Tag: lainascollection

Autism and Cancer

Some early thoughts on autism and cancer.

INTRODUCTION

This post will consist of some early thoughts about Autism and Cancer and also some pictures from my new abode. However before getting into the main meat of the post there is an issue to address briefly first…

AUTISM AND FUNCTION LEVEL LABELS

In brief: DO NOT USE!! For more detail read the rest of this section. Before moving on to my onw thoughts a couple of honourable mentions: the Neurodivergent Rebel has posted some good stuff about the abuse of function level labels in relation to autism and Laina via both thesilentwave.wordpress.com and her sharing site lainascollections has also covered the issue.

I am often labelled as a high functioning autistic (indeed readers of this site will be aware that I was already into my 30s before being recognized as autistic at all) but that is highly misleading and dangerous. People noting my overall intelligence and articulateness and the fact that I devour books at rapid rate assume I need little support. Not true – there are some things that I struggle badly with and where support is needed. The “High Functioning” label is at best misleading and at worst it is downright dangerous.

MANAGING AUTISM AND CANCER

Managing cancer is a challenge but considered in isolation one that can be handled. Managing autism is sometimes a challenge (and sometimes autism works in my favour), and taken in isolation it is not too difficult. Managing cancer through the prism of autism is an enormous challenge. Apart from my regular blood thinning injections (I had two blood clots while being treated in hospital), which are still administered by a district nurse I am now largely responsible for taking my own medications of which there are huge quantities.  I also need to do things like monitor body temperature (currently seems to be stabilised at 36.1 C) and weight (one effect of being so ill is that now weigh less than at any time since my mid-teens. 

ADDENBROOKES ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

A small army of staff at Addenbrookes went way above and beyond the call of duty in looking after me and treating me during the worst of the illness. To name names would be invidious – you all know who you are and you are all absolute heroes. Understaffed and underfunded as it is the NHS is kept functioning by the efforts of people like this, who can still crack a smile when they have been rushed off their feet for 13 hours straight.

HOSPITAL TALES: WALKING STRENGTH BACK INTO THE LEGS

For about the first two weeks I spent at Addenbrookes I was effectively completely immobile (for a few days I was wired up to an oxygen mask), and for about a week before that I had hardly been mobile at all, so I lost a lot of strength from my legs. Once I was able to be mobile I took to walking up and down the ward when I felt strong enough, starting with small distances and working my way up gradually. Before I finished I could on a good day walk up and down the ward 20 times without stopping. I felt a benefit of this yesterday when I did a small amount of walking in King’s Lynn town centre to do my christmas shopping. 

PHOTOGRAPHS

I promised some pictures and here they are:

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Cricket Corner! (some of my cricket books are on other shelves as well but this is most of them)
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Display items in sitting room

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Thomas’ Cabinet of Curiosities (units assembled by Simon from NAS, treasures arranged by my father) – named in honour of Ian Stewart;s “Cabinet of Mathematical Curiosities”.
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A close up of one section.

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1907 railway map (facsimile)

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The Morden Map of Norfolk in its new niche.
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Two views through the windows to finish – being able to look straight at green space is a privilege.

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Links, Pics and a Thunderclap

Some links to excellent pieces by autistic writers, especially on the subject of Judith Newman’s book To Siri With Love. Details of a thunderclap on the subject of driven grouse shooting and some of my own photos.

INTRODUCTION

I have had a busy few days imaging for James and Sons’ final auction of the year (takes place on Wednesday – click here to view on online catalogue), so it is only today that I have time for another post. Before getting into the main meat of today’s post there is a small matter of an…

APOLOGY

Some of you may have noticed snowflakes falling across pictures on this blog (as I did today, when I accessed it at the library to get a picture I needed for something I was doing). I am aware that some of my followers have sensory issues that make this sort of thing unwelcome, and I have changed my settings so that those snowflakes will not appear again. I apologise to any who were inconvenienced by this ‘seasonal’ addition of WordPress’s.

