Aspergers Magazine

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well,I made a "practice website" to take subscriptions and submissions...it's almost 3am and I probably shouldnt do that sort of thing when I'm tired.......it's called...."Sneetchs for the Ethical Treatment of Aspies"...I think we could shorten it...SETA???(Oh,that arcronym might be taken lol)

I really need to go get some sleep.More tomorrow.

Ooh, this sounds like such a great idea! One thing I might suggest to help get ideas is to read the magazine "Giant Robot". If this magazine could be set out to have a similar feel to that kind of magazine (it's a magazine about Asian culture, and features the most diverse and interesting articles ever! ^-^ ), then people could be given the freedom to write all sorts of interesting stuff for this!

Thanks...I will check it out.I do want to have some information about AS but the majority of the magazine would be about what aspies are....individuals with passions.Those obsessions are very diverse,so the articles would represent that diversity.I want to reflect us as real people and not just a cluster of "traits".Those traits may represent how intense our interests are but not the interests themselves.

I would like to see an aspergers magazine too. I would probably be a subscriber as well to make sure i got the latest edition delivered, it would be great to have a magazine with stories about aspies living and doing different things with themselves, the latest medical developments in medical research on aspergers/autism. Also events on fundraising for charity for aspies and perhaps an help guide to give out tips to other aspies, they are just some of the ideas i had for it.

you should break up those household tips and add one or 2 each issue providing people don't mind you using their ideas or comments.

I am a published writer, and would be honored to contribute to something like this. Definitely count me in!

OK.....So here is the update.

I woke this morning with a headache,thought it was probably caffeine withdrawl,so I imbibed in that substance while I did my daily researching about the magazine.I wrote a few emails,played around on WP,headache got worse.So I dosed myself with acetaminophen and it didnt help.Next step,took several multivitemns and ate some food.....getting pretty nausias when it finally occured to me.............oh,yeah,this is a migrain,it's been awhile.

So,I called in sick to work,iced my head,got a shoulder rub from BF and went to sleep.

Migrains are a warning system to me that I'm doing something wrong.I decided that the "wrong" was probably spending 20 hours a day on-line and letting my real life fall apart.

Ever hear of "Bushs' brain?"well I have an NT helping with this project.She is my brain(only much,much nicer then Bushs).She is leaving for two weeks and wont be around to consult with,another warning sign.

The publisher is leaving for two weeks to talk to a women who designs adobe houses.He is going to contribute an article about it to the magazine...hope there are lots of pictures.This women sounds amazing.

So......I wont be working on this for two weeks,the beginning of Oct.That doesnt leave you guys off the hook,*krex cracks the whip.....start writing,taking pictures of your art,thinking of article ideas.Still looking for a name,maybe something related to Greek mythology,if all those havent been copyrighted already.I'm going to check into Skype or some other way we can instant message each other.I know,I know,aspies working together????I didnt say it would be easy,just fun.Keep spreading the word to other aspies....writers,artist,hobbiest,obsessives,anyone who might like to contribute.







I will return in 2 weeks,I havent given up,lost interest and I hope you guys dont either.

Feel better, Krex. I have lots of ideas churning !

amen to that.

I know krex is taking a few weeks off, but i've been thinking these thoughts for a bit and wanting to post them. She'll see them when she gets back, in the meantime we may as well keep developing ideas.

Ideas for a name: It is a challenging task, to find a name that somehow encapsulates or sums up the idea of this magazine, after all "Rolling Stone" is already taken and so is "Spin."

Whatever "we" call it, the name should arouse curiosity, should beg as many questions as it answers, and least the first issue should carry an introduction explaining it

some ideas: Turn!Turn!Turn! (ok, this reflects my early obsession with the Byrds, but if the song fits.....well, it's a long shot, just thought id put it in the pile ) Special Interest (it would be fun to adapt this term as a positive in front of the general public, the way we use it on wp)in an even more radical and defiant spirit, we could call the mag "Stim" after something truly upsetting to the conformity enforcers but useful to us. it could be a first order of business in the opening pages to explain what a stim really is and how it can help us tune in and focus. (maybe some nt's would do better if they would let themselves stim more....) oh here's another idea...call it "take it in" or, on the other hand, "let it out" so many possibilities.

and who "we" are needs to be addressed, certainly.

