Hi,
My chosen name is River~~ and online I usually go by the handle trueriver. Google that username and you will find all sorts of different forums that I don't mind you knowing about and you will discover other things about my various self-identities. There is geek stuff and personal stuff there, some of which is current and some I have since moved on from. Feel free to DM me if you want to ask about any of them: DM me on the other fourum if you are a member, otherwise DM me here.
I am a refusnik for the mainstream social media. You won't find me on facebook or twitter or instagram or linked in: if Google finds a trueriver there they are a fakeriver
The tildes (wiggly lines) are part of my name wherever they are allowed. they crudely represent the handmovement that my BSL namesign makes. For those who knwo BSL you make the movement of the sign for river but with the handshape of the sign for the letter R with both hand.s. Like my voicename it is self chosen.
I self identify as either Aspie or Autie dependng on context, or very occasionally "Endie". I will explain, because I like explaining.
When I am focussing on the difinite advantages that I receive from the "savant" side of my neurodiversity, I claim "Aspie". When I am focussing on the way the unelightened mainstream mistreats people on the spectrum, then I claim "Autie". On the occasions when I am expressing solidarity with ppl with other neuro-diversities, I claim "Endie".
You may have guessed by now that I strongly endorse the social model, not only as regards neurodiversity, but actually of all other purported disabilities: the first time I read the claim that society disables people, rather than people being disabled, it was a moment of enlightenment for me.
Enlightnement in the above paragraph means thwo things to me. It means firstly the new insight that came with that suggestion, which entered my mind like a flood of light. Secondly, and even more profound was the emotional release that cam as the cognitive understanding hit my emotional centre (metaphorically referred to as my heart -- which indeed did start to race). The second metaphor in the word "enlightenment" is lit the feeling of floatiness, of walking on air, that I get after a day hillwalking with a heavy pack when I take the rucsac off.
As closely as I can understand friends who are Buddhists (not my, because I am too cognitive to really embrace most religions) the word enlightenment carries both metaphors in the Buddhist Western Order too. Certainly what I call my enilghtenment sounds like the way they say they felt when they were enlightened.
The news about the social model has been followed by several sugsequent enlightnements, as I realised at different times that I do not have to be defined by the name my parents gave me, by the gender te midwife gave me, by the other labels that mainstream society tries to pin on me.
Only when I trust you not to make the mainstream deductions will I share my deadname, deadgender, etc, and the quickest way to gurantee that I will never tell you is to jump to conclusions based on what I say here, or what I look like if we meet in the RW (or if some traitor search engine finds you a picture).
Autism was not the first of the identities to be enlightnened in this way, for me. Others came earlier, as and when I saw how the various Identities fit into the social model.
I first met the social model interacting with the Deaf. That is, with people for whom Deaf is a linguistic and cultural identity. Just to be clear: that is not an identity I claim for myself, but I do seek to be as good an ally as I can; and adopted the ~~ into my name in written English as a marker of that.
It was only later that I discovered that societal oppression applied to myself too. Sometime, if we meet in the real world, I will tell you about some of the others, but I will tell you here how I came to become Enlightened about being an Aspie, and later as an Autie. Neither was first.
I was googling "Gay Pride" as a self appointed ally of Gay ppl. Social model again, not identifying with the LG community at the time, when I noticed a cross link to Aspie Pride on Wikipedia. Instantly diverted focus and clicked on that link, and read about the (then) Aspie Pride movement in the United States. Already knowing the social model of disabiity, and not thinking at all of Gay being a disability, I instantly drew the connection between social model as applied to sensory difference, to sexual orientational differences, and to cognitive difference.
Enlightnement as an Aspie
As soon as I had finished the Wikipedia article I realised I had already self-identified as an Aspie somewhere during the time it took for a first read. These folk are singing from my hymn-sheet, as the saying goes.
Enlightenment as an Auty
It was the frist time I attended Autscape (recommended, by the way, Google it). Someone bent my ear to the effect that the Aspie identity is (they believed) divisive because it perpetrates the oppressive idea that some Auties are better than others; the smugness of some Aspie parents, and the isolation of parents of those diagnosed with "Learning Difficulties". I got the point instanlty. From a social model perspective, here is my thought on the idea of "Learning Difficulties":
There are no Learning difficulties there are only teachers who are unskilled, unprepepared, or themselves hoodwinked by the medical model.
I am proud that I came to that view well before thinking of myself as an Aspie, and well before I discovered the social model. If the aobve is not original to me, that's grat: please DM me to tell me who got there earlier. If it is new to you, feel free to quote is as the Truerriver Conjecture.
Let me tell you how I discovered my conjecture.
During my postgrad degree study I also worked teaching Physics undergraduates experimental techniques, and there realised my love of teaching. Later, teaching for the Open University I was asked on an OU summer school if I was willing to help students on Social Science and Psychology courses with Maths at zero to GCSE standard. I said I would do one sessin and see how it went before committing to more. I enjoyed myself immensly and was buoyed up by the gratitude expressed by every student. Almost all of them thought they "couldn't do maths" because of critical comments from teachers, often right back in promary school. Every one of them was prepare to struggle in order to cover the bare mimium for their courses. None of them had to struggle, though. I found it easy to share my love of maths and the basic skills. We are talking: can you check the figures on your gas bill kind of thing.
