HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.autism
Date:         Fri, 4 Sep 1992 09:35:04 EDT
              <AUTISM@SJUVM.BITNET>
From:         "Anthony J. Caruso" <ACARUSO@KENTVM.BITNET>
Subject:      a new list

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***   A * N * N * O * U * N * C * E * M * E * N * T   ***

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A new list for undergrad/grad majors in communication disorders--


Name:           CDMAJOR

Listserv:       KENTVM

Owner:         Anthony J. Caruso
               Associate Professor
               School of Speech Pathology & Audiology
               Kent State University

=================================================================


CDMAJOR is a list specifically designed for students (undergrads or
grads) whose major is communication disorders, or other students
majoring in related professions.  The purposes of CDMAJOR are to:
(1) acquaint students in communication disorders with telecomputing;
(2) encourage discussion by students on topics within the profession
that effect them (e.g., changes in ASHA certification requirements);
(3) stimulate discussion on academic issues in communication
disorders; and (4) serve a forum for student research in
communication disorders.

It is hoped that this list will serve to stimulate student interest in e-
mail and other aspects of telecomputing as well as serve as a medium
for student discussion on clinical, professional and research issues in
our profession.  Perhaps providing a list specifically designed for
STUDENTS will ultimately facilitate further application of
telecomputing in communication disorders.

Please encourage your students to subscribe to CDMAJOR for open
discussions on student-related issues in communication disorders. To
subscribe, send the following to LISTSERV AT KENTVM :

         SUB CDMAJOR YOUR FULL NAME



Thank you for your consideration.
                --Tony Caruso ===> ACARUSO@KENTVM
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Date:         Tue, 1 Sep 1992 20:52:00 EST
              <AUTISM@SJUVM.BITNET>
From:         Speed Bump <DNWIEBE@OWUCOMCN.BITNET>
Subject:      Re: Dan's restaurant experience

Evelyn writes:
>  I know how you feel; I get very nervous in crowds of people (even with
>people I know).  I do well in small get-togethers, but I panic and have
>to center myself in large ones.
>  Also, I tend to stick with foods that I've already had, but I will
>(once in a while) try new ones.

        Are you autistic?
        I recently went (with some trepidation) with Lauren (my fiancee--gosh,
it feels good to say that :-)) to a departmental picnic with all the other
teachers from her department, many of whom I didn't know and at least two of
whom I found quite intimidating, one because she's a radical feminist, and
the other because I *thought* she was a radical feminist.  (I'm of rather
sexist persuasion myself, and it's very hard sometimes for me to exist within
fifty feet of a radical feminist without accidentally offending her somehow.)
I wasn't sure it was a smart thing to do, but it seemed to me like a fiance-
type thing to do, so I did it.  There were about ten or fifteen people there,
plus five kids, and I really enjoyed myself.  Lauren says I conducted myself
quite well, and even created an unquestionably positive impression on one of
her colleagues I hadn't met before.  Things were helped along by the fact
that one of the first people I met was the Russian teacher on whose class
Lauren is sitting in: he shares my fascination with military aviation, and
was just full of details about a recent opportunity he had had to walk through
a WWII B-24 Liberator and a B-17 Flying Fortress and take pictures.
        I'm not sure why I did well at this place and not at the restaurant;
it may have had to do with the facts that A) it wasn't a restaurant, and B)
I didn't eat.  (I was still recovering from a Big Daddy Carlos burrito I'd
had at Carlos Garcia's Red Burrito earlier that day--they're over two pounds
apiece.)
        I have no trouble trying new foods at a restaurant if there's a
window between the time I get used to a restaurant and the time I get so
entrenched in a rut that it's difficult to change.

Shalom,
Dan
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Date:         Tue, 1 Sep 1992 20:54:00 EST
              <AUTISM@SJUVM.BITNET>
From:         Speed Bump <DNWIEBE@OWUCOMCN.BITNET>
Subject:      Vacant Stare

Thomas writes:
>There is something very alluring about the EYES of
>another person.  It is almost as if you can communicate through
>the stare.  Kind of a psionic communication.  Perhaps what we,
>the autistics, are hoping to establish, is a "link" with the
>other person.

