The Weekly Infodump, 2023/12/14
Welcome to The Weekly Infodump, which contains a short write-up of whatever is on my mind. You are allowed to share this newsletter with others and I hope you will.
'Tis the season when my inbox starts to fill up with overfamiliar e-mail solicitations inquiring, "Heyyyyyy Bestie! Do you want FREE SHIPPING on your purchase of $100 or more?"
While normally I take all communication at face value (how is it possible that I have not yet been tricked into joining a cult?), these e-commerce operations make two mistakes: 1.) that I, an autist, have friends. And 2.) that I, an autist with children, have money.
Nice try, capitalism.
(links) First of all, Mother Jones, I am disappointed in you!
Carey Dunne
I eagerly clicked on this article, which promised me both autists AND robots, and delivered satisfactorily on neither.
It starts off promisingly enough by introducing us to Zachary, an autistic child who
...would rather have been learning about rocket ships or copying David Byrne’s dance moves in Zachary’s favorite movie, Stop Making Sense, or pretending to be a Ghostbuster.
Same, my dude! I wish we all could just hang out, dance, and enjoy the finer points of rocket science with this 5-year-old Talking Heads fan (who ain't afraid of no ghosts), but instead we move on to a morass of misinformation.
The phrase "Amid skyrocketing autism rates...." is my first clue that this journalist has no idea what she's talking about. The factors contributing to greater autism prevalence – namely, the revision of diagnostic criteria, greater awareness of autism and its presentations, and policy changes relating to screening, services, and special education – are well-documented, and not evidence of a so-called "autism epidemic."
Disturbingly, she mentions ABA without question or challenge, admitting only that it's "controversial," which is a bit like calling ex-Congressman George Santos "prone to exaggeration." These days I possess the metaphorical battery power of a box-return Chibi-Robo, so I'm going to practice a bit of self-care and...just avoid the topic entirely.
The article also presents the label "profound autism" as real and scientifically valid, framing it as a matter of researcher consensus when it is not.
(I suspect some of the confusion is due to the way caregiver-led organizations love to give themselves official-sounding names like The National Council on Severe Autism, which, with its pro-institutionalization, electroshock-forward platform, somehow manages to make Autism $peaks look like the Medium Place, or The Autism Science Foundation, whose co-founder is noted non-scientist Alison "sometimes I just want to murder my disabled child" Singer.)
(Whereas I feel like autistic people get together, mostly via tumblr, and name ourselves things like "the Be Gay, Do Crime, & #AbolishABA Book & Savory Snack Club" before spending 100 percent of the time designing bespoke flags and ranking our favorite historical pirates by audacity of exploit, tragedy of demise, and overall yassitude. Which, I hasten to add, is NOT a criticism!)
The entire concept of autism subtypes continues to be a subject of intense debate, with many caregiver-led organizations in favor and many self-advocates opposed.
Smarter people than I, an autist who cannot successfully exit an Aldi without assistance (true, sad story but also why would anyone do doors this way???), have made this argument far more cogently and persuasively than I could, so I do hope you'll avail yourselves of the links above.
Oh, and this article floods the zone with so many autism-curist talking points that I almost missed the casual mentions of "the nonverbal end of the spectrum," etc. betraying the author's misconception that the autism spectrum is a linear, end-to-end continuum that goes from "empty fortress" to "sounds fake but ok," as opposed to a highly individual constellation of strengths, weaknesses, and co-occurring conditions.
Disgraceful work all around.
BUT, you ask, WHAT ABOUT THE ROBOTS?
Well...they're expensive.
I find this absolutely wild because, as an autistic former child, I had basically no human friends, yet formed deep and enduring soul-bonds with all kinds of inanimate objects, including "Knobble Root Tree" (a large oak on the grounds of my elementary school), "Coat-y" (my literal outerwear) and "Killer Whale That Squeaks," a dollar store toy that is exactly what it sounds like because apparently I did not develop imagination until much later in life? Anyway, all of these things cost far, far less than the several thousand dollars per unit mentioned here.
Isn't it amazing how the most "promising" "autism interventions" are always the things that cost the most? It's almost like...it's all a giant cash grab? By corporations who are deeply committed to profiting from autistic people? And do so by peddling fear-based narratives to overwhelmed caregivers?
And do they work? Well, it depends what you mean by "work"? If you mean, "can robots make your kid un-autistic?", then the answer is NO, and also what the fuck is wrong with you?
If you mean, "Could these robots have some utility in an occupational therapy setting?", then the answer is...maybe? But we don't know. There's just not enough data.
And, if you mean, "will they go on a killing spree to 'protect' their human charges, a la M3GAN?" then the answer is: God willing and the creek don't rise!
(links) Speaking of snacks, This is exactly the kind of detail-rich deep dive my autistic soul has been craving, which is why I'm sharing it with you!
Amelia Tait
(links) Also, I love this for Melrose Place.
Isaac Butler
You can stop reading now.