Overheard: “Why Don’t You Date Any Normal Guys?”
April 24, 2008 by Kristina Chew, PhD
Filed under Romance, Stereotypes
On leaving the YMCA swimming pool yesterday evening (Charlie jumped in fast and then asked to go on the water slides and I skipped up the steps after him; after his first ride, he was so excited that he turned three somersaults in the water and swam half the length of the pool with powerful strokes), we walked past a group of teenagers, one blondish boy and the rest girls. I was watching the SUVs in the parking lot when the boy said,
“Claire, why don’t you date any normal guys?”
I’m not sure who “Claire” is or what, to teenagers in our town, “normal” means. Charlie, noting no cars hurrying by, had stepped off the sidewalk and I quickly followed as the teenagers said snatches of “well” and “she” and “I wouldn’t,” etc..
Go Claire.
Autism Myths: Let the Debunking Begin
March 15, 2008 by Kristina Chew, PhD
Filed under Adulthood, Cause, Epidemic, Myth, Stereotypes
In recognition of World Autism Awareness Day on April 2, CNN is planning a report on myths of autism (such as that “thimerosal in vaccines is the main cause for autism”) and ask readers:
- Do you think that there are prevailing myths related to autism? What are they?
- What questions do you need answered?
- Does autism touch your life? Tell us your story here: Autism iReport
Here’s 10 myths about autism on Wrong Planet including “autism is an epidemic” and “most autistics are ‘low-functioning (and for some further debunking of the whole notion of “high vs. low functioning,” see Asperger Square 8’s post entitled I Am Joe’s Functioning Label).
Let the debunking begin!
Jeff Stimpson
Jill Cornfield