JuggaspieZ2k wrote:
Let's email Readers Digest and other magazines and try to get articles about Neurodiversity, WrongpPlanet, and maybe Aspies For Freedom. But I have left Aspies For Freedom because I have had it with the politics.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NeurodiversityMost of the articles so far in the "mainstream" media, like the New York Times, have discussed controversial aspects of "Neurodiversity", particularly the idea that there should be no cure research for Autism.
It's often discussed in context, when the article is associated with the President of ASAN, Ari Neeman.
The concept is not accepted in the "real world". The best way to promote it is through stories that express neurodiversity through the eyes of the individuals, with "neurodiverse" conditions.
The recent New York Times article posted here on Jack and Kristen's relationship (the two that work with Alex in the videos), did a great job with this. And at the same time it allowed exposure for wrong planet, through mention of wrong planet in the article.
Scott Holman, has done the same by presenting his stories of his life in several different media outlets. And of course along with the more well known folks like Temple Grandhin and John Elder Robison.
There is little potential that anyone will convince the mainstream media to actually write a general article about neurodiversity, without presenting it as a controversy. Any mainstream media outlet would be ridiculed by the general public if they suggested research for a cure for autism was not needed, without presenting it as a controversial issue.
The best way to get a story in, I think, would be to write articles about one's unique experience with living with autism, and submit it, to see if someone will accept it for publication.
Reader's Digest usually presents condensed versions or short articles that have been published elsewhere, so it would not likely be a good avenue to email, to request them to write a story about anything,
The Neurodiversity concept is fairly limited to online communities that understand the concept.
And, another problem is there is no one definition of accepted conditions. Some people don't include conditions like Schizophrenia, and Personality Disorders as neurodiverse conditions and some do, depends on whose website one is on, or whom one talks to.
If you are interested in Neurodiversity, check out the Aspie Quiz with a Google Search; the author spent quite a bit of time trying to determine Neurodiverse traits within the general population, and measure them through the quiz. He suggested about 70% of the population possesses them.
I suggest it is 100%, because there are neurological differences that have been studied in extroverts and introverts, that comprise the entire population to one degree or another.
The degree of extroversion or introversion could be related to these neurological differences, that occur in the reward centers of the brain, and through the process of neuroplasticity, that all human beings are subject to.
Here are the main goals of change Neurodiversity would like to see in Society, provided in the Wiki Link above:
Quote:
1. acknowledging that neurodiverse people do not need a cure
2. changing the language from the current “condition, disease, disorder, or illness”-based nomenclature
3. broadening the understanding of healthy or independent living; acknowledging new types of autonomy
4. giving neurodiverse individuals more control over their treatment, including the type, timing, and whether there should be treatment at all.[14]
Considering the movement includes Regressive Autism, Schizophrenia, and Personality Disorders, depending on whom one talks to, the concept of Neurodiversity will never be taken seriously in the real world as long as point 1 and point 2 are included.
Simply, because, in the US, the disorders must be classified to receive appropriate support within society, both in the medical field, and through disability laws. And there is no chance that research for a cure for regressive autism would ever be halted, based on this neurodiversity movement for that specific change. That would be an inhumane action.
It would be like telling the government and medical science that research for a cure for epilepsy must be stopped, because it is a neurodiverse condition, and it shouldn't be considered a disorder. And it is definitely as much of a neurodiverse condition as Autism, but rarely listed on sites that promote neurodiversity.
Points 3 and 4 are acceptable for some conditions in some adults, but minors don't get to choose medical treatment, against a doctor's and a legal guardians decision of necessity; That's the law and it's not going to change.
In some of these neurodiverse conditions, it can be a life or death situation, because of the potential outcomes of what may occur if one is not medicated, such is the case with some mental illnesses, considered as neurodiverse conditions.
If the movement can let go of points 1 and 2, and focus on 3 and 4 where appropriate it could get some legs in society for real changes. There has been some progress in this area in disability rights, however points 1 and 2, make the movement a fringe one, and a tiny one with very few proponents in society.
Points one and two are not logical points, unless one were to take every inherently disabling condition off of the list.
That would leave a great deal of introverts, extroverts, and folks on the broader autism phenotype, whom likely have neurodiverse neurology, but for the most part it is a non-issue for them.
It's good that you have enthusiasm to promote a positive view of your condition and those that may experience it in a similiar way; perhaps one day you can be instrumental in the movement to help to mold it in a way that is logical and acceptable for all of whom are included within the accepted definition of Neurodiversity.
15 Feb 2012, 11:18 am
