Opinion

Legal Claim Autistic Rapist ‘Didn’t Know Any Better’ is Bullshit

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A show that ran as long as Law & Order is, naturally, going to have some off days. I’ll admit to occasionally tuning into the show’s seemingly never-ending basic cable blocks as a guilty pleasure, but one of the telltale signs you’re about to watch one of the shitty ones is when the culprit is apprehended about 20 minutes in. When it’s taken care of that early, you know the trial portion of the episode is going to revolve around the perpetrator’s lawyer arguing that their client killing people is a medical condition or something similarly absurd. So you can imagine how irritated I was, to say the least, when someone decided to pull the same trick  in real life. The Internet is vast and contains multitudes If, for some reason, you want to identify the absolute worst people on here, there are several ways you could go. There are the … Continue Reading ››
Review

The Good Doctor: Season One, Episode Three

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This week’s episode of The Good Doctor is titled “Oliver." "Oliver" is the name of the donor of a very important liver, a liver that will save a life. The episode's main plot dealt with the ethics of transplantation, which is pretty heavy stuff. Transplant lists literally decide who will live and who will die. Overall, the episode was decent -- Much better than last week's DSM dumpster fire. Sean once again has motivations beyond pathology. God willing he stays that way for the rest of the season and even perhaps grows as a person.

I think ABC really missed an opportunity with this episode to educate, however. While exploring the ethics of transplantation, it would have been wonderful if they had explored the ethics of transplantation as it relates to people who have intellectual and developmental disabilities -- People like Dr. Sean Murphy. If Sean … Continue Reading ››

News

Democratic Congressman Withdraws Latest Attack on Disability Rights

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Last week, the Energy and Commerce Committee held a markup session for a bill that would refund the Children's Health Insurance Program, better known as CHIP.  During the session, there was contentious discussion on topics ranging from the current disaster in Puerto Rico to Republican opposition to the Affordable Care Act. Many disability activists, however, were anxiously awaiting a different discussion. Congressman Bobby Rush (D-IL) planned to introduce an amendment to the CHIP bill that would make it possible for institutions to take money intended to support disabled people in their homes and communities. CHIP itself is an important disability issue. It was created to provide health care for children and pregnant women in low- to middle-income homes whose annual incomes were only a little bit higher than the Medicaid limit. CHIP covers 9 million children and 370,000 pregnant women. Funding needs to be periodically reauthorized by Congress. Last … Continue Reading ››
News

Congressman Tim Murphy Resigns, Neurodiversity Community Feels Relief

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As reported by NOS Magazine last week, Congressman Tim Murphy has found himself embroiled in a sex scandal. New information has revealed that while acting as a member of Congress's pro-life caucus, Murphy urged the woman he was having an affair with to get an abortion. As a result, Congressman Murphy has resigned, effective immediately. Murphy's resignation is excellent news for people with psychiatric disabilities. Kit Mead, creator of Psych Ward Reviews, was delighted at the news of Murphy's resignation:
"Murphy was devoted to taking away the agency and voice of people with mental health disabilities. He advocated forced medication and loss of privacy. I hope that in the future mental health reform initiatives are led by people with disabilities."
During his time in Congress, Murphy was the most vocal champion of forced psychiatric medication.  In 2016, Murphy championed the “Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act,” better known as the … Continue Reading ››
Review

The Good Doctor: Season One, Episode Two

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This week's episode of The Good Doctor is titled "Mount Rushmore." It delves into issues of autism, honesty, and bedside manner. And to be honest, this week Dr. Murphy's writing unfortunately tilted him more towards being a DSM checklist than a person. I hope next week's episode does better. I am intentionally only referring to Dr. Murphy as Dr. Murphy in this article instead of "Sean." Because he is a doctor. He went to medical school. He got good grades. He passed his board examinations. He is just as qualified as the other two surgical residents, if somewhat less experienced. Watching Dr. Murphy being repeatedly abused and bullied without him even understanding that he is being abused and bullied was painful for me. Like many autistic adults, I've been in similar situations, and when you find out what people actually thought of you, it is soul-crushingly awful. It made the episode hard … Continue Reading ››