Autistic Daily

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Jenny McCarthy has been chided for using the terms “psychotic” and “crazy” to describe autism.

Cookie magazine featured a story on Jenny and her son, in which she talked about some of the stressful experiences she had with autism.

“When your kid is psychotic or crazy, you go into this place of shock so you can remain calm,” she says. “A problem a lot of moms [of autistic children] have is that they need to get out all [their emotions] later. I kept mine bottled up for two years, and then I finally released all this pent up fear, sadness, and anger. I just cried and cried and cried and cried and cried.”

From leftbrainrightbrain:

“I just don’t know what to say. Autism is not “crazy” or “psychotic”. Why is this woman chosen by the press to represent autism?”

“Maybe next year Cookie Magazine could interview a mother who is autistic or, at least, has an autistic child.”

In this age of political correctness, words like “crazy” and “psychotic” don’t always result in more friends and fans.

But is this just a mom’s way of describing her experiences, based on her education, background, and style?

Jenny has her fans and foes, and this comment probably won’t result in any changes in the numbers to either group.

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festival.sundance.org

Hugh Dancy stars in Adam, one of the few films to be picked for the Sundance Film Festival this year, about a man with Asperger’s Syndrome that hits theatres July 29.

New York magazine recently interviewed Dancy, where he spoke about his thoughts on the film and the character he portrayed.

A few highlights from the interview:

Adam and his neighbor, Beth [played by Rose Byrne], fall in love. I hope you won’t be offended if I say that I spent most of the movie wondering what the heck she was doing with him.
I think, realistically, it would take a fairly unusual person to date someone with Asperger’s.

And I hope you won’t think I’m crass if I add that it would’ve been even harder to buy this love story if Adam had been played by someone unattractive.
That’s probably true.

How much did you study Asperger’s?
I had to do detailed and specific work about this guy so he didn’t end up being a series of quirks. When I initially read that first bit of script, I thought, Jesus, I hope this isn’t one of those scripts where it turns out he’s just a little off, but he’s kind of wonderful and is going to teach us how to be better and more simple people. Because I kind of hate that.

Read the rest of the interview at nymag.com.

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Caroline Barnade Ucci on Wikimedia Commons

The National Enquirer isn’t what you’d call the Pulitzer Prize of news sources, but they have hit the nail on many speculations before, including a certain former vice presidential and presidential candidate who had a child with someone else while his wife was recovering from cancer.

The latest “gossip,” if you will, says John Travolta has finally acknowledged his late son, Jett, had autism.

This will come as a shock for those who know John as being a staunch supporter of Scientology, the religious group that doesn’t look favorably on medicine and makes claims that psychiatric disorders do not exist.

Travolta faced critics who said by denying his son’s alleged conditon, he denied him not only proper treatment and care, but the opportunity to educate others, given his prominent status in pop culture.

For all we know, John could have been secretly giving Jett treatment, but afraid to admit due to his Scientology membership.

The controversy over Jett’s autism was so intense, some people even took it upon themselves to diagnose the child based on characteristics he possessed and behaviors they observed.

via blogs.newsweek.com

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Veronica Urrego on Wikimedia Commons

English actress Jane Asher has recently spoke  about the plight of hacker Gary McKinnon and his possible extradition to the U.S. McKinnon faces charges of hacking into several military computers, including the Pentagon.

McKinnon has recently been diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome and authorities are trying to determine if the syndrome played any role in his behaviors.

“It’s really important that people with this kind of condition have it taken into account,” said Asher.

“This is almost a test case. It’s a principle. There are people with many conditions who will not have a fair trial if they are extradited.”

Asher is president of the National Autistic Society in the UK.

McKinnon doesn’t deny his crimes, but wants to be tried in his home country, where many believe he’ll be given a fair trial.

“I’ve committed a crime, I’ve admitted to it and I’m very sorry and I’ve apologised many times,” McKinnon said.

“But I think the American authorities’ response to the crime far outweighs what would happen to me in my own country. I’m being treated like a terrorist.”

via news.sky.com

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sskennel on Flickr

Alaskan governor Sarah Palin joined the thousands who converged on the Manhattanville College campus in New York as they prepared for a walk sponsored by the Westchester-Fairfield chapter of Autism Speaks.

Governor Palin didn’t do any actual walking, as organizers feared it would slow down the process, but she was there to give her support and speak on stage, urging everyone to support the Combating Autism Act, passed in 2006, that poured millions of dollars into efforts to combat the illness.

Palin’s sister, Heather Bruce, has an autistic son named Karcher.

Alaska currently doesn’t have any autism walks.

via lohud.com

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Mr.wrestlecleanface on Flickr

Jenny McCarthy doesn’t like all her Twitter followers. You think good day care is hard to find? Try finding one for an autistic child. Be careful what you Tweet. Or shall we say, where you Tweet. It’s all here in today’s Autism news and updates.

Jenny McCarthy is a vocal opponent to the vaccine industry. Now she won’t even Tweet to them! An individual from the Colorado Children’s Immunization Coalition (CCIC) reports McCarthy blocked her from receiving Twitter updates. Oh, no she didn’t! [Rightbrainleftbrain.co.uk]

Speak of the Twitter Devil…Teacher being investigated after “Tweeting” about her pupils, including her Asperger ones. “Have three Asperger’s boys in S1 class – never a dull moment! Always offer an interesting take on things.” [bbc.co.uk]

The problems of finding a day care for an autistic child reach far beyond financial. [carrollcountytimes.com]

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digitalhead! on Flickr

You may not recognize Michael Buckholz’s name.

Depending on your age, you may not recognize MC Hammer’s name either.

But long ago, let’s say in the 90s or so, Buckholtz produced Hammer’s records and those of other platinum selling artists.

Buckholtz has been following the lead from Hammer’s most popular song, U Can’t Touch This, and has been abstaining from touching food for almost a month in an effort raise awareness about autism and Asperger Syndrome.

Buckholtz himself has Asperger’s and especially wants the world to realize autism isn’t just about children.

“There have been nationally televised features recently where one of the expert guests asked, ‘So where are all these so-called autistic adults? I don’t see them!’ This kind of misinformation is appalling,” said Buckholtz, “I wish to bring attention to the gross misrepresentation of who autistic people are and what we really act like.”

Buckholtz added that the perception of those on the autistic spectrum is that of the severely affected, but seemingly normal adults are struggling and often find it hard to reveal their condition to others out of fear.

“In short, we blend in as best we can to survive,” he said.

Read more about Buckholtz and his causes at Brian Field’s Examiner page.

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