August 22nd, 2016 by drcoplan
With apologies to Martin Niemoller.
I know that I’m supposed to be talking about ASD in this space. But the larger issue is how we treat people who are different from ourselves – whether that be due to a developmental issue, gender identity, sex role identification, race, religion, or otherwise.
Pass it on.
July 21st, 2016 by drcoplan
I was planning on answering some readers’ letters this morning, but this headline demands my attention. A man who identified himself to the police as a behavior therapist, laying on the ground with his hands up, is shot by the police while attempting to get his young adult client with autism out of traffic. And then, after shooting him, the police put him in handcuffs and leave him lying on the ground until an ambulance arrives.
In cellphone video of the event, we hear a conversation between two onlookers:
“Why they shoot the black boy [the therapist] and not the fat boy [the young man with autism, who did not have his hands up, and in fact was engaged in mild verbal aggression]?” the first asks.
“Because the thing with the blacks,” the other onlooker replies.
What the hell is going on?
Read the rest of this entry »
