I am presently taking care of the medical needs of a close family member in another state. In this regard, I am sorry that I have not been able to keep up with the emails and management of the blog site as best as I could. However, I have seen the current dialogue as being very productive and would not like the same to die down, not having accomplished much. In this regard I would like to brainstorm with all of you as to possible measures directed at conflict resolution. The key point is as follows: The number of disparate views and the viceral reaction as to the subject suggests the existance of a problem. In many similar instances the latter reaction would prompt one to question whether we have a clear understanding of the problem. Indeed, I have been corrected on some of my assumptions about the Neurodiversity movement. At the same time I have seen posting by members of the Neurodiversity that belive they are disabled (do not consider themselves as normal) and who would like to receive treatment for their disability and would like to promote more research. I have to deduce that there is also misunderstanding among the Neurodiversity community as to their own basic credos.
There is much to gain by pulling our efforts together. I would like to invite people from the autism community to write their own blogs in a calm fashion, taking one step back and cooling down. Do not take the a priori suposition that people are trying to be difficult. After reading all of our discussion, I know that we are not that far apart. In terms of my own understanding it would help me to know what are the facts, what are the key points of the neurodiversity movement, and how do they differ from initiatives of any other layman support organization. As an example as a member of several of these organization I see they all promote eliminating labels and pejorative terms, publicizing true facts about autism (promoting education), and fighting for their rights. Many people, like myself, have called for a darker side of the movement. The latter belief is based on the possibility that by insiting that the nature of autism falls within normal human variability we may be calling away attention to those who are handicapped by the condition. Would this hamper accessibility to treatment or research? Is there any truth to this assertion? Is this the credo of only a minority of the Neurodiversity movement or is it a core suposition of the movement? After reading our discussion and personal correspondence with John Robison, I would have to belive that the call for no treatment, no cure, no research is only held by a minority of advocates.
If it is reasonable I would even offer my blog site to publish your essays. Collaboration is much more productive than opposition. Thank you in advance for your collaboration.