Jared Spurbeck

Recent Activity

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  Jared signed the petition | 3 months ago

  Ban the use of chemical agents against peaceful protesters at UC
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  Jared signed the petition | 3 months ago

  Mayor Villaraigosa: Stop the eviction of Occupy LA
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  Jared signed the petition | 7 months ago

  Support a Permanent Farmers' Market in West Cary-Cary NC Residents Only Please
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  Jared signed the petition | 11 months ago

  Tell the CDC "No" on Abuse-Enabling "Wandering" Code!
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  Jared commented on the article | almost 2 years ago

  10 Autism Controversies

  It would have been nice to have somebody from the view of those working towards recovery.

  
  

  It would be even nicer to have someone who has the point of view that the way I am isn't something I need to recover from.

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  Jared commented on the article | over 2 years ago

  Aspies, Psychos, Stigma, and...Donuts?

  I actually find the comparisons to racial stereotyping encouraging. I mean, if those kinds of restaurants are now closed down ...

  
  

  Why isn't there a Change.org petition to have this place shut down / rethemed?

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  Jared commented on the article | over 2 years ago

  (Not So) Typical Tween

  James: Maybe I should point out that the biggest reason I was able to empathize with my autistic girlfriend is because I'm autistic myself ... I just didn't know that that was the word for people like me until I met her. >.>
  
  I hope there are more people out there who are that accepting, though.

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  Jared commented on the article | over 2 years ago

  (Not So) Typical Tween

  Are you sure that it's that easy for him?
  
  My Aspergers' girlfriend's parents know that she's on the spectrum. But they see her acting in ways that seem normal, and they start to think that that's the "real" her. And that the person who gets overloaded, or who doesn't like the things that they do, or who has very different goals for her life than they have deemed acceptable, is not.
  
  They seem to think that she's "cured" just because she seems normal sometimes, and because they want to believe that they don't pay any attention to the fact that she is fundamentally a different kind of person. And that their world is alien to her, and that she will always have to expend a lot more effort than they would in order to cope with it.
  
  There are "high-functioning" autistic people who are institutionalized right now, just because they slipped up and lost it when they couldn't escape from a frustrating situation. Is that "being fine?" Is that independence?
  
  Autistic people should be able to have the lives that they want. (Especially in my girlfriend's case, although I admit I am biased there.) They should be able to "have friends and a family," and a fulfilling career. Helping them relate to the world around them is an important part of that, and anyone who does so in love and without hurting them deserves to be honored and respected.
  
  But there also needs to be an understanding that they cannot be "cured," and that they will always be autistic -- even if they seem normal, through years of practice and growing up. Otherwise, they will always have to make an effort to hide who they are, and to pretend to be someone else. Then when they long for support and understanding, they may find their real selves being turned away in disgust. Or when the mask slips and people react in dangerous, prejudiced ways to the "strange" outsider, bad things may happen.