Epidemic? Gee, Thanks

For quite some time Autism Speaks and various other organizations have been using the phrase "Autism Epidemic" to describe the rise in autism diagnosis. I am really fed up with it. The term isn't even accurate:
Definition from Wiktionary: epidemic
1 A widespread disease that affects many individuals in a population.
(epidemiology)
2 An occurrence of a disease or disorder in a population at a frequency higher than that expected in a given time period.
Perhaps the second definition is closer- but it implies that it is a contagious disease- talk about insulting!
To them, I am part of a plague, a expensive and emotional burden on my family and society. I have no gifts or talents to offer the world, and my birth should never have happened.

Here is a quote from their website:
More children will be diagnosed with autism this year than with AIDS, diabetes & cancer combined

Autism costs the nation $137 billion per year

Autism receives less than 5% of the research funding of many less prevalent childhood diseases

Autism is the fastest-growing serious developmental disability in the U.S.

Autism Speaks will do anything for sensationalist media attention, and they have raised millions of dollars through this approach. It never occurs to them (or perhaps they just don't care) that people with autism/autistics have their own voices and opinions. They speak for parents and professionals, not for us. Most other disability organizations are at least in part run by people with those disabilities. The autism community developed differently as early on, most individuals labeled autistic were children with more difficulty with communication. Twenty years ago, when I was labeled, Asperger's Syndrome was considered quite rare. Now it is far more common, even more than classic Kanner's autism. And many of us are adults. So Autism Speaks and other organizations need to catch up with this reality.

Another problem I have with them is that they focus almost exclusively on young children. While early identification and intervention are certainly important, what about improving the lives of older people with autism? Those children won't have much of a future if we don't build better opportunities for employment, education beyond K-12, housing, and social and in-home supports (if needed) They focus on research- and I wonder what kind of research? To learn how to better help people with autism with their difficulties (sensory, social etc) It seems mostly a search for causes of autism. I am worried this will result in selective abortion and eugenics.
More on that in another post.

Please write to Autism Speaks and other organizations that use this sort of language, and ask them to stop. What will young people with autism (or older people just diagnosed) think when they hear these messages? Don't we want them to feel good about themselves and who they are? Telling them they are inferior and diseased won't do that.

Adults with Autism & Employment Study

A study on employment and adults with autism just came out in May. This is specifically about young adults, though I have some thoughts on the subject more broadly.

What I found especially interesting was that adults with other developmental disabilities (e.g. some degree of mental retardation) have a higher rate of employment.  That made some sense to me, as there does seem to be more services set up for people with Down's Syndrome and other such conditions. Also society as a whole may better understand these disabilities. Autism is more difficult to wrap one's head around.

Since I have a degree in political science, I've been trained to be skeptical of statistics. How did they get these numbers? What methods did they use?
First off, the unemployment rate in general only includes people applying for unemployment benefits or report looking for work.  People who have given up or taken a major break in job searching aren't included- that would describe many people with disabilities.

Other factors: many adults on the spectrum especially past 35 or so, are unlabeled. In fact, probably most of them. Some of them fall under the radar, as they may have better adjusted to mainstream society, or maybe dropped out of high school, or are homeless or move frequently due to poverty.

Tipping Customs

I have many talents, but math is not one of them, far from it. So, I have difficulty figuring out a 15% tip when I go to restaurants. Dan (my fiancé) taught me a trick of finding 10%, (moving the decimal point a digit) then halving that and adding the 5%. I'm not sure if 20% would be any easier. Aside from that, I find this method of tipping illogical, and rather unjust. For one thing, the quality of service has nothing to do with how much you spend on food and drinks, in fact it can be the opposite.


A couple times, I and/or Dan have gone to restaurants where the waitperson tried to push a product we didn't want. On one occasion, at an Applebee's, a waiter obnoxiously promoted a new appletini every time he came by. (Really are you sure? It's really good!) And it was lunch! Needless to say, he didn't get a very good tip. Tipping is the service industry's equivalent of commissions, but it makes no sense since they are not supposed to be salespeople. I'm fine with it, and these folks need the money, but I've decided a flat amount like $2-5 seems about right, depending on the class of restaurant and the quality of service, including them putting up with my indecisiveness. 


Give more at cheaper restaurants, as they need the money the most. And at fancier places, I suspect the valet parking guy needs it more. It also seems arbitrary and ambiguous who you are supposed to tip. It may vary from place to place. Hairdressers, cab drivers, sometimes hotel maids. Basically, tip well any service-person who makes a good effort, is helpful, is patient with inconvenience and probably gets a low wage. And, if the person treating you stiffs them, and you think they deserve more, sneak some dead presidents onto the table. Also, I do not tip people who only serve me at the counter, unless they have to put up with me being difficult, or go out of their way for a special request (hold x, y and replace z)  

Intro

Bienvenido, I'm Mariah, 30 and live in St. Paul, Minnesota after living many places around the country.  I have written other blogs elsewhere, but decided to start another one that I could more comfortably share with family members and work colleagues, as some of my opinions are rather...controversial.
Since I see the personal as political, I will touch on politics but avoid the 4 Gs: God, gays, guns and gynecology. But I have plenty of other interests like languages, books, music and movies, and various cultures.

So, here goes!