@Foster_Science@anomalapropos Apraxic people sometimes take a long time to develop purposeful motor skills, and even when they can communicate independently, they may have days when they need some help.
@Foster_Science@anomalapropos Some of us autists who can speak also have times when speech dries up and we need to flip over to AAC. Alyssa Hillary has written and lectured on this subject.
@Foster_Science@anomalapropos We do not deny a wheelchair user the right to use their wheelchair just because they can walk at times. Similarly, it makes no sense to deny someone who can type independently the right to also have a bit of support from a facilitator.
@Foster_Science@anomalapropos Once someone has "demonstrated their intelligence", it makes no sense to then discard their perspective, as though they are "too stupid to know what's good for them".
@Foster_Science@anomalapropos In his speech to the United Nations on 2 April 2019, DJ Savarese made an appeal for multi-modal AAC.
@Foster_Science@anomalapropos Most humans are multi-modal communicators. We use real-time speech, gestures, text messages, voice messages.
Non-speakers too often require multiple modes for different situations.
@Foster_Science@anomalapropos Thus someone who CAN type independently may choose support because it makes them faster and takes away some of the strain.
@Foster_Science@anomalapropos To expect apraxic individuals to first lose their apraxia before they are allowed to communicate is ludicrous. That's like telling an accident victim that they deserve no crutches or physiotherapy. They must just walk normally, unaided.
@Foster_Science@anomalapropos And if you grant them the crutches and they never get to the point where they can walk without them for more than a few metres, shall we deny them the crutches just because one or two individuals have abused crutches and faked disability?
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“We left the meeting very disappointed because Netanyahu talked about dismantling Hamas as the goal of the war.”
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“We later found out that Hamas had offered on October 9 or 10 to release all the civilian hostages in exchange for the IDF not entering the Strip, but the government rejected the offer.”
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“There is no doubt that Netanyahu is preventing a deal. Netanyahu knows that if he goes to elections at this time he won’t be able to form a new government, and he is motivated by cold political considerations.”
To all these UK people who are puzzled about why there's sooo much pneumonia going around in your country, lemme tell you a short story about TB (tuberculosis) in South Africa to help you understand what's going on.
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Tuberculosis and other infectious diseases were a problem we needed to prevent anyway.
But then came a new illness. The new illness had an acute infection stage, after which a person would feel better—kind of like flu.
Man, this is an interesting exchange. Many people are disadvantaged in this kind of situation: most of us don't have the full set of weapons and skills—body language, posture, tone, eye contact, reading the other guy's responses, quick thinking. This guy has… a lot.
The argument wasn't won entirely on logic and words. The squeaky guy was discombobulated and allowed himself to be overpowered. The use of the chair was masterful. This whole scene could be analysed by students in a drama class.
Squeaky was like, “OK, I am not getting a chance to come in with a considered response, so let me just allow this person to go off on a tirade and end up looking stupid”—except his tactic backfired, as the big guy ended up spouting a whole lot of good points—
What these people are advocating is child abuse. I know the way they put it doesn't sound bad, but this is about a very controlled, clinically callous form of manipulation. I'll drop some more links below so you can understand the context.
[THREAD]
Why is it so hard for people in the field of ABA to improve the field, even with the support of autistic activists? One of the reasons is this:
Powerful people in the industry will try to destroy you for listening to autistic people, for trying to do a job compassionately, and for calling out the abuse.
I'm going to ask Jennilee Sunshine, a BCBA, whether I might tell her story here verbatim. It's already public on Facebook.