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Category: Public Education

On the Spectrum of Acceptance and Improvement

On the Spectrum of Acceptance and Improvement

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Discovering as an adult that i am autistic has meant re-framing the cornucopia of my life-long struggles. For example, i have shitty fine-motor skills; i suck at balancing; i sometimes look away in conversation; i bite my cheeks; i have sweaty extremities; i am pained by bright lighting; i repeat things spontaneously. Or, i’m weird; i’m awkward; i’m different; i’m flawed; i’m gifted; i’m wrong; i’m special. The best thing about this discovery? I’ve finally identified a single “cause” for…

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(Self) Diagnosis and the Paradox of Pathology

(Self) Diagnosis and the Paradox of Pathology

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I used to believe that if i couldn’t understand my-self, perhaps someone more familiar with my experiences could. I still do (to a degree), but now i put more belief in my ability to gain self-awareness and the power that that self-awareness has in helping me find the support i need. Although it may also come from a place of ignorance and/or misguidance, i believe the field of psychology wields diagnostic authority as a means of harnessing and maintaining control…

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ABA: Good Intentions Are Not Good Enough

ABA: Good Intentions Are Not Good Enough

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Content Warning: trauma, forced compliance, gaslighting When i graduated from university with my b.a. in psychology and human sexuality, i had been in school for 19 consecutive years. By that point, and in spite of my valiant effort to avoid burn-out (by taking my higher education slowly), my candle was burnt at both ends from the oppressive “color-within-the-lines” antiquities of the draconian U.S. public school system. (Clearly bitter; i attribute much of my suffering throughout my education to the [dangerous]…

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