Asperger's Conversations

Today's Panel on Hate Grafitti on Campus: Collecting my Thoughts

I'll be part of a panel discussion today on campus at 4pm to discuss recent grafitti episodes in dormitories that involved swastikas and other hateful markings on doors of Jewish and African American students.  I'm just collecting my thoughts (I'll be jumping in right after classes so it will have to be "not so scripted").  Here are a couple of ideas I've been mulling over:

1. A behavioral analysis of grafitti in general: The critical reinforcing consequence is "being seen" or "heard." So a necessary response is quick removal of offending graffitti so that we remove the reinforcing consequence. In other words, scrub it out fast.

2. Why do some want to be "heard" in this way? I wonder if there is a connection to "disconnection" among men in particular.  The majority of college students in the country (reflected in our numbers at Keene as well) are women.  Men seem less intellectually engaged, less connected to academics, less likely to succeed.  And, I think they know it...destined to a life of less power and money and control.  I wonder if their anger about this is reflected in hateful actions? Abuse and denigration of others, abuse of women, abuse of alcohol...a kind of "escape from freedom" as Erich Fromm would say?  I fear we are losing men..that they are lost.

3. Anti-intellectualism as a key factor.  We are living in an a time of soundbite, quick and hateful responses to complex world problems.  On college campuses, we dissect these issues, de-construct and re-construct, analyze, consider alternative ideas...it's a process that takes a long time and is hard work.  We see the opposite in the current political debates where "pounding the table" with good "put downs" wins the approval of voters.  But as college professors, we are not interested in a quick "pound the table" answer.  And here in New Hampshire, we've experienced the largest cutbacks in state contributions to higher education BY FAR in the country.  I myself have been called all sorts of names: "educrat," "far out radical," "egg-head," and worse.  

4. People with Autism who learn social skills in a step-by-step manner know better than to rely on name calling or negative "one liners" which they call "conversation stoppers."  I'm reminded of comedienne Joan Rivers' old line: "Can we talk?"  If we can't, we're in big trouble.

Change in ASD diagnosis: Word from the Street

I just this received this email from Michael Carley of GRASP re: controversy surrounding proposed changes in ASD diagnosis:

On 1/24/12 12:04 AM, "Michael John Carley" <mjcarley@grasp.org> wrote:

Please forward to anyone, or post wherever you deem appropriate...

All,

The letters are tremendous, and the calls are having an impact. Please keep it up...letters and phone calls. And if this will really effect you; if your child is at risk of losing their education funding, if you or a loved one are at risk of losing housing, health, or employment services; or if you're simply a fellow spectrumite who worries about having your behavioral differences lumped back into the category of personal defect rather than wiring . . .

 . . . then maybe it's worth it to call every day?

Once again you can contact the American Psychiatric Association by calling 703.907.7300 or by emailing dsm5@psych.org and apa@psych.org.

Three updates:

1. We're working on a petition that, once announced, will really need your help in circulating. Thank you in advance for whatever help you can give herein.

2. There has been some confusion over Dr. Fred Volkmar's quotes in the original NYTimes article that started this whole thing. This was somewhat inevitable because of the way his quotes were placed within the context, and . . . because sarcasm is simply something that we don't pick up at times. But his "epidemic" quote was sarcasm. Remember that Volkmar resigned his position on the DSM-5 Committee.

3. In your letters, a couple of times there has been some confusion over which proposed changes are the new ones we're protesting. Two years ago the proposed changes surrounded terminology—doing away with Asperger's Syndrome and PDD-NOS and having them combined with autism under a much broader diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Feel free to write about your feelings on this, but understand that these are not the latest developments. The latest changes surround restricting the criteria so that multitudes of people will lose their diagnosis. Check our facebook page for prior day-by-day developments if you need the older posts for refresher info.

Thanks again y'all. More later.

Michael John Carley
Executive Director
GRASP
The Global and Regional Asperger Syndrome Partnership, Inc.
666 Broadway, Suite 825
New York, NY 10012
p + f = 1.888.474.7277
www.grasp.org

Bill in NH would allow students to carry guns on campus: My comments in Today's Keene Sentinel

From today's Keene Sentinel, the major news source for southwest New Hampshire:

Measure seeks to allow weapons on college campuses

Measure seeks to allow weapons on campuses

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Posted: Tuesday, January 3, 2012 12:15 pm | Updated: 11:50 am, Tue Jan 3, 2012.

By Abby Spegman Sentinel Staff | 5 comments

College essentials: textbooks, extra-long twin sheets, mini fridge.

Gun?

With state lawmakers set to vote on a bill that would allow guns on college campuses, members of the Keene State College community interviewed this week said they are mostly against the idea, with many warning someone is bound to get hurt.

“You’re with kids that get way too drunk and don’t understand the rules. It’s an accident waiting to happen,” senior Neil Brewster said.

“People are a little too confrontational to have guns at this point (in life).”

House Bill 334 would give sole authority to the Legislature to regulate guns on any public land or in publicly owned or financed buildings, meaning public colleges or universities — because they receive state funding — could not prohibit guns in classrooms, dorms or anywhere else on campus.

Currently, guns are banned from all University System of New Hampshire campuses, which include Keene State, University of New Hampshire, Plymouth State University and Granite State College. The bill would also affect the state’s community college campuses, including River Valley Community College in Claremont and Keene.

The House could vote on the bill as early as Wednesday, when lawmakers reconvene for the 2012 legislative session.

Sponsors of the bill have said the goal is to protect citizens’ constitutional right to bear arms, which they say should not be restricted on any public property. Similar thinking led to the repeal last year of the ban on carrying guns in the Statehouse in Concord.

