Monthly Archives: February 2017

Link Roundup

This Week in Neurodiversity

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Each Friday at NOSmag, I’m going to post some links relevant to neurodiversity news and culture criticism around the web. This is what I’ve been reading and that I think you should be reading too. Feel free to add links of your own in the comments and email suggestions for future link roundups to nos.editorial@gmail.com or Tweet us @NOSeditorial.
History

Jeff Sessions’ Praise of 1924 Johnson-Reed Act Recalls a Dark Past

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As President Calvin Coolidge signed the 1924 Johnson-Reed Act, he stated, "America must remain American." The Johnson-Reed Act, until 1965, restricted immigration of multiple racial and ethnic minorities into the United States before World War II, including Eastern European Jews. Many of these Jews later died in the Holocaust. The Act restricted these racial and ethnic groups in part due to eugenics “science” that said these groups were more likely to be “socially inadequate,” and become a “public burden.” Eugenicist Harry Laughlin, who managed the Eugenics Record Office, testified in 1920 about foreign-born groups in hospitals for the “insane.” His testimony included the remark, “the Italians, Russians, Austrians (largely Jews) constitute a large proportion of the insane.” Laughlin had been appointed around 1922 as the “Expert Eugenics Agent” to the House Committee on Immigration and Naturalization, and much of his research and testimonies provided the justification … Continue Reading ››
Health

We Need Research on Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome

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Note: This post contains medical language and discussion of early death. Are many young adults with autism dying preventable deaths because they and their families are unaware of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome? When I was a member of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC), I commented when representatives from Autistica UK presented on early death for adults with autism. They didn’t mention Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. I talked about Ehlers-Danlos, my son, and the fear that no one is researching or talking about this. I hadn’t heard anyone previously, and I haven’t seen anything on the topic since. That’s a problem. It’s especially a problem for me and my son. My son was a serious baby.  He was a bit floppy, delayed in crawling, sitting, and walking.  He learned to do all three before he was 14 months old. What he did not do was speak. After several rounds of diagnostic testing, he was diagnosed … Continue Reading ››
Future of Neurodiversity

There are Bigger Threats to Autistics Than Autism Speaks

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Autism Speaks is anti-autistic. Autism Speaks spends too much money on cause and cure research rather than things that are actually helpful.  Autism Speaks would like to ensure that future generations of autistic people are never born. All of those things are true. But you know what else is true? Autism Speaks is not the only threat to autistic people’s well-being and autonomy right now. In fact, in the era of Donald Trump’s presidency, it is hard to make the case that Autism Speaks is even close to the biggest threat. This is not a defense of Autism Speaks. Like most autistic people involved in the neurodiversity community, I am disgusted with Autism Speaks’ long history of ableism. However, I do question whether anti-Autism Speaks activism should be our number one priority as a community at this point. When we focus all of our energies on Autism Speaks, it becomes easy to forget … Continue Reading ››
Link Roundup

This Week in Neurodiversity

1 Comment
Each Friday at NOSmag, I’m going to post some links relevant to neurodiversity news and culture criticism around the web. This is what I’ve been reading and that I think you should be reading too. Feel free to add links of your own in the comments and email suggestions for future link roundups to nos.editorial@gmail.com.