Analysis of Parenthood

On tonight's episode of Parenthood (of which one of the characters is an Aspergian child), his parents had to go through a tough decision of whether or not to pull him out of his special ed school and put him in a normal school which would be more academically challenging. Initially, his father was in favor of normalizing him, while his mother felt he would do better socially in his special ed school. Ultimatley, after consulting with his former 1:1 (who had to quit because she slept with the Aspergian child's uncle, but that's another story in itself), they decided to send him to a normal school.

This episode really hit home with me, because I was in a very similar situation when I was 17, having to decide whether to continue at VGW and graduate with a diploma or transfer to a normal school for my senior year. I ultimately chose the latter, and it proved to be the worst decision of my life. While I did fine academically and behaviorally at Uni (in fact better than I had at VGW), the social anxiety ultimately became too much for me to handle and I had to leave after the first semester, although I did get my diploma a semester early which was a plus. The whole experience was so off-putting that it set me back for nearly a year. Now, I am at least doing something to move forward in life (I'm taking an extended education course at Cal State LA on how to give people an EKG) but I do not know where that will lead. It's at least a step in the right direction, but I still have a long way to go. On the episode itself, I don't mean to take one position or the other, but I do wish to offer my personal input and let parents know that there are two sides to every coin. However, it pretty much depends on the child, as no two autistic people are exactly alike. Some may do well in a normal school, while others would probably do better in a special ed setting.

Opening Day is just around the corner. Go Dodgers!

Apology to The Informer

I was recently reading the Informer's blog, and he stated that he was disappointed in me closing down my blog and allowing all those rogue comments. Therefore, I'm gonna issue a full and unconditional apology to The Informer, and I'm gonna withdraw the remark I made back in October about all NDs being pedophiles. While one of them is (i.e. Nick Dubin), I understand that it is unfair to judge an entire group by one of its members. If the Informer doesn't accept this apology, then I'll understand. One cannot be guaranteed forgiveness. Anyway, I'm back on board, and I'm ready to combat neurodiversity.

Running Into Alex Plank

I ran into Alex Plank today while I was at Venice Beach with my male therapist. I wanted to cuss him out, but my male therapist said that if I did that I'd be arrested for disturbing the peace. Had I been alone, I certainly would've cussed him out. For those of you who don't already know, Alex Plank founded the website WrongPlanet.net in 2005, and was one of the biggest voices of neurodiversity until Ari Ne'eman came around in 2006. He graduated from George Mason University in 2009. Apparently, his life has taken a turn for the worse recently. He was dumped by his longtime girlfriend Katie Miller, and apparently is high on weed all the time and drinks so much beer that he upchucks all over his friends. Recent controversy arose when he sold his website to Autism Speaks in 2010, which is an organization that he had previously denounced. Some say he did it just for the cash, while others accused Autism Speaks of selling out. I don't know which is true, but I do know that neither direction is a good one to go in. To his credit, Alex Plank has featured some legitimately pro-cure people on his YouTube show "AutismTalkTV," and cohosts it with Jack "Cubby" Robison (legal name: John Elder Robison Jr.), the son of author John Elder Robison, who is not as crazy as some of the other NDs.

Venice Beach is a pretty funky place. I didn't get laid there, although Clay Adams suggested that I do that. There are so many tattoo parlors there, so one time when I bring enough money maybe I can actually get a tattoo. Regardless, the place is full of normal people, and I did a very good job of not asking autistic.

When I was on the bus home, I ran into Meghan, who was driving in her car. For those of you who don't know, Meghan is the girl whose boobs I touched back in 8th grade.

The Truthmeister Is Banned From This Blog

From this point forward, I will no longer be approving any further comments from the Truthmeister. He is an idiot and his views will not be tolerated here. Everything he says is a lie, and I do not need to prove otherwise. He is trying to discredit me and is failing, badly. This blog will be back on the airwaves some time tomorrow, and from now on nothing but the truth will be told on this blog. I cannot deal with these dumbfucks whom accuse me of lying, so they are now permabanned from commenting here. That will be all.