Comment by Alison Alpert on August 11, 2011 at 11:58am

The Comic/Tragic Politics of the Autism/Asperger World:
Columbia University Lecture

Complete video (approximately 81 minutes long) from April 12, 2011. The event was for Columbia University Center for Bioethics' 9th Anniversary Herbert G. Cohen, MD, DOS Memorial Lecture in Neuroscience. Joining past honorees/lecturers such as Oliver Sacks, M.D., Michael John Carley was asked to speak on the political history of the controversies surrounding the autism/Asperger world.

To download the powerpoint slides used in the presentation and follow along, click here. Topics covered are (1) the history of the negative stigma surrounding autism and Asperger's Syndrome (AS), (2) 1993 and up: "The real arguments begin," (3) Who the players are, (4) The issues broken down: [a] The "cure" debate, [b] the vaccine debate, [c] educational and behavioral strategies, as well as aversives, [d] Conflicting messages, and [e] Research: What kind do we want?, (5) Changes forthcoming in the DSM-V, (6) Myths dispelled, (7) Context, and (8) Closing perspectives.

Comment by Don Muyo on November 4, 2011 at 7:34pm

 

In my utopian fantasy, I would like videos by TheAnMish and Michael John Carley to be required viewing by people who are in any position to say whether someone does, or does not, have Asperger’s. I do not know whether I’m an Aspie or not (getting an evaluation has eluded me so far), but I have run into too many people who have a caricature of Asperger’s in their head. (By the way, caricatures often have some elements of truth, but they are obviously distorted and limited.)

One of my  “diagnoses” involved a psychiatrist who said, “Look me in the eyes.” I did, and then she announced, “You don’t have Asperger’s.” Another involved a psychologist who asked me if understand emotions. I said that I thought I did. She, then, said that I did not have Asperger’s. These questions were not one question among many. In each case, their single question was, literally, the complete examination.

 

I wish that the training of so called professionals involved something as basic as watching a few short videos like the one TheAnMish made. While that would hardly inform them as well as they should be informed, it might at least add some much needed depth and humanity to their simplistic notions.

 

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