Except she does not want to be called Athai
She's too young she says.
Not the generation of my Dad!!
Diwali w Veena
Celebrating Diwali with my Veena Athai and Tilak Atimber
Except she does not want to be called Athai
She's too young she says.
Not the generation of my Dad!!
Except she does not want to be called Athai
She's too young she says.
Not the generation of my Dad!!
Limits to No Limits
I spent almost two months working on this article with documentation help from the Disabled Student Advocates on Campus and interviewing users of the program and faculty.
No Limits was the name of individualized personal training offered to disabled students by the Rec Center at UC Berkeley.
To summarize:
Old No Limits Program = Free + Unlimited number of sessions of personal training
Replacement Program being offered = Subsidized + limit of 16 sessions per academic year.
The history and politics of it all.
Shutdown of Recreational Sports Facility’s No Limits program leaves disabled students with ‘new limits’
The Refrigerator Mom
The "refrigerator mom" theory in autism was coined by child psychiatrist Leo Kanner in the 1940s and was further popularized by psychologist Bruno Bettelheim in the 1950s and 1960s. Kanner originally suggested that autism was related to a lack of warmth and affection from the mother, describing the mothers of autistic children as emotionally distant or "refrigerator-like." Bettelheim took this idea further, suggesting that cold, detached parenting—especially from the mother—was a primary cause of autism, and he compared autism to a form of emotional trauma inflicted on children by these supposedly unloving parents.
The Logic Behind the Theory
The theory was based on early psychological models, which attributed many childhood developmental disorders to environmental influences, particularly parenting styles. Kanner and Bettelheim observed that autistic children often came from seemingly well-educated, middle- or upper-class families, leading them to believe that these children were being neglected emotionally in favor of intellectual or professional pursuits by their parents. Bettelheim's theory drew from psychoanalytic traditions, where he believed that this emotional withdrawal by the mother stunted the child's emotional and social development.
The Negatives of the Theory
- Blame and Stigma: The refrigerator mom theory placed a tremendous burden on mothers, blaming them for their child's autism. It led to guilt, shame, and stigma for families who were already struggling to understand the condition and find appropriate care for their children.
- Harmful Emotional Consequences: This theory alienated parents from professionals and support systems, as many mothers were unjustly blamed and ostracized. It also delayed effective interventions, as the focus was on "fixing" the parent-child relationship rather than addressing the neurological nature of autism.
- Scientific Inaccuracy: The theory has been debunked, with current research showing that autism is primarily a neurodevelopmental condition with genetic and biological underpinnings, rather than caused by emotional deprivation or parental behavior.
- Delayed Acceptance of Autism: The theory contributed to a misguided understanding of autism for decades, delaying the development of more effective interventions and delaying the broader recognition of autism as a complex condition, rather than one rooted in blame.
Any Positives?
"Positives," if we can call it that, is that the refrigerator mom theory spurred early interest in autism research and public attention to the condition. Although the theory itself was deeply flawed, it led to more focus on autism as a subject of study and perhaps prompted others to challenge it in favor of more compassionate, supportive, and scientific approaches in autism care.
PlainSpeak. In Plain Language for the Lay Audience
The "refrigerator mom" theory was an old idea from the 1940s and 1950s that wrongly blamed cold, distant parenting—especially from mothers—for causing autism. It was suggested by Leo Kanner and popularized by Bruno Bettelheim, who believed that mothers who didn’t show enough warmth and affection were the reason children developed autism.
This theory was harmful because it unfairly blamed parents, especially mothers, and caused emotional pain, stigma, and delays in understanding autism properly. We now know autism is a neurodevelopmental condition with biological and genetic causes, not something caused by parenting.
The only small positive was that the theory brought early attention to autism, but it also took decades to correct this damaging misunderstanding.
Deej
I attended the screening of documentary Deej at UCSF and got to meet DJ Savarese too.
It is quite the journey. The second time I'm seeing the movie. It was screened at Berkeley the first semester I was there. I had reached late so it was nice to see the beginning this time.
It is quite the journey. The second time I'm seeing the movie. It was screened at Berkeley the first semester I was there. I had reached late so it was nice to see the beginning this time.
Autism and Narrative Invention
https://www.dailycal.org/2019/10/11/professor-julia-miele-rodas-discusses-autism-narrative-invention-in-robinson-crusoe-at-wheeler-hall/
A very interesting talk by Julia Rodas on Oct 4 in Wheeler Hall.
Unbox the Box
With award-winning Vox Journalist, Liz Plank during the discussion held at i-house on the intersection of Disability and Masculinity based on her first book "For the Love of Men"
Both the chat and a review of her book covered by me in the Daily Cal Weekender.
PG&E Games
PG&E Games
Power going off. Power going off
Definitely at midnight
No, its 8am
At noon, maybe 1pm.
A game of anticipation... prep for a blackout, high winds and wildfire.
College shut down.
Not gonna happen. No winds to speak of
Just the boy crying wolf.
... 8pm campus blackout
College shut for another day.
36 hours to turn it back on!!
College closed for a 3rd day.
What is this game?
Enjoying Tacos on Thursday with my Calbear buddy David
Unexpected holiday due to the power outages at UC Berkeley. Ridiculous that Cal was forced to shut down for 3 days due to PG&E's ambiguity about its actions and inefficiencies.
Disability Justice Movement
The disability justice movement is a social and political movement led by disabled individuals, aimed at challenging ableism and promoting the rights and inclusion of disabled people in society.
These are some of the ideas around disability justice that I admire, laid out by Sins Invalid, a disability justice organization.
- Leadership of the most impacted: emphasizes the importance of centering and prioritizing the voices and experiences of disabled individuals who are most marginalized and impacted by ableism both inside and outside the disability community. The leadership of these individuals is critical for creating effective and inclusive solutions to issues affecting the disability community.
- Interdependence: This principle emphasizes the importance of recognizing and valuing interdependence, where disabled individuals and their allies work together to meet their collective needs. This challenges the idea of independence as the ideal and recognizes the importance of community support and mutual aid.
- Recognizing wholeness and worth: embracing the diversity and complexity of disabled experiences and that their lives have "worth" whether or not they are able to contribute to the economy.
- Sustainability and collective care: valuing rest, self-care, and community support, and recognizing that disability justice work is ongoing and requires long-term planning and sustainability.
- Cross-Disability and Cross-movement solidarity: recognizes the solidarity and support across all types of disability. Disability justice work must be inclusive and accessible to all. It also emphasizes that disability justice work must be in solidarity with other movements and actively work towards building cross-movement relationships and collaborations.
- Collective access: recognizes the importance of access as a collective responsibility, rather than an individual burden. This means creating accessible spaces, practices, and policies that benefit everyone, and not just disabled individuals.
- Recognizing the legacy of systemic injustice: This principle recognizes the long history of systemic injustice and oppression faced by disabled individuals, and the need to acknowledge and address this legacy in disability justice work. This includes recognizing and addressing the role of eugenics, institutionalization, and other forms of ableist violence and oppression in shaping the experiences of disabled individuals today
- Intersectionality. recognizes and addresses the ways in which ableism intersects with other forms of oppression, such as racism, sexism, homophobia, and colonialism. Disability justice work must be intersectional and actively work to dismantle all forms of oppression.
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