there are any, David!) who are on the ground swell and leading the way for the rest of us. 

With efforts like yours, we're hopefully working toward a more tolerant and informed society.  Keep up your wonderful work!

In appreciation, "Mary" (ficticious name) -- "Jim's" mom