tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8151218235669995122.post9116065954348543506..comments2023-08-14T03:27:40.920-07:00Comments on Just Being Me...Who Needs "Normalcy" Anyway?: Lessons from Imperial China, for Disability Day of Mourning (#DDoM)Morénikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17360855353262663284noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8151218235669995122.post-8090749750820596652017-04-17T08:00:40.178-07:002017-04-17T08:00:40.178-07:00I think some Native American autistics would make ...I think some Native American autistics would make eye contact more than usual. There's actually a subset of autistic people who aren't bothered by eye contact, but can't figure out the social rules for when to make eye contact and when not to. That subset can make excessive eye contact, too little eye contact, or just unusual eye contact, depending on the situation and individual. (I'm one of this group, incidentally.) But the autistics who are averse to eye contact would probably make even *less* eye contact if they grew up in a Native American culture.<br />It reminds me of a cross-cultural study of Williams Syndrome (7q11 deletion) I read once, comparing white American and Japanese kids with and without WS. WS children are known for being extremely sociable and friendly and having little or no stranger anxiety. Meanwhile, US kids are socialized to be friendly with strangers, while Japanese kids are expected to be shy. They found that the shiest kids in their study were the NT Japanese kids, the WS Japanese and NT American kids were roughly the same in sociability, and the WS American kids were the most sociable. Which meant that in both cultures, both the impact of culture and WS were affecting the child's sociability.Ettinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12391427859178500937noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8151218235669995122.post-71900134684095624632016-04-12T22:38:53.784-07:002016-04-12T22:38:53.784-07:00I too have related to historical stories that are ...I too have related to historical stories that are like the autistic experience. The "Indian residential schools" that Native American children were put into were one such example. The starnge thing is that one of my special ed teachers said of pictures of those kids "That's sad", yet she could not see that, in a way, she was not innocent of psychological demoralization not unlike the feeling Native American kids in those schools got because, like autistic people (including white ones like me) in special ed schools and autism "therapies", they too were told that what they were was inherently wrong and that they would not be able to get along in society unless they got rid of an essential part of their identity; in their case, Indian culture, though I'm sure the autistic Native Americans felt especially chafed since many Native American practices and philosophies are very compatible with autistic neurologies. The not making eye contact except when staring at enemies and empathizing with and respecting those they hunted are good examples. Speaking of the eye contact thing, I don't think neurotypicals who say autistic Native Americans would make eye contact because their social norms say don't make eye contact understand that that is a sensory thing, not a rebellion thing. I think it is more likely that certain Native American autistic kids would line things up in circles rather than in a straight line because circles were sacred to the Lakota, and possibly other tribes as well. I myself used to make mandalas with pattern blocks during free play at my elementary school, so I know for a fact that yes, it is possible for an autistic kid to line things up in circles, even those who grew up in a more industrialized society. Mind you, I'm not actually Native American, and I understand that my assumptions might be wrong.<br />By the way, the foot-binding story stuck in my head, too, when I first heard it.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09928354882099364044noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8151218235669995122.post-82206715942404879942016-02-27T19:31:49.206-08:002016-02-27T19:31:49.206-08:00This is so beautiful. Thank you. This is so beautiful. Thank you. Leihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13905174710189793686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8151218235669995122.post-17091783885132313212016-02-27T16:14:35.073-08:002016-02-27T16:14:35.073-08:00My eyes are leaking ❤️
This is so beautifully and ...My eyes are leaking ❤️<br />This is so beautifully and sensitively expressed... <br />Sending you love xox<br />Leah Kelleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16488566245364511969noreply@blogger.com