        With me, it's being rubbed.  I do so love to be rubbed--pretty much
anywhere, except my ears.  Maybe "stroked" is a better word, but I sure do
understand how cats feel when you sit with them on your lap and stroke them
for an hour at a time.  It makes a kind of psychological warmth radiate
through me from the point of the contact; I like to just close my eyes and
luxuriate in it.  I don't think there's any communication in it, but it
does relax me and make me all snuggly.  I don't know what happens when
people other than Lauren do it; I don't think anyone but she ever has.

Thomas and then Carolyn write:
>>  Finally, I have NO mathematical prowess whatsoever.  :(  How I
>>*do* wish I got that with the package!
>
>The only major problems I ever had with mathematics was with mental arithmetic;
>mathematical questions written in words; and remembering theorems and formulae.

        Math comes relatively easily to me, *especially* word problems.
The only part I have real trouble with is integral calculus, probably because
it's more an art than a science, and I don't have enough imagination for it.
In college, I was going to double-major in math and computer sciences, and
minor in music, but I found out that the music department is so
all-encompassing that you really can't do that, so I majored in computer
science and double-minored in math and music.

Shalom,
Dan
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Date:         Thu, 27 Aug 1992 13:32:34 EDT
              <AUTISM@SJUVM.BITNET>
From:         Evelyn Duncan <R3EJD@AKRONVM.BITNET>
Subject:      Re: Dan's restaurant experience

Dan,
  I know how you feel; I get very nervous in crowds of people (even with
people I know).  I do well in small get-togethers, but I panic and have
to center myself in large ones.
  Also, I tend to stick with foods that I've already had, but I will
(once in a while) try new ones.

Evelyn
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Date:         Fri, 28 Aug 1992 07:13:20 EDT
              <AUTISM@SJUVM.BITNET>
From:         Anne Pemberton <apembert@VDOE386.VAK12ED.EDU>
Subject:      Re: Helen's assessment
X-To:         AUTISM%SJUVM.BitNet@pucc.princeton.edu
              "LNCJB@cc.newcastle.edu.au" at Aug 28, 92 2:03 pm

Carolyn,
   Sounds like you've got a "wonder of the world" in Dr.
Fenelen!! Did he give you a print copy showing her subtest
scores on the WISC-R, and the composites: Verbal IQ,
Performance IQ and Full Scale IQ. ?  Knowing what Helen
did on those tests will help me in matching her patterns
to those of the Sammy Syndrome kids. If you'd rather, you
can send it email rather than to the list.

   Thomas, it's nice to make your acquaintance on here. What's
this about psychic ability?  Is this common to most autistic
folks? Is it more common in autistic people than in
non-autistic people (or do we have any way of knowing)?
When you mentioned the difficulty with pronouns, you said that
third person is most common. I've a rising senior, named
Heather, who, in spite of (finally) using pronouns in speaking
correctly, persists at writing sentences with her name instead
of the pronoun "I": Heather is going to the store. Heather is
feeding Crystal. Heather has an unusual pattern of problems and
behaviors, including a short temper which escalates into a
near-seizure type of frenzy. Most of the time Heather is a sweet
and good natured girl. And most of the "incidents" have been
over boys (the former and current girlfriends of the fathers of
her two children are the most frequent provocateurs). I have not
considered Heather as a Sammy Syndrome kid because of her low
IQ and persistant difficulties learning to read even to the
level of her IQ, but writing is more difficult for her than
reading, although writing into computers every week the past few
years seems to have helped her writing considerably.
Previously, and partly due to the fact that she's already been
diagnosed with uterine cancer (currently in remission), I'd
figured that her problems were caused by her father's exposure
to Agent Orange during the Vietnam war.  Now, I wonder!

Have a good day all, the sun has finally brighted the sky here,
but it looks like the beginnings of an overcast day. My last
day of vacation.

Anne
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Date:         Wed, 26 Aug 1992 13:16:00 +1000
              <AUTISM@SJUVM.BITNET>
From:         LNCJB@CC.NEWCASTLE.EDU.AU
Subject:      Re: Lots of stuff from Thomas McKean
X-To:         AUTISM%SJUVM.BITNET@pucc.Princeton.EDU

Thomas,

I have lots of comments to make about all your postings, but I'm afraid that
I won't have enough time to do this before Friday......In just under an hour
I have an appointment with Dr. Fenelon to get Helen's results and tomorrow
there is a school excursion that I have been specifically asked to attend to
take care of Helen.