I see this mag as Krex's baby, however she wants to utilize help from any of us, whether she wants to edit it all alone or with a collective or in partnership with her nt friend by herself or with some of us also or whatever....I think it should be clear that it is her mag and her call. I think a magazine needs an auteur like a movie does. it is a large collaborative project that carries the stamp of an individual personality. of course the individual personalities of the writers are there in the individual articles but the mag as a whole should carry the editor's stamp. Think of Rolling Stone and Jann Wenner, just to cite a well-known example.

i suspect, approvingly, that Krex thinks of it as her baby too.

Which brings me to one more idea I feel compelled to offer: there is no need for anyone to bite off more than they can chew!

A magazine can be a very exciting thing, a real contribution to the movement that is already building and rapidly reaching a critical mass that can generate a real change in consciousness. I think it is important to state and bear in mind at this point that no one magazine needs to do it all! We don't need to produce THE asperger's magazine. The goal should be to produce an excellent magazine that has its own personality and can be a model of how it's done but it doesn't need to be all things to all people. It may be the first, or more likely, one of the first of its kind, and there should be many more coming along. We don't want Krex or anyone else involved to reign in their personality in the name of an artificial idea of inclusiveness. Krex already has a very clear idea of what she wants, we can contribute to shaping it further, tossing around possibilities, but it is a mag first of all to share and demonstrate our creativity our range our vast individuality. The mag itself should have all the quirkiness and individuality of its editor or editors and not try to be the one and only perfect embodiment of all aspies everywhere! over time it no doubt will have tremendous range, but hopefully there will be other mags too, some more this and some more that! As Chairman Mao put it in one of his better (and probably less than totally sincere) turns of phrase:let a hundred flowers bloom!

Why not set up the option for people here to vote on a name? After people submit names, create a list from where others can pick what is their favorite...or could that list get too long? Personally, I like to think of Aspergers as being a cultural difference. The movie "Borat" gives plenty of ideas to me because it shows how comical things can get when someone from one culture tries to learn about another culture. Instead of us being from Kazakhstan, we could say we're natives of Aspergazstan?

Whatever names are considered, I think most others here would agree we've got to stay clear of anything that would put such a magazine into a category anything near "health" issues ( , was that a play on words?). If culture is the focus, would that help protect us from more misjudgments?

I can't believe this, I am thinking of starting my own club/promoting gigs and this morning thought about calling it 'Of Special Interest', I guess because I find the expression so patronising and want to turn it around and use it in my own way.

Just in case I don't bang on about it enough, I've done a lot of music journalism. I'll start working on something tomorrow.

I am outlining my book, "Close encounters of the human kind, my struggle with AS". I would love to be a contributor and I feel it is an excellent idea to get organized and help others and ourselves.

mojo123

I think what she is saying is defined from the inside. The DX is something recently invented by outsiders, who both say ugly things, and then claim no harm. The day before we were just people with quirks, then they put us in their book. 2,000,000 in the US fit the profile, and most just get by.

The same traits the outsiders see also produced the Novel, Jane Austin, the detective story, Poe, Conon Doyle, Science Fiction, Jules Verne, Tesla Electric, and lots of rockers in chips and software. Art and music seem to have their share. Most patent holders would fit in around here.

There are a lot of people who fit the profile, have the traits, individuals with a passion for their obsession. They live beyond the short and narrow reach of the DX. I know of no test that would show AS in music or painting, or in engineering, writing code, or many other fields. Their performance would only be called excellent.

This is even more impressive considering our known lacks in human interaction. In it's self it is a differance, not a disability. No doubt it has it's problems, but it has plusses that keep reaching very high places.

In a current dispute on this thread about, help refine the DX, the people who claimed to be Doctors in a large medical study turned out to not be MDs, or licensed to practice anything, but they wrote the DX? Our group asked questions, and were treated rudely. It seems we as a group disagree with them.

They are seeking a few well behaved subjects, so they can claim whatever it is they already want to claim. Facts do get in the way of scientific studies.

On the other side they never mention those who just live with it and do very well. They try to take our obsessions and passions and call them special interests, and our great talents become splinter skills. When they were questioned they blamed everyone for being ungratful and rude, then ran.

I have my doubts about their motives. My doubts start with Dr. Hans Asperger. Anyone know his number, what year he joined the NAZI Party? He did pull out some who were on their way to the gas chamber to study, the Little Professors who he labeled Autistic Psycopathy. Perhaps they could produce Wunderwaffen for the Herrenvolk.

I have never heard that any of his subjects had a later life. Perhaps he was like the woman Doctor who studied Gypsy children, everytime she got a new batch she sent the old ones to the gas chamber so they would not corrupt her study. Aspurger's Clinic was bombed to rubble by the allies, and I have heard nothing of him post war. Argentina?

