Autism Unveiled Week 1, Day 1
Who am I?
Making dinner for my wife, coaching an autistic person in preparation for successful self-advocacy, seeing my student suddenly realize they are reading music, helping the environment by riding my bicycle to work, or experiencing a person understand that autism is part of the diversity of the human gene pool… it’s all about making lives better for us on the autism spectrum.
How is Autism a Part of Me?
Fortunately, my parents spoke about autism at home just like they’d discuss anything else. Autism is an unalienable part of me and I enjoy using my strengths to help myself and others lead fulfilling and productive lives being the best autistic people we can be.
We are here to support others and to make the world a better place for all – autistically.
Stephen Mark Shore, New York
Stephen’s website is www.autismasperger.net
Dr. Stephen Shore is part of the Autism Unveiled Project – Six weeks of daily blogs featuring people on the autism spectrum culminating on World Autism Day, April 2, 2015. “If you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism.” Dr. Stephen Mark Shore
Three cheers for Dr. Stephen Shore! Three cheers for all the good stuff autism brings to the world! I just saw “The Imitation Game” yesterday. While they don’t say so and the labels of autism and Asperger’s were just being developed during WWII, while Alan Turing and his group were developing their “Turing Machine” that broke the Nazi’s infamous “Enigma Code,” I’m personally pretty sure Turing had Asperger’s too. Not only did he play a BIG part in the end of WWII in Europe, not only is he probably the Father of the Computer Age, he is now posthumously standing as an example of the importance to Humanity of embracing sexual diversity! Temple Grandin put it perfectly when she said, ““Without autism traits we might still be living in caves.” A quote from Turing is also apt: “Sometimes it is the people no one can imagine anything of who do the things no one can imagine.” I too am grateful for autism. I’m also grateful for people like Stephen Shore and my son Ben, who are making the world a kinder and gentler place to live.
Nancy, I think Temple said that we would all be in caves because the NT’s would be standing around socializing all the time. Her exact words and a quote by Stephen Shore and many others is on the Favorite Quotes page on the Art of Autism. I agree that the way Alan Turing was portrayed in the movie the Imitation Game – he probably was on the autism spectrum.
Thank you for sharing your story, Stephen. I’m particularly interested when you say “Fortunately, my parents spoke about autism at home just like they’d discuss anything else. ” I wonder how an open dialogue in the home impacted your experience as a person with autism. Ones identity, and how they feel about the self is often shaped by how they are treated by their parents–and how parents/parental units respond to individual bodies and needs. All too often I have heard about stigma and feelings of shame being passed down from one generation into the next.