However, before the 'music' discussion disappears, I would like to jump in
with Helen's latest. Last Sunday, she disappeared for about half an hour; I
finally found her in Tim's room seated at his typewriter; she told me that
she had just written a song and Tim was going to make up some music to go
with it. Everyone was very impressed with her first effort, except we don't
know if it is entirely original.....we are not very 'up' on kid's songs, so
I would appreciate knowing if anyone has ever heard anything like it at all.
This is what she wrote:-

SONG 1.

THE LION WHO KEPT SAYING 'ROAR'

the lion who kept on saying 'ROAR'
that we hear him
the lion see a elephant
and try to eat him

chorus

silly old lion why do you roar
silly olde lion what it all for
you got no friends that left anymore
cause silly old lion was always loud roar

v2

the lion go catch the elephant
and so he hide
the lion go jump the elephant
and that how he died

chorus

v3

elephant not like being jumped on the back
it make him mad
so, lion him want and make him squash flat
the lion was bad

chorus 2

silly old lion why don't you roar
silly old lion why go yup for
you eat the elephant not alive you no more
cause silly old lion not anymore a loud roar

----------------------------------------------------------------

It sounds familiar to me and I'm fairly sure there a story about a 'silly
old lion', but does anyone know of a song like this?

Carolyn
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Newsgroups: bit.listserv.autism
Date:         Wed, 2 Sep 1992 13:55:16 EDT
              <AUTISM@SJUVM.BITNET>
From:         IP15217@PORTLAND.BITNET
Subject:      my response

Tom,
I did not see you at the conference except when you were inducted into
the board of directors.  I did not go to the panel discussion on friday
morning.
Natalie is not only intrusive with people, but also with objects.  She
is usually not interested in the people but rather a particular object
they are carrying, or wearing.  She goes into other people's shopping
carts.  She is getting better in public places.  I have been demanding
her attention to my verbal commands.  Her attention span seems to be
very short.  I will tell her that she needs to listen.  When she attempts
to turn away or shift her attention to something else, I will stop in
mid-sentence and wait for her to attend and start over.  She usually
returns her attention to me when she realizes that I am not going to
continue with the request.  She then gets the point.  I have been going
around and around (verbally) with Natalie about her behavior in public
using this method.  It seems to be working slowly.
As I have said in the past, Natalie does use facilitated communication.
By implication, she can read.  I have taken that opportunity and made
up a list of ground rules for her to carry with her in the store.  It
was printed up using a graphic software package in her favorite font so
that she enjoys looking at it.  I tried this after making up a one page
list for the house.  (ex. Do not play with the plants)  She hasn't touched
the plants since.
Any other suggestions are appreciated.
Sorry I took so long to reply.  I have been on vacation most of August
(I am a student) and hadn't logged on to the system.  I should be around
more often now that school is back in session.



   Curtis Maurand       IP15217@portland.bitnet
                        IP15217@portland.maine.edu
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Date:         Thu, 27 Aug 1992 04:53:00 EST
              <AUTISM@SJUVM.BITNET>
From:         Speed Bump <DNWIEBE@OWUCOMCN.BITNET>
Subject:      Re: Thanks for the congrats...

Carolyn writes:
>I had similar experiences in the past, but I have always considered that it
>was the 'claustrophobia' I feel on such occasions that produces the violent
>physical reactions.

        There weren't any real *physical* reactions with my experience, unless
you count the headaches from the smells.  When people spoke to me, I managed
to respond in a more-or-less normal voice (I think).  Catatonia isn't really
a good word for what I was experiencing, because it wasn't involuntary.  The
white-knuckle tension was somewhat involuntary, but the withdrawal was
voluntary.  I could have done otherwise if I had so wished, and as a matter
of fact I did a few times, but I chose to withdraw because withdrawal was
"safe."  I couldn't make any active social faux pas that way, you see.