I would be against a study of twins based on Mengala's work. Replicating the science would take electric fences and a gas chamber.

The current study seems to be people who got a Psychology Degree in 1970. Then they revived Aspurger and made a living pushing psycobabble.

Not only did the people here disagree, they had better science. Read Dr. Ed' words for yourself, he does not like us. He defined us for the book.

When the people here self defined, the top professionals in the field ran.

So I agree with krex that we should not use their words. Yes we have something in common. We should define it in our terms. I always thought I was a bright hard working person with a few quirks. Finding WP I learned I was not the only one. That part was very good. Most of the people I know like me own businesses, make more than most, and would want no part of anything defined by Dr. Ed.

If we are going to get our own brightest and best to show us how to not only cope and survive, but to thrive, we need a place they would feel good about being written up in.

I also agree with having several magazines. We have many subjects. The good is not all of it. Electronic publishing and print on demand make it possible to even target ads to regions. Perhaps we can turn out a high quality quarterly about how great we are, and a monthly about our real lives.

I did not make it overnight, there were problems, and I had to invent answers as I went. I have learned tons just being on WP. This is good stuff. By the subject we could deal with our problems better than any outsider. Even at the worst, I have seen TheMachine1 reduce a collection of comorbids to common sense. I am very anti pill, but he makes a good case for when there is no other way. When you are in those woods you need a good guide.

Teenagers are of course hopeless, so a good section on games and animation. Some art lessons would help, anything to keep them busy till they turn twenty, but not that, or that!

We old folks have other problems, retire? I was just getting good at it, delayed development means I retire at eighty. I have little choice, I am looking for low overhead, low labor, and high profit. Eating dogfood was not in my plan. I could not afford to retire in most cities. We need some place where it is OK to be old and us.

We have all the problems of being people and then some. Being children, teens, young adults, parents, workers, and getting old. So we have a lot of ground to cover. It will take many points of view. I agree with krex, working out from the Dx is a dead end. We are not all the same. Fitting in was never our strong suit.

It will get a lot of us in print. That will inspire others. We are those creative people who find new solutions to problems. The postage is going to cost more than the paper, so start those articles. Even ideas for articles will give krex something to work with. What subjects would you want?

I want a comics page.

Hey mojo123...how about "Close encounters of the neurotypical mind, my struggle with AS?" (I'm joking and don't mean to sound like I'm mocking your title).

As they say (somewhat similarly), "If we don't help ourselves, then someone else will do it for us." We already see the outcome from "outsiders" helping us.

I agree totally with everything you're saying Inventor! The things which really grabbed my attention are what I included when quoting you.

You said your group was treated rudely when you asked questions revealing disagreements. Could it be that those who were rude are also arrogant? Prestigious educational degrees tend to make most NTs quite proud of themselves, especially in what they think they are experts in. I think it is a laughable joke for a person to claim expert professional knowledge about something which he or she has not spent one day of his or her life living. It would be like a giraffe telling a raven how he is supposed to fly!

I have noticed that the "professionals" prefer focusing their attention on "helping" children; while the older an aspie is, the more that aspie is ignored. Could it be because with age usually comes wisdom? Aspie children can be the ultimate gullible/naive group that exists (unless they have an aspie parent who wisely guides them to think for themselves).

You're so right about what you said in regards to teenagers . They haven't lived long enough to see what's up the road waiting for them. Too bad some Aspie hasn't created a video game yet to teach them about such politics in life.

Yes, we old aspie folks sure have our set of problems to face! I think the older we get, the more we see how important it is for us to be able to be who we are.

I don't have a lot of experience with the publishing industry, but I do know that any large group is controlled by money. It will take our united effort to make these changes because obviously the majority of the world (being NTs) is not going to receive our efforts in a positive light. It's too threatening to them.

Such magazines as described here that we hope for will easily be popular among our own kind, but it will be a challenge to convince a publisher that something this controversial carrying our point of view is going to bring them the kind of money they want.

Can you imagine the first comic in a pro-AS magazine depicting a giraffe looking down to a raven on the ground (representing a "licensed professional" who writes the definitions for the DX criteria) instructing the raven (representing aspies) how to come up to the same eye level as the giraffe? Then the raven laughs and flies away, over the giraffe's head! The caption under the cartoon could read, "What's the cleverest animal in Africa? The giraffe. It's got a high level of intelligence." I know. That probably sounds rude and disrespectful, but hey...they started it by labeling us being "out of order." Isn't that what Aspergers Syndrome Disorder implies?