Comments on: A “Neurodiverse” View of Poetry

By: Donna M. Beegle

Donna M. Beegle — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 17:07:15 +0000

Thank you for the article. I received my Doctorate in Educational Leadership and work nationally to raise expectations and supports for students in poverty. At 2 1/2, my Juliette was diagnosed with autism. I feel I have read enough to have a second doctorate in autism. My biggest fight hands down is OTHER people’s LOW EXPECTATIONS. I believe there is unlimited potential when you teach to the individual’s learning style. When you provide the supports needed. I only want people who believe that around my daughter.

By: A “Neurodiverse” View of Poetry | Duke Research Blog | Autistic Information

Sat, 06 Oct 2012 15:57:42 +0000

[...] His adopted son DJ is nonspeaking autistic who types to communicate. … See the rest here: A “Neurodiverse” View of Poetry | Duke Research Blog ← Update in Manual Likely to Take Out “Asperger's Syndrome … – [...]

By: Irene Powell

Irene Powell — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 02:39:33 +0000

I have known DJ Savarese for several years, since he started learning to communicate. Before his parents adopted him he would have appeared just like the classic autistic persons you describe. His mother is an expert in this area and has seen many of the non-verbal classic autistic persons you describe. They worked with DJ many years to communicate, first with pictures, with sign language, and eventually with the computer technology that he uses now. Ralph Savarese has a full comprehension of the challenges faced by classically nonverbal autistics and their parents because he has experienced those challenges and seen DJ struggle with those challenges – he is not trivializing them or brushing over them. But, he and DJ’s mother also can now fully appreciate, as I can, the wonderful personality and intelligence DJ has, and the poetic way that he seems to instinctively express himself. I understand your angry reaction. If all this is true of DJ, it could also be true of your son, yet your son has not had the help to develop his communication abilities. I’m sure you long ago gave up on the possibility. Where would that leave you? But, perhaps instead of staying angry and denying the possibility, you could explore the possibility for your son.

By: Kathryn Prager

Kathryn Prager — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 16:24:48 +0000

I also loved this article. I have a son on the Autism spectrum, who is very high functioning. He is extremely creative. I know how difficult it can be to raise a neurodiverse child. We should not write off individuals who are on the Autism spectrum — they can contribute significantly to society when given the proper support and tools. Our goal should be to ensure that appropriate tools and support are provided to this growing portion of the population, instead of warehousing them.

By: Alyssa

Alyssa — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 11:09:17 +0000

It’s not a lucky few non-speaking classic autistic people who can do this, it’s a lucky few who people even try to give the needed supports to do this because of the assumption that they can’t. Plenty of non-speaking autistic people are presumed cognitively impaired, then get access to a device they can use completely by chance, and then it turns out that oh, wait, no, they do know what’s going on around them and we just never figured out what supports were needed before. We’re not painting over a harsh reality (yes, some of the autistic poets he’s almost certainly read if he’s been reading half as much as it sounds like he has have been the “non verbal classic autistic persons living in institutional care” you describe and were mostly just lucky to get access at all), but rather showing that as long as the supports needed for actual communication are given (that’s more support than for survival, which is why it’s often not going to happen in budget-strained institutions) the kind of result his son has is pretty doable.

By: Cade DeBois

Cade DeBois — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 17:35:52 +0000

I’m autistic. I have also worked with autistics who are far more disabled than myself–what you call “classic autism”. The kinds of communication technology that is alluded to in this article is showing us that nonverbal autistics in general aren’t as cognitively impaired as they have previously been assumed to be. It’s not a small sample of a lucky few. This is not brushing over a harsher reality–it’s correcting a very old and very wrong presumption made of autistics’ cognitive potential that has caused untold suffering and diminished quality of life for countless autistics, in particular nonverbal individuals.

As a verbal autistic and special education tutor, this is not surprising to me. I have long noticed a tremendous amount of potential in nonverbal autistics that we were failing to help them develop. So many students who I felt we could be doing more for, to help them have better, less isolated lives. And I am very excited that we now have technology to help many of these autistics tell us what they need us to do for them. Will it help all autistics in such an immediate way? No. Will they all go to college like the author’s son? No. But the potential there is far more than I think you’re seeing, especially in terms of better understanding how autism relates to cognitive development which could help us improve the lives of even more autisitcs, including those more cognitive impaired.

So forgive me for saying that your anger at this does surprise me. I do not know your son or you, and I do not know what you have been through in caring for your son. But I can tell you this is not as limited as you seem to think it is nor is the number of autistics this can helps as small as you suggest. I further would not presume that this cannot lead to something that would help your son too, whatever his cognitive abilities may be. Yes, the living situations for far too many autistics are deplorable and this is a real issue. Yes, there are a lot of families who are struggling to care for a severely disabled autistic family member who will always be dependent on others for care. Yes, I wish we could do something right now to improves these people’s lives. But please do not be so cynical toward real advances that do not seem to immediately address these problems. We autistics deserve a chance to show the world we’re not as hopeless as we’re so often presumed to be.

By: Christine Bettis

Christine Bettis — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 15:32:01 +0000

I really enjoyed this article! I have 4 children on the Autism spectrum. Non of them are non-speaking, but have an array of other typical Autistic characteristics. They are all very unique, talented and intelligent in their own ways. I like the term neurodiverse. Autistic children really are very diverse in their abilities.

By: Marianne Kandelin

Marianne Kandelin — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 14:50:49 +0000

Have you heard about the research that people with autism can have a “disorder” / +/- adopting or eliminating following: Ca3(PO4)2, KCI, K2SO4, Na3PO4.

Marianne Kandelin

By: Harold L Doherty

Harold L Doherty — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 10:49:00 +0000

Maybe Savarese should visit the non verbal classic autistic persons living in institutional care before he goes about trivializing what is a very seriously limiting disorder for many, including my son, who suffer from classic autistic disorder. For the purpose of this discussion, here in New Brunswick, Canada I have, as an autism advocate visited autistic adults living in psychiatric hospitals. Some others have lived in 24/7 monitored hotel rooms, on the grounds of correctional facilities and some have been shipped out of Canada to facilities in nearby Maine, specifically at Spurwink.

I am happy for Savarese and his son. But it does a great and serious disservice to try and brush over the harsher challenges facing so many with classic autism who do not share his son’s cognitive abilities, non verbal or not.