This is a perfect reason to hate the term "function level." You're telling me that that somehow figures in to the level of horror you'd smack on an incident of abuse: "if their function level is high enough (it usually is) it hurts them as much as it hurts us." Stop here and think. It always hurts your clients more…

Updating thanks to commenter notwaving's reminder: Autism Speaks has an extremely problematic history that runs the gamut from racism, ableism, financial issues, and beyond. Here are some orgs I have heard positive things about/have good experiences with (please post if you know of issues with either of these two as…

Oh, agree! I should mention that in my post too. Important to point out. There are tons of good causes out there to help those with autism but Autism Speaks is not the right one.

Some alternatives (though if someone has bad information about any I link, please post!):
http://autisticadvocacy.org/
http://autismwomensn…

Oh hell yes we can discuss this, because so often people think that autistic people are kind of just "there" and not people with opinions and wishes of their own.

This is a suburb of Cleveland, where I live. I heard on the local news that the parents released the video against the boy's wishes because they wanted to spotlight bullying, especially bullying against special needs kids. The victim, understandably, was embarrassed and didn't want the video released. Even though the…

This is appalling, but I really think they should not be raising money for Autism Speaks as it, among many problematic things, advocates the use of painful aversion therapy for severely autistic young people.

No need to be sassy, Fatima.

Can't most 'hacking' be achieved with just a 'plain old laptop'?

Not me, but my brother had a digital watch that went through both the washer and dryer. The dryer cooked the chips inside so that the watch still told time, but for whatever reason, didn't show regular digits. Instead, it showed weird characters...but stayed consistent, so my brother taught himself to read the new…

A friend insisted I name my car, so I named it Hank, after Hank Snow (of "I've Been Everywhere" fame) when I drove it from Halifax, Nova Scotia to Victoria, British Columbia and back. But I still don't think of it as having a gender, and find it weird when people assign gender to inanimate objects (I even struggle…

I love this so, so much! This is on the same level as the program that has reluctant readers go to a shelter and read to dogs and cats.

Sweet, lonely old people get me right in the feels, too. I'm all teary right now. Almost nothing makes me more blubbery.

As charming as this video is, I also think it is a sad indictment of American culture. Do we need to outsource "talking to your elderly relatives" to South America? Of all the indignities of old age, the isolation in a community of old people is the one I least look forward to. Maybe there will be a video sometime…

This is such a great idea! I love it and want it to be everywhere!

Oh my lord, that was precious. I miss my grandparents.

You didn't lick it right.

You should demand your money back immediately.

Funny? I just want my desserts to satisfy my sexual frustrations.