AUTISM IN THE MEDIA: RADIOLAB

I have been behind the curve in listening to podcasts lately, but yesterday while I was milling about town I listened to the Radiolab episode: "Juicervose."  For me, it touched on the heart of the work that I do.  I view behavior as a form of communication, and I work with my clients and their families to better understand how to meet each other's needs.  As a person who spent more than a year with a face, drawn in sharpie, on the side of my hand so that my hand could talk to a little boy's hand-puppet when he was not communicating with humans -- I  loved the part of the story when the father begins talking to his son with a puppet, and I was visibly moved. 

Fundamentally, I feel that there was a huge missed opportunity on the part of Radiolab because I do not believe in the concept of "curing" Autism, and they failed to present it as a means of integrating with neuro-diversity.  People with Autism Spectrum Disorder have unique strengths and challenges, as we all do, and they deserve to have us meet them where they are, and to have their gifts loved and appreciated at every stage of their development.

There has been some criticism from people in the Autism community regarding this episode.  I invite you to listen to the program, and I welcome any feedback.

This will take you to Radiolab's website where you can listen to Juicervose, or you can listen through iTunes as a free podcast. 

My hand and the hand of a little boy with Autism Spectrum Disorder taking a break from speaking to each other to pose for a picture.