See You At 6

Conor went to bed at his usual time tonight.  After about an hour he got up to use the washroom.  As he was heading back to his room he said in his own manner of speech "See you at 6" which is the exact time he gets up every morning.  He then  puts CBC NB Morning news with Terry Seguin on the television.   When Conor says see you at 6 it makes me, and his Mom,  feel very good.  Every day Conor brings us joy ... great joy ... starting at 6 am.

Conor's Quiet Joy

Autism is a spectrum in many ways including the ways in which it is presented through various media. Everybody, particularly the main stream media,  loves the feel good stories of accomplishment.  We all suffer when we see images of self injurious behavior: common occurrences in severe autism although rarely reflected in the mainstream media or in autism research accounts.  The photos of my son Conor in the composite above show him during the recent holidays in a calm, happy mood that is seldom depicted in portrayals of autism. 

Despite the hustle and bustle that comes with the season Conor, who can become quite agitated by loud, strange noises and disrupted routines, was able to stay calm, enjoy the company of visitors and ...  be happy.  I had not viewed these images when they were taken and found them while saving some recent outdoor pictures.  

I can't explain to someone who does not have a severely autistic child with profound developmental delays how much moments like these mean to me. Conor's quiet joy is not the stuff of a CNN feature but capturing and revisiting it  makes this Dad very happy. 

For Conor There Is Fun And Then There Is Circle Place Fun

Conor had a great day trail walking with Dad this morning but his favorite part or our hike came when we visited the Circle Place; the Lawrence Amphitheatre.  Conor loves to play  balancing games on the curved cement seating rings of the amphitheatre.  We have an early spring.  Whether it is a false spring or not remains to be be seen, but Conor took advantage of the great weather to have fun at one of his favorite places - the Circle Place.

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The Joy of Conor, May - August 2009

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The Joy of Conor, January - April 2009

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Autistic Laughter? Conor's Laugh Is His Own, It Is NOT An Autistic Laugh

Jumping the shark is a colloquialism coined by Jon Hein and used by TV critics and fans to denote the point in a TV show or movie series' history where the plot veers off into absurd story lines or out-of-the-ordinary characterizations. .... The phrase refers to a scene in a three-part episode of the American TV series Happy Days, first broadcast on September 20, 1977. In the third of the three parts of the "Hollywood" episode, Fonzie (Henry Winkler), wearing swim trunks and his trademark leather jacket, jumps over a confined shark while water skiing.

Wikipedia, Jumping the Shark

Autism researcher and anti-ABA activist Michelle Dawson, has joined with William Hudenko, a clinician and researcher who presented a paper recently about the nature of autistic laughter, in arguing for the existence of a uniquely "autistic" laughter. I do not pretend to have read the Hudenko paper. I admit I do not have any inclination to read a paper that attempts to categorize autistic versus non-autistic laughter. The attempt to establish an "autistic laugh" is nothing more than an exercise in stereotyping, unacceptable in today's society when stereotyping based on race, age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity or physical disability.

My son Conor, diagnosed at the age of 2 with PDD-NOS, subsequently changed to Autistic Disorder as the development gaps between him and his chronological peers widened significantly, is a great joy in my life. As I typed this comment on the upstairs computer Conor came into the room with a great big Conor smile on his face to hang out with Dad. He knows how much I enjoy his presence. He knows that his presence makes me happy. Conor's smiles and laughs are his and his alone. They are not part of some imaginary "autistic laughter" stereotype dreamed up by autism researchers and ideologues.

When I commented on my own observations that Conor's laugh is genuine, that he laughs out loud with others and when he is in a room by himself watching a favorite video my comments, about my own son of 13 years, were dismissed by the ever arrogant ... and in this case out of touch with reality ... Michelle Dawson as being "anecdotal":

Replacing autism research with the anecdotes, assumptions and certainties of autism advocates (if Mr Doherty says so, it must be true) would I'm sure be popular with autism advocates.

Ms Dawson's use of the phrase "autism advocates" is actually code for parents of autistic children but since she doesn't want to appear anti-parent she uses the expression autism advocates sarcastically, a tone which permeates most of her writings.

I fully support scientific and evidence based approaches to understanding causes, treatments and hopefully some day cures, of autism spectrum disorders. I reject categorically though the attempt to stereotype all autistic persons as having the same personalities, even the same laughs. I do not believe in the existence of an "autistic laugh" which is not scientifically proven at all but is simply assumed to exist by Ms Dawson.

Some parents may look to Michelle Dawson for guidance about how to raise their autistic children, or how to understand them, but I am not one of them. And I absolutely reject , as pure unadulterated nonsense, her unscientific opinion that parents can not understand and interpret their own child's laughter. After 13 years of living with, caring for, and having fun with Conor I know his laughter is genuine, I know it is real and infectious, I know how much joy his laughter brings me each and every day.

Parents are often told that valuable, and limited, public resources should not be wasted on further research of possible vaccine autism connections (Despite statements to the contrary from Dr. Bernadine Healy, Dr. Julie Gerberding, Dr. Duane Alexandre and neurologist and successful vaccine autism litigant, Dr. Jon Poling). I suggest that valuable research dollars should not be spent trying to establish the existence of a unique "autistic laugh".

As a parent, as a human being, I do not need researchers to tell me what the smiles and laughs on of my son Conor pictured above mean. I have experienced them. In interpreting such everyday human expressions parental experience is more than just "anecdotal' it is first hand evidence, just as the pictures above are evidence. Can anyone see the pictures of Conor above and tell me that he is NOT genuinely smiling and laughing? Do you really need a research study to interpret and understand what Conor is feeling in those pictures?

Autistic children and adults need research into serious issues. William Hudenko and Michelle Dawson have jumped the shark with their "autistic laughter" nonsense. Valuable research dollars should not be scattered in their misguided waters as bait for the shark.

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