Autistic students and college supports

From an informal survey and a discussion with Julia Bascom, executive director at the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, Kit Mead, writing for “The Establishment,” has determined that “many autistic students find themselves pushed out of student housing due to a lack of accessibility and support.”

TIME author equates Asperger’s with trolling

As a survivor of bullying who has personally experienced cowardly attacks on the Internet, I share with TIME magazine author Joel Stein a concern that anonymity is a breeding ground for abuses. That said, I wish to express my concern with Stein’s portrayal of “the web” as “a sociopath with Asperger’s.”

Online discussion of diversity in library profession

Courtney Louise Young

In her column for American Libraries, January/February 2015, American Libraries Association president Courtney Young invites readers to join a “Diversity Membership Initiative Group to advance a commitment to diversity: “not only fostering the diversity of the profession but also working to ensure that we are serving all segments of our populations.”

For reasons that are both professional and personal, I share this commitment to diversity. On Dec. 29, I applied and was accepted for membership in the Diversity MIG.

My blogging history and purpose of my blogs

Part of the time I might have spent blogging this week was spent considering my past history as a blogger and the purpose of my two blogs, Cynthia Parkhill: Library Assistant, Volunteer and Advocate and Librarian on a Bicycle.

Alan Turing: autistic in ‘The Imitation Game’

Keira Knightley and Benedict Cumberbatch in The Imitation Game.
Image courtesy of The Weinstein Company Publicity

For Christmas Day, Jonathan and I (joined by a neighbor, also named Jonathan) saw The Imitation Game at Varsity Theatre in downtown Ashland. This film dramatizes an effort by Alan Turing in England during World War II to create a machine able to crack the Germans’ “unbreakable” Enigma code.

Autism ‘expert’ status: Why so misplaced?

From Shannon Des Roches Rosa, writing at BlogHer.com, here’s a question that really must continually be asked: “Why Do Autism ‘Experts’ Say Such Awful Things?” (Or perhaps the question should be, when these so-called experts speak, why do so many award them credibility?)

‘Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism’

The interested reader could easily fill a bookshelf addressing multiple facets of autism: behavioral therapies, sensory challenges, whether or not to medicate, K-12 educational policies. But this reader would have to buy one book first, and Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism would be an ideal place to start.

Published in 2011 by the Myers-Rosa Foundation, the book is edited by Shannon Des Roches Rosa, Jennifer Byde Myers, Liz Ditz, Emily Willingham and Carol Greenburg.

Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism provides an informative overview from a variety of contributors.

Keep Autism Speaks out of library-service discussion

In my dual personal and professional capacities, I am a strong advocate for the success of any project like Targeting Autism, which focuses the efforts of Illinois libraries to provide services to people on the autism spectrum and their families.

I want to caution the Illinois libraries’ project, however, about having any relationship or appearing to endorse the group Autism Speaks.

Targeting Autism, library service to autistic patrons

From an email subscription to Special Needs and Inclusive Library Services (also known as SNAILS), I learned about a project addressing an issue that’s deeply important to me upon personal and professional levels.

‘Monkey’s Christmas Tree’ as children’s picture book

Picture book: Monkey's Christmas Tree
from Cynthia M. Parkhill

If I had to name a genre for “Monkey’s Christmas Tree,” it would be realistic fiction with a non-human protagonist.

‘Getting a Life with Asperger’s’ by Jesse A. Saperstein

The greatest take-away message for me in Getting a Life with Asperger’s, Lessons Learned on the Bumpy Road to Adulthood (Perigee, 2014) is author Jesse A. Saperstein’s emphasis on people with autism being “role model[s] from day one.”

“Society is aware of us as having a disability, and the characteristics deemed to be negative have more lasting power. Let’s collectively step up to the plate to show that our positive characteristics may eventually overshadow any rocky moments.”

Saperstein envisions himself as a Catcher in the Rye for his younger peers, referencing a mission by J.D. Salinger’s character Holden Caulfield, to save young children from getting too close to a cliff. And Saperstein writes with direct, first-hand experience about that metaphorical cliff.

Autism book list: Fiction divided by age

Books out from the library

The growing roster of fiction on my list of books for people on the autism spectrum could easily stand as an independent list of autism “read-alikes” — except that entries vary as to age of target readership as reflected in the age of the main character. So this morning, I subdivided the fiction into juvenile, young adult and adult categories.

‘Rain Reign’ by Ann M. Martin

The people in Rose Howard’s life get angry with her sometimes for her insistence on following rules. Her tendency to point out every driving infraction got her kicked off the school bus.

Rose’s dog Rain provides consolation and solace in her lonely life. Rain’s name is extra special because it’s a double homonym; the words “Rain,” “Reign” and “Rain” all sound alike, but have different meanings.

Rose’s father lets Rain outside during a terrible storm, and the dog becomes lost. To find her beloved dog, Rose carefully executes a systematic and detailed plan.

Disabilities should not be used as insults

As a person on the autism spectrum, I have unique gifts and challenges. My brain works differently from the majority of people and when I went to school, my classmates enforced a school-wide “norm” that I was to be bullied and shunned.

Schneider Family Book Award

Given a class assignment to write about a school or library children’s book award, I decided to learn more about the Schneider Family Book Award, one among what are collectively referred to as the American Library Association’s Youth Media Awards.

(With its emphasis upon portraying the experience of people with disabilities, the Schneider award uniquely piqued my interest as a woman on the autism spectrum.)

‘My Brother Sammy’: Sibling’s concern about autism

One of the diverse perspectives highlighted in our course readings this week in The Joy of Children’s Literature is what author Denise Johnson refers to as “exceptionalities,” physical, mental or behavioral challenges or giftedness. As a woman who learned in adulthood that she was on the autism continuum, I have a vested interest in autistic characters’ experiences validated and communicated through fiction.

Autistic people on staff: Ways to optimize workplace

People with autism don’t always announce ourselves, but if you own or manage a decent-sized company, you have autistic people on staff. From OneQuarterMama.ca, here are seven ways companies can optimize their workplaces by “treating each individual as valuable and with respect.”

Social sharing credit: Autism Women's Network

‘Livvie Owen Lived Here’ by Sarah Dooley

Olivia “Livvie” Owen and her family have lived nearly everywhere in their small community. The family struggles financially; both parents work for a retail giant in a larger, more populous community.

The family faces their latest eviction after Livvie responds with an outburst to an unexpected sound. 

Livvie is determined to return with her family to a house where they used to live, believing they were all happy there.

I sympathized with Livvie, being condemned by strangers, because I shared similar moments.

Children’s literature: My reasons for taking course

For my classmates’ enjoyment: Starfire on her special ‘cat shelf’

In an online forum, my Early Childhood Education class asks for an introduction, including my reasons for taking the class and any experience working with children.

‘Common sense’ can benefit from instruction

Cartoon image created with Bitstrips app

At the Spokane County Library District blog, librarian Aileen Luppert provides a much needed affirmation that “common sense” behaviors are very often learned. In her piece titled, “Don’t Be That Guy (in the Workplace),” she presents “common sense” advice for making and keeping a good impression on-the-job.