My Perspectives.

I've been putting my foot in it lately it seems. Something I've quite the talent for. Over at the http://thinkingautismguide.blogspot.com/ there's been a week long dialogue between Autistic self advocates and parents of children/adults with disabilities. The intention was to find ways to bridge the divide. At this point I fear the gulf remains wide, and I see no short term resolution. Frankly it's hard not to respond defensively when you feel under attack. Being told continuously you have privilege ( particularly by men) and that you are unaware of, or exploiting that, when you are both aware of it and not exploiting it, can be a bitter pill. This along with no acknowledgment of the concurrent hardships I face on a day to day basis makes the valid aspects of a message hard to absorb.  Do I feel defensive? Yes. Have I allowed that to cloud my responses? Yes. Could I be more humble? Always.

It's been a difficult process that I have considered walking away from. It also brought a lot of traffic to this blog. So in the interests of showing any further visitors from TPGTA to this blog my thoughts on the importance of hearing Autistic voices, I have provided some links below.  I do this because I want people to see what my position was prior to these dialogues. I am not trying to appease, or point score in the TPGTA forum. Nor am I trying to derail conversations. I am not trying to silence any voices (except perhaps my own now) I think my posts here far better explain my perspective than those at TPGA. If I have one major take away from this whole thing, it is not to respond impulsively. Which I did, consistently. I'm sorry about that.

The following posts may be clumsy and inarticulate in part. Many being written on the run. But I think they convey my rambling thoughts well enough. If you choose only one post of the several below I encourage you to visit the fourth down 'Introducing a New Blog'. Written by an Autistic woman who is raising a child with Autism.

http://sharon-theawfultruth.blogspot.com/2011/05/normal-no-thanks.html
http://sharon-theawfultruth.blogspot.com/2011/01/endure-or-cure-post-dedicated-to-rachel.html
http://sharon-theawfultruth.blogspot.com/2011/09/john-elder-robison-and-i.html
http://sharon-theawfultruth.blogspot.com/2011/09/introducing-new-blog.html
http://sharon-theawfultruth.blogspot.com/2011/09/alone-in-crowded-room.html
http://sharon-theawfultruth.blogspot.com/2011/01/when-is-disorder-not-disorder.html