We have to stop thinking of autism as a kid behind a wall of puzzle pieces and start recognizing that it’s the old woman down the street who
never got a diagnosis or all the autistic adults
out there struggling to get by. There are so
many that have tremendous gifts and no way to
contribute them to society because of the limited
ideas that employers have about employees.
Society has to widen its views of what a worthy
employee is.
-----
WANTED
MP: Do you see yourself as a social justice crusader?
Silberman: My book is autism seen through
the lens of social justice rather than through the
lens of medicine, or even science. It is primarily
a story of a tribe of people coming out of oppression, brutality, isolation, institutionalization, and walking into the light to claim their
place at the table in society, and have a voice in
their own destinies.
-----
Maripat with her husband John Elder Robison and Steven Silberman
The self-advocates feel that they’ve been objectified and victimized by psychiatry, and parents
feel that they’ve been lied to. I think that plays
into the
anti-vaccine
narrative because parents
feel like they
weren’t getting the real
story of why autism spiked so dramatically in
the late 90s.
Silberman: I completely understand why parents are suspicious of Big Pharma. Big Pharma
is not our friend. However, that’s not the story
of why the
autism diagnosis started
spiking in the
90s, and what
I tried to do
was present a
story that was as compelling as the anti-vaccine
narrative, but true, instead of false.
The real story didn’t turn out to be a story about
vaccines; it turned out to be a story about two
competing visions of autism in the early 20th
century and how those two visions played out
for decades, culminating in Lorna Wings rediscovery of the spectrum in the 70s.
-----
“We have to stop thinking of
autism as a kid behind a wall
of puzzle pieces.”
----MP: What about the anti-vaccine movement?
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ZOOM Autism through Many Lenses
MP: You and y our husband Keith have been
together for a few decades; how has writing this
book impacted your relationship?
Silberman: Keith had to support me because
the percentage of my advance ran out after
about a year. His commitment to the project was
more than either of us expected. His loyalty and
confidence never wavered even when my own
confidence was low. Keith never lost faith that
I was doing something important. I can’t even
put into words how grateful I am.
MP: What would be your vision of a societal
support system for those affected by autism?
Silberman: A society that is devoted to providing to autistic people and their families happy,
healthy, safe, productive, creative and engaged
lives at whatever levels the autistic person can
participate.
SUZANNE “BEANE” CHANESMAN
FOR CREATIVE &
DETAIL-ORIENTED
DESIGN
TM
Maripat Robison is an international speaker and writer, leading
workshops on loving someone with autism. A retired television
executive and magazine publisher, Maripat has raised two neurodiverse kids and is married to John Elder Robison. Maripat is
the author of the popular blog and forthcoming book, I Married
a Geek.
www.beanedesign.com
[email protected]
ZOOM Autism through Many Lenses
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