I also came away angry at the maths teachers.
All my life I have been dispraxic, though I did not know the word till recently, and was mocked not only by my peers by by my gym teacher at age 11.
Later, as an adult, I discovered a whistful liking for a form of dance called Contact Improv (CI) and spoke to a teacher of CI. I am going to be your worst ever student, I said. "No you won't be", she said. And the whole point of CI is that whoever is your partner adpats to what you can do, not forces you to go beyond your skill or conficdence. So went along to some clases and I mentioned that it reminded my of a martial art called Aikido. "You know aikido, asks the teacher, have you done any". "Yes, got a few of the early grades". "So what made you think youu can't learn Aikido? the inventor of theat Martial Art based the dance form on Aikido" -- hpw was it when you were learning?. "Hard, but I could tell I was progressing, under a few teachers who were willing to teach me at my pace, and I dropped out when I relocated and the availble tuition was too full-on-macho for my abilities".
Then I fancied a woman who said before she would accept a date with me, she wanted to meet frequently and often at choir practice. "I can't sing," say I. "Our choirmaster will accept that challenge" she says, and along I went, prepared to leave if anyone insulted me; prepared to give it a full session however bad it was so long as ppl were polite. They were polite, and the choirmaster spent maybe a third of the lesson giving me personal tuition... I stayed with the choir for long enough to believe that I can sing, and in tune, and to blame my music teacher at age 11 for believing I can't.
And then the penny dropped. Numerous times as a remedial maths teacher, and three times as a learner of singing, aikido, and CI, I had discovered that the truth is (as I now believe) that it is inadequate teaching that creates inability -- but never disability. At first I was angry with all those "bad teachers", but more recently I came to see that the teachers, too, were imprisoned by the culture that insists there are two ways to learn, the right way and everything else is the wrong way. A skilled teacher spends time one-to-one with their partner in learning, starting only with the wilingness to be taught by the learner how that person best prefers to learrn. Some learning partners a similar to those I have taught before. The ones I learn most from are the ones whose style of learning is dratically different.
Corollary to River's Conjecture
The only really good teacher is the one willing to learn from the learner.
DM me if you would like me to start a thread about these ideas, or if you prefer to discuss them privately with me.
I first adopted the Auty Identity at an Autscape, when someone explained why they hoped I would drop the Aspie label in favour of Auty
They told me they believed that the Aspie identity has the potential to split the Auty community, because it conects uncomfortably with
My chosen name is River~~ and online I usually go by the handle trueriver. Google that username and you will find all sorts of different forums that I don't mind you knowing about and you will discover other things about my various self-identities. There is geek stuff and personal stuff there, some of which is current and some I have since moved on from. Feel free to DM me if you want to ask about any of them: DM me on the other fourum if you are a member, otherwise DM me here.
I am a refusnik for the mainstream social media. You won't find me on facebook or twitter or instagram or linked in: if Google finds a trueriver there they are a fakeriver
The tildes (wiggly lines) are part of my name wherever they are allowed. they crudely represent the handmovement that my BSL namesign makes. For those who knwo BSL you make the movement of the sign for river but with the handshape of the sign for the letter R with both hand.s. Like my voicename it is self chosen.
I self identify as either Aspie or Autie dependng on context, or very occasionally "Endie". I will explain, because I like explaining.
When I am focussing on the difinite advantages that I receive from the "savant" side of my neurodiversity, I claim "Aspie". When I am focussing on the way the unelightened mainstream mistreats people on the spectrum, then I claim "Autie". On the occasions when I am expressing solidarity with ppl with other neuro-diversities, I claim "Endie".
You may have guessed by now that I strongly endorse the social model, not only as regards neurodiversity, but actually of all other purported disabilities: the first time I read the claim that society disables people, rather than people being disabled, it was a moment of enlightenment for me.
Enlightnement in the above paragraph means thwo things to me. It means firstly the new insight that came with that suggestion, which entered my mind like a flood of light. Secondly, and even more profound was the emotional release that cam as the cognitive understanding hit my emotional centre (metaphorically referred to as my heart -- which indeed did start to race). The second metaphor in the word "enlightenment" is lit the feeling of floatiness, of walking on air, that I get after a day hillwalking with a heavy pack when I take the rucsac off.
As closely as I can understand friends who are Buddhists (not my, because I am too cognitive to really embrace most religions) the word enlightenment carries both metaphors in the Buddhist Western Order too. Certainly what I call my enilghtenment sounds like the way they say they felt when they were enlightened.
The news about the social model has been followed by several sugsequent enlightnements, as I realised at different times that I do not have to be defined by the name my parents gave me, by the gender te midwife gave me, by the other labels that mainstream society tries to pin on me.
Only when I trust you not to make the mainstream deductions will I share my deadname, deadgender, etc, and the quickest way to gurantee that I will never tell you is to jump to conclusions based on what I say here, or what I look like if we meet in the RW (or if some traitor search engine finds you a picture).
