Recent Comments

1. 16 days ago on Breaking Cat News

   But even if the spam comments are deleted, replies to them stay on the thread. By flagging without response, the comments can be cleanly removed with no evidence they were ever here. It’s tidier that way.

2. about 1 month ago on Breaking Cat News

   The quote’s spot on, but it’s by B. Kliban. We have a beach towel with Kliban’s cat strumming a ukelele and singing that fun little ditty.

3. about 2 months ago on Phoebe and Her Unicorn

   I did not compare deafness and autism. I used an existing situation to show what would likely happen in a hypothetical situation. Andacar said the following: “But at the same time if people who are happy in their lives have it, no. Nobody should force some cure on them.” My point is that IF a cure for autism existed, parents would be forcing it on their kids when there’s no possibility of knowing whether those kids would be happier with or without the treatment, because it’s less work for the parents when their kids are more “normal”.

4. about 2 months ago on Breaking Cat News

   Much as I liked The Hobbit, I could not get into LOTR. After enjoying the movies, I thought “OK, now that I know the story, I can finally read the books without feeling lost!” Nope, still couldn’t. I have to accept that I’m not a fan. Which is truly a shame, as JRR Tolkien was an acquaintance of my grandfather.

5. about 2 months ago on Phoebe and Her Unicorn

   Excuse me? I haven’t said anything about me or my life. (Except the Tolkein thing.) Frankly, “I can live my own life anyway I want” is an unacceptable approach for anyone to take, I did not say it, and I object very strongly to having such words put in my mouth. No one gets to do just anything they want except for babies too young to know how their hands work.

   It’s easy to say “Nobody should force some cure on them,” but the reality isn’t that straightforward. I’ll use deafness as an analogy, because nowadays there actually is a “cure” for that—cochlear implants. (I use quotes because it isn’t actually a cure, since cochlear implants do not perfectly restore normal hearing. The wearer is still deaf.) Of course deaf adults who don’t want it can’t be forced to go through the surgery, but parents are strongly encouraged to get their deaf kids fitted out with a CI as soon as possible, to gain the maximum benefit. If such a neuroprosthetic existed for autism, the same thing would happen. For the children you work with, it would be a no-brainer and a Godsend. But where’s the cutoff? The pressure would be there even for the highest-functioning kids. Imagine hearing this: “With accommodations and support, your child can live a productive life. Or, we can implant this in their brain and they can be almost like a normal kid as long as you keep the battery charged.” What parents wouldn’t choose the option that makes their lives easier?

6. 2 months ago on Phoebe and Her Unicorn

   I thought it was pretty clear that the post that started this whole thread was talking about “cured” in that first sense, where the majority tries to “fix” people with uncommon characteristics that it finds inexplicable. I may be taking an overly cynical view, but I’ve repeatedly bumped up against that attitude, and over some weirdly trivial stuff, too. (I once got told I “read it wrong” when I mentioned I didn’t enjoy Tolkien, for goodness’ sake!) So when I hear people talking about “a cure for autism” my hackles rise because of how often it really means “a way of making autistic people act normal”—or worse, “a way of making autistic people not exist”.

   The thing is, as @AnimePete pointed out, autism isn’t really a disease that can be cured. What will help all parts of the spectrum the most is research in understanding autism and how to address its most negative manifestations, without erasing its positive aspects. That will improve quality of life a lot faster and more surely than just trying to make it go away.

7. 2 months ago on Phoebe and Her Unicorn

   But what would a cure for autism look like? Autism is not like cancer, or a broken bone. Autism is brain wiring. It is how a person interprets and interacts with the world. “Curing” it isn’t just fixing or removing a broken bit—it would require fundamentally altering who the person is.

8. 2 months ago on Phoebe and Her Unicorn

   Unlikely? Why? Seems more unlikely to me that he’d be honest about drugs influencing some songs, and then lie about just this one.

9. 2 months ago on Breaking Cat News

   Enough carrots to satisfy a horde of zombunnies.

10. 2 months ago on Breaking Cat News

    Good morning! (At least where I am…)