So would Rachel Dolezal be like the perfect match for him?

Autistic adult here (and parent of lower functioning autistic kid) and yep. Not talking about everyone (hence the modifier often), but people who are the bulk of what we used to reserve the diagnosis for (ie non Asperger’s) are generally incapable of applying cause and effect in their daily decision-making. They will…

Sex is a desire, not a need. Food, air, water... these are needs. Trying to provide a good quality of life for a person with major cognitive issues is important, but sex isn’t a need and toddlers can’t consent. It gets tricky when people are further along developmentally but still dependent, but at this end of the…

Regardless, if you’re working with someone in a teaching and/or therapeutic capacity, you don’t screw ‘em. That’s Ethics 101 right there, something this supposed professor conveniently overlooked.

We had a student who used it, or, more properly, her mother used it. This was abut 10 years ago, and I can still smell the bullshit.

Yes. This is why I hated the ethics/philosophy class I had to take in college. Everything was abstract and theoretical and full of what ifs and nothing is concrete or objectively right or wrong. Well, it’s objectively wrong to rape or sexually assault someone, particularly someone with an intellectual disability that…

His perspective is missing because he’s been carefully evaluated and found to have the cognitive capacity of a toddler. If he could communicate, specialists would have found a method to facilitate some communication. What she was doing was complete woo.

The moment she was doing any facilitation of communication she created a relationship that imposed ethical and legal obligations on her. That’s true regardless of how the relationship began.

The thing that is missing is the guy’s perspective. I can understand that those with CP can be a challenge to communicate with, and often this causes norms to think those with CP are “profoundly etc etc”, reality is in most cases these people are just people with fucked up motor function.

I mean...yeah, that is pretty much what it boils down to.

“how the hell an ethics professor misses the red lights”

The general phenomenon, of which this is a specific illustration, is probably that anyone who has received prestige as an Ethics professor knows a million fancy ways to rationalize to themselves whatever they want to do anyway, under this or that alternative argument (and also a million fancy ways to condemn the…

Yeah, it’s equivalent to a Ouija board.

This case sure as Hell didn’t help its reputation.

I guess the piece I’m missing is how the hell an ethics professor misses the red lights on this situation. Even setting aside the questions surrounding facilitated communication - it generally tells you what you want to hear and varies based on the facilitator - consent among people with developmental disabilities is…

From what I’ve heard, “facilitated communication” is bullshit anyway.

Wo-OW.

Since I love a great petty party I’m going to have to buy this for my sister who thinks her sh*t doesn’t stink. and she despises Becky with the Braided Hair (Rachel). It would totally make my day to see her open this up on Christmas day while I try to keep a straight face while urging her to hang up it up on her wall…

Not that I’m an IT guy or anything but whomever hosting her site needs serious help. How is she supposed to make tens of dollars when her site keeps slowing down?

One of those flavours of lollipop is called “Black Vanilla.” That is nothing if not massively on brand.