He was diagnosed with “Selective Mutism” according to the Washington Post.

His school and parents encouraged him not to go to VA tech, but he wanted to go. VA tech didn’t get any information from the school, and they could not give him the same help the school had given him because they expected him to ask for help. But since he had a disorder where he freaked out when he had to talk to someone in a new situation, he never asked for help.

Does that sound familiar to anyone?

So now the question is, it is better to send that information on the the colleges, so people who need accomodations can have them? Will this result in students being discriminated against, or will it bring on more inclusion of highly intelligent people that have specific social disorders? Or should people be allowed to decide when and if they will disclose, even if that means they are not as successful because they are not capable of seeking help from the university? (Or if you disclose with the help of a parent, will you be told that you don’t belong at our school if you can’t speak for yourself - like Brianna was?)

I think the one thing that needs to change for sure is how people treat other people who may be different. The kid was terrified to speak, but teachers still forced him to speak? And allowed (and participated) when kids in the class would make fun of him not speaking? I think as a society, everyone has a bit of blame to share here.

Different is GOOD people. Maybe the co-worker that never looks you in the eye doesn’t realize why it’s important. Maybe your cube mate that goes on and on and on and on about something doesn’t realize he is doing it. Maybe the person who never talks in meeting can’t…maybe she is scared, maybe the buzz of the florescent lights is distracting him, maybe the smells from the office has given them such a headache they can’t speak. Don’t join in the gang mentality making fun or belittling people like that! Think outside the box…maybe there is a reason they are different.

If you see someone who needs help, extend your hand. Smile. Let them know it’s all gonna be ok. Maybe someone will do the same for you if you need it one day.

Asperger’s has been called the “geek syndrome” by some. From personal experience, I can tell you many engineers and programmers fit the profile. But an article titled Holding a Program in One’s Head explains what makes a good programmer, and it’s interesting how many of the qualities needed to program well are symptoms of Asperger’s. They list the following as things people can do to become better programmers:

• Avoid distractions
• Work in long stretches
• Work in small groups
• Several technical suggestions

All of those are things that I have noticed my daughter does naturally, especially when she is very “into” something.

When I was in college, I went to listen to Dr. Wesley Thomas give a lecture on gender. He is an ethnographer, a Navajo weaver, and has written on the concept of two-spirited people.

The lecture was about the concept of gender, and how before extended contact with Europeans, many Indian tribes had more than a male and female gender…there was another category as well. Now this other gender acted in ways that other people of their sex acted…not necessarily gay or trans-sexual. These people had specific, societal roles to play - many times they were the ones who watched and taught the children while the parents worked. When Christians came through, they quickly put an end to all of that…boys needed to be boys and girls should behave as girls. And the role these two-spirited people had played in society vanished *poof* just like that.

The lecture was a turning point in the way I look at alot of things. I should probably mention that Brianna was with me at the lecture. And alot of the connections that follow are from her.

First of all, we know that 2 out of the 3 criteria to be diagnosed with Autism are society-based. So, what if society used to have specialized roles for people with autism? Think about it…an industrialized society needs people to fit into categories, so they can all do their jobs to produce and consume. What if autistic people had specific roles before society categorized everything into nice little boxes? What if we are missing out on important contributions of people with autism because we are convinced it is a disease we need to cure? Because we think autistic behaviors need to be curbed and discouraged? What are we missing because we don’t have a place in our society that provides autistic people with a safe, nurturing area to unlock their specialized interests?

It would be interesting if someone could study this…if people with autism used to have a specific place in society. I think that can only happen if someone with autism is able to do the reconstruction, and explain it to the rest of us. Like Dr. Thomas did for me with his lecture on gender.

My brothers told me that all the time. I hated it. Sometimes I would try harder to do better, but most of the time I would give up because they would taunt me no matter what I did.

Which seems to be the point of a new study described in a Washington Post article entitled  Salary, Gender and the Social  Cost of Haggling. (via metafilter)

I’m also reading a book called Pitch Like a Girl by Ronna Lichtenberg. I took a 2-day Project Management class that focused on team-building and communications last week, and it was great. Just trying to keep that soft-skills education going.

According to this blog (Carrie’s Nation), (and the Job Destruction newsletter) job ads on Dice, Monster, and in print have been directing people to mail their resumes to 700 N. Pearl, Suite 510, Dallas, TX. This is the address of one of the DOL’s backlog centers to process H1B visa applications.

In the Carrie’s Nation blog post, she lays out the scam pretty well:

I’m begging someone to correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m forming my own opinion on what’s happening based on all of these links that I’ve read. It appears that the Department of Labor, through its Team Exceed contractor, is working hand-in-hand with employers to post phony job ads in order to fulfill the job advertisement requirements for purposes of helping foreign workers obtain their Green Cards for permanent resident status.

Oh yeah, and this is all legal. It’s another loophole lawyers are exploiting.

You know how I have been saying that maybe in pre-industrial times (or even sooner than that) that there were specific societal roles for someone with Asperger’s?

Well, someone else is kinda thinking along those lines too. She’s wondering about autistic girls from days gone by, since the big articles came out about how girls with autism present so differently than guys with autism (duh!).

One interesting quote she used from the NYT article is this:

    High systemizing together with low empathy correlates with social and communication deficits and, at the extreme end of the scale, with autism…. Baron-Cohen says that he believes that autistic girls are strong systemizers. That quality may manifest itself in letters rather than numbers.

But in his view, the thought processes for Asperger’s girls mirror those of boys. He explains, “These females often feel more compatibility with typical males simply because typical males may be more willing to adhere to the linear, step-by-step form of thinking and conversation — more like debating or playing chess or doing logic.

That kind of strikes a chord with me, and not because I think I have Asperger’s. For me, the being more compatible with males is a social thing I have been conditioned to thanks to my five brothers and my choices in likes and careers. And I have to say, it’s not typical males, it’s GEEKY males. Or at least smart and clever. I think it’s a very common geek-girl scenario - you have a few close girl friends, but TONS of geeky guy friends. I think it’s more because it’s hard to find girls who appreciate that you are into so many “boy things”.
I wonder what Brianna thinks about that statement? Anyways, how do you tease out the social influences and only focus on the neurological patterns when you are studying this kind of thing?

even if you are autistic and it’s one of your things you love to think about and talk about. How could explaining how engines work scare people?

That is all I can say right now…I have to sort it all out.

How do you sort stuff out when it is a REALLY IMPORTANT decision?

So this weekend I cooked and put up

1. 2 pints of fried corn (12 ears of corn makes about 2 pints)
2. Still in the process of making ketchup. I am doing it in the crock pot and it’s taking forever. I am gonna put it on low and leave it over night.
3. 18 pints of tomatoes in the freezer
4. We picked blackberries today, I am making jam tomorrow.

We got some wine and mead at Nashoba Valley Winery today. I think we are going to have mead at our Heroes/Geek party next month.
I got most of Brianna’s shopping done, Kenny will be next week. 3 weeks left for Brianna, 4 for Kenny. I am starting to feel very anxious about being alone.
My car goes in the shop tomorrow, they have to fix the bumper (Kenny got rear-ended at a light a few weeks ago)

One of the feral kitties showed up…and he is in really bad shape. One of his back legs is all lame now. I think maybe someone takes care of him, because he was super social. I don’t know what’s going to happen to him…it’s really sad.

I was wrong about registering for class…I can’t register till the 20th. That is a little scary too.