Shalom,
Dan
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Newsgroups: bit.listserv.autism
Date:         Fri, 4 Sep 1992 09:36:22 EDT
              <AUTISM@SJUVM.BITNET>
From:         "Dan M." <D6M@CORNELLA.BITNET>
Subject:      Re: Need info help
              3 Sep 1992 14:19:00 EDT from <wtm@SHELDEV.SHEL.ISC-BR.COM>

Barry,

While there is not as much information on autism as we would like there
is a fair amount.  This network, the Autism Society of America, the
ANI (a network of autistic individuals) are a few sources of info. The
book "Children With Autism: A Parent's Guide" is a good starting place
to read (I wish I had more detailed info on the author, publisher, etc.
but I lent my copy out and it hasn't been returned yet. A look through
"Books in Print" should help you get more information) In the back of
that book is a state by state listing of organizations and governmental
departments that may be of assistance.

People on this list have had various experiences working with the school
system.  It depends a lot on the states regulations, resources, and
of course the individuals who run your child's school system.  So far
I have had very good experiences in New York but I am fortunate to live
in a well-off school district with close proximity to a Special Children's
Center and a major university.  Still we have had our share of problems
with teachers -- as well as good experiences!

Hang in there! There is more info and support available than your posting
seems to suggest.  If you have specific questions you should post them.
This network includes parents of autistic children (like myself), professionals
, and autistic adults -- all of whom have different and valuable insights.

Welcome to the net :-)  (P.S. to Carolyn -- see, now I'm even *using* these
little symbols)

Dan Mont
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Date:         Sat, 29 Aug 1992 23:08:24 EDT
              <AUTISM@SJUVM.BITNET>
From:         SHEILA <SHROSE@SJUVM.BITNET>
Subject:      Re: Dan's restaurant experience
              27 Aug 1992 16:24:34 EDT from <apembert@VDOE386.VAK12ED.EDU>

Dear Anne

          I want to thank you for carefully spelling out the process
          that will help Dan and Lauren on their wedding night.  They are
          lucky to have you.  Perhaps they could work with you on documenting
          their planning so that others could benefit.  A journal or
          a compilation of your communication would be so helpful to others.
                                                 Sheila

Sheila Rosenberg  Saint John's University
<SHROSE@SJUVM.stjohns.edu>
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Date:         Thu, 3 Sep 1992 12:08:00 +1000
              <AUTISM@SJUVM.BITNET>
From:         LNCJB@CC.NEWCASTLE.EDU.AU
Subject:      Re: Anne's plans
X-To:         AUTISM%SJUVM.BITNET@pucc.Princeton.EDU

This may be another unexplained coincidence, but two days ago Kevin arrived
home with a box of old books that one of his customers thought I might like
...(he must have mentioned that I am a book fanatic). On sorting through
them....guess what I found? THE COLLIER QUICK AND EASY GUIDE TO ETIQUETTE:
GOOD MANNERS FOR ALL OCCASIONS. Printed in 1963, it really is quite an
interesting book.....Tony is reading it at the moment, so it will be a
few days before I get a chance to have a thorough look at it. I would love
Chris to read it to, but I'm afraid he won't be interested (like Dan).
I'm not criticizing Dan for being the way he is or for thinking the way he
does about social customs...most of them I find pretty inexplicable myself,
but I have always tried to learn what is the socially 'right' thing to do
on certain occasions (whether I understood why or not) and to go along with
that, primarily so I won't make a fool of myself in public, but also so that
I can avoid embarrassing the people I am with. It is great to be an
individual (eccentric?) but I don't see that I have the right to embarrass
anyone I care about by my oddball behaviour - how I act when I am on my own
however, is an entirely different matter. :-)

Carolyn
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Date:         Thu, 27 Aug 1992 22:13:16 PDT
              <AUTISM@SJUVM.BITNET>
From:         lexier@SFU.CA
Subject:      Re: Great news!
X-To:         AUTISM%SJUVM.BITNET@uga.cc.uga.edu
              24, 92 11:51 pm

Shalom Dan,

Atah medaber ivrit tov.  Tov bishvilcha.

Bashem adonai vebashem yeshua hamoshiach, le'hitraot,
  Lyle
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Date:         Tue, 1 Sep 1992 20:53:00 EST
              <AUTISM@SJUVM.BITNET>
From:         Speed Bump <DNWIEBE@OWUCOMCN.BITNET>
Subject:      Anne's plans

        Hey, that rhymes!

