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Author: Patrick Dwyer

The Meaning of Inclusion

The Meaning of Inclusion

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On this blog, I’ve spent a lot of time criticizing the idea that everyone should be forced to attend mainstream schools, regardless of whether they want to or not.  In doing so, I’ve sometimes suggested that I am opposed to “inclusion” itself, but that’s not exactly correct.  Previously, I’ve never really unpacked the difference between the concepts of mainstreaming or integration and the concept of inclusion, even though there is a very important distinction between them.  I want to clarify…

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Building Autistic Community

Building Autistic Community

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Many autistic people have spoken or written about the benefits of autistic community.  For example, Jim Sinclair has some eloquent thoughts on the subject.  I firmly agree that these communities have much to offer us.  I’ve facilitated two communities for autistic college students at two different universities, and I’ve also been part of some other autistic groups, and had generally positive experiences in them. We live in a neurotypical world: a world in which autism is habitually treated as pathology,…

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The Social Model and Neurodiversity

The Social Model and Neurodiversity

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A while ago, I described my view of what the neurodiversity paradigm means.  In that post, my ideas owe some very clear debts not only to others who have thought about the concept of neurodiversity, but also to the thinkers who developed the social model of disability. Indeed, in Judy Singer’s new introduction to the original thesis (1998/2016) which she used to propose the idea of neurodiversity, she credits the social model with providing the “framework” of the thesis.  However,…

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Silos and Echo Chambers in the World of Autism

Silos and Echo Chambers in the World of Autism

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Since the 1960s, numerous social psychology studies have shown that people in echo chambers become more extreme in their shared views.  This finding is important enough that it has a name: the group polarization effect.  This can be positive or negative, depending on the group: when people who aren’t racist get together with other non-racists, everybody gets even less racist, but when people who are a bit racist get together with other racists, they become more racist (Myers & Bishop,…

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Social Skills and Practice

Social Skills and Practice

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How do we learn social skills?  Practice. Let’s think about what is involved in a social interaction.  You have to make countless, split-second decisions.  You have to formulate and deliver conversational responses instantly.  While you do this decision-making, you have to pay constant attention to your body’s position, your facial expressions, and you are expected to make eye contact with the other person.  You have to attend to their expressions and nonverbal cues.  You have to think about their intentions…

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Independence in Specialized Schools

Independence in Specialized Schools

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I have some serious doubts about the mainstream schools.  I worry about bullying in the mainstream schools, social isolation in the mainstream schools, social skills in the mainstream schools, mental health in the mainstream schools, and sensory distress in the mainstream schools, among other things.  Because of all of these problems with the mainstream, I think we need alternative options. But I will admit to some worries about specialized schools as well.  They do have some of their own problems,…

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Media Normalization of Violence and Marginalization

Media Normalization of Violence and Marginalization

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Why do we allow mockery of autistic and neurodivergent people? If you look at our media today, it seems to accept the idea that awkwardness and difference can be a source of amusement.  We’re routinely invited to laugh at neurodivergence and mock it.  We’re invited to laugh at the class nerd, or the crazy professor, or some other stereotyped neurodivergent character.  We’re even taught that awkward kids will get bullied: such bullying is often presented as entirely natural and predictable. …

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Independence: Preparation for Transition (Part I)

Independence: Preparation for Transition (Part I)

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Transition to adulthood is a daunting challenge.  In transition to adulthood, we fall off a cliff.  We suddenly find the predictable environments that have surrounded us changing, and we enter new and different environments.  In these new environments, we encounter new expectations, new demands.  In these new environments, our familiar support systems fall away, and we find ourselves struggling to advocate for ourselves within an unfamiliar and inadequate set of adult service systems. Seriously, if you have a group of…

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Independence: The Transition (Part II)

Independence: The Transition (Part II)

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In Part I of this post, I raised the concern that many young autistic people can become dependent on their parents or support systems, and that many young autistic people aren’t being expected to succeed in adulthood.  As a result, they are unprepared for the adult transition. In Part I, I recommended that we should do more to prepare young people for the demands of adulthood in the years before they pass that magical dividing line and become adults.  In…

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Wait, Who Said Autistic Sensory Symptoms Aren’t Real?

Wait, Who Said Autistic Sensory Symptoms Aren’t Real?

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Last week, I was unpleasantly startled to read in a Spectrum News article that the latest draft of the International Classification of Diseases, the ICD-11, excludes differences in sensory processing from its list of autism symptoms. I thought we were over this.  The ICD-11’s counterpart, the DSM-5, now includes sensory symptoms.  I still grumble a little that they’re just lumped as a single symptom under the general category of restricted and repetitive behaviours, but I’m at least happy that they’re…

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