Autism was not the first of the identities to be enlightnened in this way, for me. Others came earlier, as and when I saw how the various Identities fit into the social model.
I first met the social model interacting with the Deaf. That is, with people for whom Deaf is a linguistic and cultural identity. Just to be clear: that is not an identity I claim for myself, but I do seek to be as good an ally as I can; and adopted the ~~ into my name in written English as a marker of that.
It was only later that I discovered that societal oppression applied to myself too. Sometime, if we meet in the real world, I will tell you about some of the others, but I will tell you here how I came to become Enlightened about being an Aspie, and later as an Autie. Neither was first.
I was googling "Gay Pride" as a self appointed ally of Gay ppl. Social model again, not identifying with the LG community at the time, when I noticed a cross link to Aspie Pride on Wikipedia. Instantly diverted focus and clicked on that link, and read about the (then) Aspie Pride movement in the United States. Already knowing the social model of disabiity, and not thinking at all of Gay being a disability, I instantly drew the connection between social model as applied to sensory difference, to sexual orientational differences, and to cognitive difference.
Enlightnement as an Aspie
As soon as I had finished the Wikipedia article I realised I had already self-identified as an Aspie somewhere during the time it took for a first read. These folk are singing from my hymn-sheet, as the saying goes.
Enlightenment as an Auty
It was the frist time I attended Autscape (recommended, by the way, Google it). Someone bent my ear to the effect that the Aspie identity is (they believed) divisive because it perpetrates the oppressive idea that some Auties are better than others; the smugness of some Aspie parents, and the isolation of parents of those diagnosed with "Learning Difficulties". I got the point instanlty. From a social model perspective, here is my thought on the idea of "Learning Difficulties":
There are no Learning difficulties there are only teachers who are unskilled, unprepepared, or themselves hoodwinked by the medical model.
I am proud that I came to that view well before thinking of myself as an Aspie, and well before I discovered the social model. If the aobve is not original to me, that's grat: please DM me to tell me who got there earlier. If it is new to you, feel free to quote is as the Truerriver Conjecture.
Let me tell you how I discovered my conjecture.
During my postgrad degree study I also worked teaching Physics undergraduates experimental techniques, and there realised my love of teaching. Later, teaching for the Open University I was asked on an OU summer school if I was willing to help students on Social Science and Psychology courses with Maths at zero to GCSE standard. I said I would do one sessin and see how it went before committing to more. I enjoyed myself immensly and was buoyed up by the gratitude expressed by every student. Almost all of them thought they "couldn't do maths" because of critical comments from teachers, often right back in promary school. Every one of them was prepare to struggle in order to cover the bare mimium for their courses. None of them had to struggle, though. I found it easy to share my love of maths and the basic skills. We are talking: can you check the figures on your gas bill kind of thing.
I also came away angry at the maths teachers.
All my life I have been dispraxic, though I did not know the word till recently, and was mocked not only by my peers by by my gym teacher at age 11.
Later, as an adult, I discovered a whistful liking for a form of dance called Contact Improv (CI) and spoke to a teacher of CI. I am going to be your worst ever student, I said. "No you won't be", she said. And the whole point of CI is that whoever is your partner adpats to what you can do, not forces you to go beyond your skill or conficdence. So went along to some clases and I mentioned that it reminded my of a martial art called Aikido. "You know aikido, asks the teacher, have you done any". "Yes, got a few of the early grades". "So what made you think youu can't learn Aikido? the inventor of theat Martial Art based the dance form on Aikido" -- hpw was it when you were learning?. "Hard, but I could tell I was progressing, under a few teachers who were willing to teach me at my pace, and I dropped out when I relocated and the availble tuition was too full-on-macho for my abilities".
Then I fancied a woman who said before she would accept a date with me, she wanted to meet frequently and often at choir practice. "I can't sing," say I. "Our choirmaster will accept that challenge" she says, and along I went, prepared to leave if anyone insulted me; prepared to give it a full session however bad it was so long as ppl were polite. They were polite, and the choirmaster spent maybe a third of the lesson giving me personal tuition... I stayed with the choir for long enough to believe that I can sing, and in tune, and to blame my music teacher at age 11 for believing I can't.
And then the penny dropped. Numerous times as a remedial maths teacher, and three times as a learner of singing, aikido, and CI, I had discovered that the truth is (as I now believe) that it is inadequate teaching that creates inability -- but never disability. At first I was angry with all those "bad teachers", but more recently I came to see that the teachers, too, were imprisoned by the culture that insists there are two ways to learn, the right way and everything else is the wrong way. A skilled teacher spends time one-to-one with their partner in learning, starting only with the wilingness to be taught by the learner how that person best prefers to learrn. Some learning partners a similar to those I have taught before. The ones I learn most from are the ones whose style of learning is dratically different.
Corollary to River's Conjecture
The only really good teacher is the one willing to learn from the learner.
DM me if you would like me to start a thread about these ideas, or if you prefer to discuss them privately with me.
I first adopted the Auty Identity at an Autscape, when someone explained why they hoped I would drop the Aspie label in favour of Auty
They told me they believed that the Aspie identity has the potential to split the Auty community, because it conects uncomfortably with