Anne writes:
>Have the wedding at a small and familiar place, and have some extra
>"practices" so Dan feels relaxed thru it all.

        Being up in front of a group of people doesn't bother me.  I've done
it so often, singing and playing and speaking and whatever, that it doesn't
bother me.  I don't feel constrained, because in a situation like that I'm
*supposed* to be doing something different from everyone else.  I have problems
when I'm supposed to just blend in with a group of people and not do anything
bizarre.

>Another brainstorm: Dan could take up the study of
>etiquette. Read books on it. Practice it. Why? From
>what you said, Dan, it could make Lauren's father
>happy, and you oughta want to make him happy --
>without him you wouldn't have Lauren!! Lauren's
>girls may be old enough to have fun helping you
>practice and learn. Maybe doing "dinner in a fancy
>restaurant" at home, taking turns being the waiter?

        Remember when I said that there were two kinds of things I didn't
like about fancy restaurants?  Well, only one of them is unfamiliarity.
(Unfamiliarity is reasonably universal, because on my budget, or Lauren's,
fancy restaurant trips are necessarily rare.)  The other reason is that
most of the customs don't make sense to me; they seem to exist for no reason
other than pretentiousness.  Undoubtedly, there at one point was a reason
for most of them, but frequently that reason has become obsolete--but people
continue to observe the custom anyway, and look askance at people who don't.
That's what gets me.  If I got hold of an etiquette book that explained at
length the origin of and reason for all the conventions, it would help; but
I'm sure many of the reasons still wouldn't be good enough for me.
        My purpose in life is to make Lauren happy, not to make Lauren's
father happy.  I don't want to turn him *off,* but that's pretty much where
it ends.  Any time I spend pleasing him is time I don't spend making Lauren
happy, unless what I'm doing pleases both of them, in which case I'm doing it
for Lauren and not her father.  Again, this doesn't mean I don't want Lauren's
dad to be happy, or that I don't care if he is; it just means that he's my
father-in-law-to-be, not my wife-to-be.

>Pick something basic and order it every time (steak or shrimp)...

        I've got something: chef salad.  Most places make chef salad, or
something that is a reasonable facsimile.  It's nice and cheap, usually, and
it makes a reasonable meal.  I order it often enough to make Lauren crazy
sometimes, but it's safely predictable, like Jim's (?) dead end streets.
(Was that you, Jim?)  I know the basic configuration of what I'm going to
get, and the variation isn't enough to concern me.

>Study and practice. Practice and study.

        No thanks.  Why should I do that?

Shalom,
Dan
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Date:         Fri, 28 Aug 1992 14:03:00 +1000
              <AUTISM@SJUVM.BITNET>
From:         LNCJB@CC.NEWCASTLE.EDU.AU
Subject:      Helen's assessment
X-To:         AUTISM%SJUVM.BITNET@pucc.Princeton.EDU

Thought you might be interested to know:-

Helen's assessment from Dr. Fenelon was 'high-level autism'...he decided
against the Asperger's after seeing the results of her test. She scored
between 9 and 16 on all tests of the WISC-R except for the 'word concepts' (3)
and the maze.....very indicative of an autistic child.

He told me that when she was doing the maze (Milner's maze, I assume) after a
few goes, she started playing with the screen. When he asked her what she was
doing she said:

"We'll just dig a hole here to let the little girl out!"

Well, at least, she is a considerate child. :-)

He thinks she is the most delightful 'little character' he has ever met.
He timed her reading at 150 words a minute, and he said he believed that she
could have gone faster but he didn't push her - he thought that was plenty
fast enough for a 6 year old.

He read the draft copy of the report to me, so that I could make any
necessary corrections, omissions or clarifications. I was very pleased to see
that he didn't make direct reference to her I.Q. levels in particular tasks
....that she was extremely intelligent in some areas was apparent from the
text. He said he didn't want to put a 'level' on her as he thought that in
future others might expect Helen to live up to those levels and put pressure
on her to perform at the level of those abilities. I think this was very
perceptive of him. It even made me forgive him for some of the doubts he
expressed about the usefulness of Irlen lenses. :-)

Carolyn
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