But college is a sort of training ground for adulthood, argued Keene State senior Emily A. Lehet. Having a gun may be too much responsibility for someone “in control of (themselves) for the first time.”

And she shuddered at the thought of being placed to live in a dorm with a gun-toting roommate.

“It’s uncomfortable anyway, but that’s a whole new level — terror,” she said.

Lawrence Welkowitz, a psychology professor at Keene State, started an online petition last month against the bill with signatures nationally and as far away as South Africa, Australia and Poland.

In an email, Welkowitz raised similar concerns as students interviewed that mixing young people’s tendency for impulsive behavior with guns would be a “recipe for disaster.” He also worried about the economic effects of allowing guns on campus, arguing parents may be wary of sending their students to New Hampshire schools, particularly out-of-state families who pay higher tuition.

“It’s economic suicide,” he wrote, adding he would never let his child attend such a school.

Guns on campus would be a new element for campus safety officers. That department has been planning how it would respond since the bill was introduced last year.

It would mean arming campus security officers and training them in how to respond to situations where guns may be present, according to Amanda Warman, director of campus safety at Keene State.

“It would change how we do our jobs,” she said.

Still, some students suggested that in New Hampshire, guns are a part of life that doesn’t have to end when you get to college.

“Growing up in New Hampshire, for me, I don’t see guns as an issue,” said senior Charlie B. Allen of Tamworth.

“There’s always an exception to the rule … but I think we do grow up with a different mentality.”

In a letter last month to lawmakers, University System of New Hampshire Chancellor Edward MacKay wrote he was not against HB 334, but asked that the university system’s campuses and the state’s community colleges be exempt.

And in Concord, Gov. John H. Lynch planned a press conference for this morning at the Statehouse with police and higher education officials calling on the House to vote down the bill.

Keene State senior Kevin L. Sandler said while he doesn’t like the idea of guns on campus, he wouldn’t be surprised if the bill passed.

“I’d rather not see it, but it is New Hampshire — Live Free or Die.”

Abby Spegman can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1409, or aspegman@keenesentinel.com

 

Keeping in touch with your child: Using iMapMyRun for iPhone

This afternoon I checked iMapMyRun on my phone only to discover that my almost 16 year old daughter was in the middle of a trail run along Otter Brook.  I tracked her as she crossed a stream, hooked briefly back on to the main road and finally up the hill to her mother's farmhouse.  She logged about 6.5 miles which I could view (in real time) on google maps.  Inspired by her effort, I slapped on my running shoes (it's a breezy 45 degrees in NH today) and ran around town for 2.7 miles.  I received a text message ribbing me about my "pathetic" output. 

While I'm increasingly worried about being lost in the grips of technology, I have to admit that this App is pretty cool (and it happens to be free).  It connects me with my kid, even when we're not together....gives us something to kibbitz about, praise each other, help each other.  Of course, we all need to remember to take time to simply unplug as well.

Any advice for my Undergraduate Seminar in Autism at Keene State College?

Here is a list of some of the readings for my upcoming Seminar in Autism at the College:

1. Helping Children with Autism Learn: Treatment Approaches for Parents and Professionals (Paperback) by Bryna Siegel, Oxford U. Press (USED IN PREVIOUS COURSE)
 
2. Marcello in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork (USED IN PREVIOUS COURSE).  Paperback ok
 
3. Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell (USED IN PREVIOUS COURSE) Paperback ok

4. The Anti-Romantic Child: A Story of Unexpected Joy, Patricia Gilman, Harper ISBN-10: 0061690279 (NEW FOR THIS COURSE)
 
5. Cipani, Ennio, & Schock, Keven. Functional Behavioral Assessment, Diagnosis, and Treatment: A Complete System for Education and Mental Health Settings, Second Edition [Paperback], Springer, 2011 2nd edition, ISBN-10: 0826106048
(NEW FOR THIS COURSE)

I am also considering requiring that all students link on Twitter in order to share ideas about Autism and to maintain digital journals to flesh out their thoughts.  I might also have them participate in some twitter based chats that already exist online.

Wondering if folks out there have some other suggestions.  I want this to be the best seminar I've taught. Thanks!

Podcast Excerpt with Dr. Daniel Rath at GI/Psychology Conference

What better post on Christmas Eve than an excerpt from my interview this past fall with Dr. Daniel Rath, Chief of Gastroenterology at Cheshire Medical Center, Dartmouth Clinic/Keene on the Psych/gut connection?  I taped the interview on the gondola going up (or was it down?) the mountain at Telluride where we were gathering.  

Dan makes a really important point here about "enduring discomfort" and "fear of serious illness." He stresses the importance of carefully reviewing  an IBD patient's history to point out that the person suffering has "been there before." This serves two purposes: 1. to reassure the person that they do not have a life threatening problem and 2. that they are capable of "getting through it." This type of "cognitive reframing" helps put the person's problems in a new perspective and helps them to move forward with their lives.  Click below to listen in on our conversation:

 

GiPsycDiscomfort

 

Penguin Plunge: Donate to NH Special Olympics!

Me in Fifth Grade: Why do I remember every face?

This photo was posted on Facebook by David Tagg, who I haven't seen since I was in elementary school and tagged by Andy Jacobs (he's the one in the glasses in the back row standing right next to me: I'm standing directly below the teacher).  Face memory is interesting.  Some of these people I have seen in the past five or 10 years (e.g., at high school reunions) but most I haven't seen in, well, a number of decades.

The big question is "why do I remember these faces (and their names)?"  And, would a person with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) remember any or all?  Facial recognition studies in ASD tends to be limited to "current faces." But I'm wondering about differences between "typicals" and individuals with ASD on "face memory." Now I'll just have to find another student to do that study...

My student worker Jenn talks about living with Cerebral Palsy