SOME AUTISM RELATED PIECES

I will start this section by stating that most of the pieces I link to here were drawn to my attention by Eve Reiland at americanbadassactivists. Another excellent source of good material by autistic people is Laina, both in her own right at thesilentwaveblog and via her specialist sharing blog Lainascollection.

My first links concern the representation of autistic people in the media:

The remaining links in this section all related to…

#BOYCOTTTOSIRI

The title of this section refers to the backlash by the autistic community against Judith Newman’s book To Siri With Love. Although they make unpleasant reading, because of what they reveal about the book, I urge you to follow up the links I give, all of which, save one, are to pieces about this book written by autistic people. The exception, which ends this section, is to an alternative reading list, and was also created by an autistic person. 

I start with what is actually last piece I read about this issue, “An Autistic’s Thoughts On To Siri, With Love by Judith Newman” which was posted on writeabledreams.

My next offering, by Susie Rodarme is titled “AN OPEN LETTER TO HARPERCOLLINS ABOUT TO SIRI WITH LOVE“, and was published on bookriot.com. 

Next, courtesy of goodreads.com comes Kaelan Rhywiol’s review of the book – it is a superbly written take down of the book.

Next we turn to autistichoya and “Why we must #BoycottToSiri / An open letter to Judith Newman“. 

The last specific #BoycottToSiri piece to which I link is Eve’s as yet unanswered closing challenge to the author “Judith Newman | Stop The BS and Evolve into an Actual Autistic Ally #boycotttosiri” 

I end this section with a link to a post on huxtales simply titled “The Essential Autistic Reading List“.

A THUNDERCLAP

To take part in a thunderclap you have to be on at least one of facebook, twitter and/ or tumblr. I am on the first two named, and as such have contributed approximately 5,500 connections to this thunderclap calling for a ban on driven grouse shooting. If like me (see here for a previous piece on this subject) you hold those who take pleasure in shooting at birds in utter contempt, and you are on one of the three networks mentioned please add your voice to thunderclap – more details below:

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PICTURES

Lights, Tower StreetLight chainsLights, Broad StreetStarVancouver ArchLit up treeBlack headed gullGullsB7ackbirdBlackb1rd

Bus window 1
This network of cracks were in the upstairs front window of an X29 bus – when it is a double decker I invariably sit upstairs, and the best seat is the front window seat on the side opposite the driver.

LeafRMCSquirrel

Olympics 50p.jpg
I needed this 50p for my bus fare, so I could not keep it until a better opportunity to photograph it arose.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday Sharing Spectular

A mixed bag of a post, featuring autism, politics, mathematics and photography.

INTRODUCTION

As well as the wide variety of ,links that give this post its title it will feature some of my own stuff, notably pictures.

AUTISM

I start with some stuff about Autism, beginning with…

AN ANNOUNCEMENT FROM LAINA

Laina, guiding genius of thesilentwaveblog, has set up a new blog specifically for sharing stuff. Her announcement of this is here, while the new blog can be seen here.

STIM THE LINE

I end this little section with what is a new find for me, stimtheline, with a post titled “Autism is Me“.

GENERAL LINKS

The four links in this section are links that form no natural groupings:

ROBERT LOVES PI ON FULLERENES

This refers to three related pieces that I have seen on robertlovespi. Fullerenes are spheroid carbon allotropes (also known in some circles as buckyballs – both the formal and informal deisgnation pay tribute to the architect Richard Buckminster Fuller who was particularly known for geodesic domes). The three pieces are:

  1. The one that first attracted my attention, titled “The Construction of a Zome Model of a 240-Atom Fullerene Molecule, In Seven Pictures“
  2. Then comes “A 240-Atom Fullerene, and Related Polyhedra“
    C240 fullerene 2
  3. Finally, “The C-320 Fullerene Polyhedron“.

A TEASER

This one comes from brilliant, though it has a little addition of my own as well:

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This is an easy question, even without the multi-choice options given on the site. If the 51 under the dividing line was replaced by 53 it would become fiendishly difficult – can you work out why?

PHOTOGRAPHS

GullPale drakeMoorhenHorse and Cart

Flatfish
This is a twitter find.