Asbergers and Pseudoscience

My son is being tested today for having asbergers syndrome, often called “high-functioning autism” or other names. Could just be social awkwardness. Makes me think a lot of my own childhood. I was known for intellectual precociousness, reading almost before I could talk and certainly being well ahead of my age group peers in educational matters until I hit junior high. I was also known for being the kid that no one liked, except for a very small population. Didn’t help that I knew I was a budding genius, and had no problem letting anyone else know that I was better.

My son is in much the same predicament. He doesn’t have the same love of the written word that I did, but that may be because there are so many more intense sensory experiences through cable TV, home video and the Net that wasn’t available back in the Dark Ages of my youth. I had to settle for what I could see in my own mind’s eye while reading.

At any rate, it brings to mind the ongoing, though probably futile, discussions about the various types of learning disabilities that have sprung into the diagnostic lists of the mental health profession over the last few years, and the (what appears to be increasing) attempts to deal with childhood behavior issues by medication. Someone, I think on Jerry Pournelle’s site the other day, suggested that the likely solution for all the boys diagnosed with ADHD would be a much healthier does of recess and physical education. There is some logic to the suggestion. After all, we didn’t have quite the same issues when I was in elementary school, but we had much more significant recess time, IMHO, up to 3 times during the course of the school day when I was in first grade.

The entire thing has me wondering though: since medical professionals don’t seem to be able to point to a specific physical indicator in the brain that denotes someone with ADHD or Asbergers, is it real? Or, have we come onto these explanations – and their treatment options – in an attempt using the best science at our disposal to explain and handle someone who is different. Just as, for instance, we used to explain and handle those who were different by calling them “possessed.”

Proud Daddy Report

It was a very good trip down to below-mentioned All Virginia Elementary Chorus. Tessa and 119 of her fellow 5th grade musicians did a wonderful job. I couldn’t be prouder.

I’m not usually one for tears, but my eyes were welling through the entire concert.

Side note….Now that I’m converting my Acer Aspire One to Ubuntu linux, anyone have an idea how to get it (and Firefox) to hit the intercept when you try to login to free wifi at someplace like Panera? I could get the network recognized, but the browser didn’t want to play games with the new proxy.

One other thing….Any WordPress junkies out there reading this? Not counting on it, of course, but….how come I keep getting that oddball spacing in the middle of my posts?

Minor work rant before the good stuff

I don’t like bringing up work here. Trying to keep professional and home life (and other avocations) separate. But… I’m really tired of being the one who has to stand athwart progress and shout “Stop!”

As I think I mentioned, I’m the web communications boss for the agency that pays my salary. Main content guru for the website. Which, also means I have an interest in social media/Web 2.0-type stuff. Kinda fits, doesn’t it?

Well, as shouldn’t be too surprising, lots of folks in my agency want to jump right into blogging, wikis, Twitter and so forth. The Department (the level above my agency) wants us – with justification – to go slow. Legal, privacy, security issues. Can’t be the agency that exposed individuals’ private information to the public because we want to play in the social media sandbox.

What’s really frustrating is that the calls for moving into this field are just that: calls to move in. They don’t really have a firm grasp of how they want to use a blog, just that they want one. I agree with this lady that Twitter isn’t a strategy, blogging isn’t a strategy. These things are tools for communicators, not substitutes. I don’t think we’ll ever get to the point where we can say anything we want on behalf of our employers. There has to be some guidance, and yes, some CYA.

Okay, rant over. Its Friday evening; I’m on the way home writing this. Headed down to SW Virginia tonight for my daughter’s All-Virginia Elementary Chorus concert tomorrow. I don’t want to think too hard. I just want to be a proud Daddy.

Political Capital?

Everyone on the left-hand side of the political blogosphere is crowing these days. They have a lot to crow about too: the election of President Obama, his inauguration, the strong control of both houses of Congress, the ramrodding passage of the stimulus bill through to the President’s signature.

They don’t have quite as much to be shouting about as they claim though. They all believe that they have a basic realignment of the American electorate with their victory last September. They continue to shout based on President Obama’s job approval ratings in the polls. That, along with the President’s insistence that “he won”, seem (to them) to be a strong reason as to why anyone opposed to them should have the common courtesy to shut up, if not simply discorporate out of shame.

It really isn’t that simple though. Check the chart. It shows President George W. Bush’s approval ratings through his terms in office. At roughly the same time in his tenure, W., too, had a high approval rating. Look where it got him!

Job approval ratings this far from an election really don’t have much to do with the chances in the next election – unless the situation doesn’t change at all. The one thing we can be sure of in all of this – it will change.

On the Road Again

Blogging from Columbia, South Carolina (okay, West Columbia, like it really matters), from a Chick-Fil-A with free Wi-Fi.  Love me that free WiFi. Malia and the bride are checking out South Carolina University. She was accepted there and its still high on her list of probables.  Personally, I’m hoping not, its out-of-state tuition, after all.

But, I’ve liked what I’ve seen of the campus and the town. Much friendlier here than even at home. The desk clerk at our hotel was more than happy to provide directions to us, The manager here at the Chick-Fil-A has been by twice to refill my soda while the two younger kids play in the playground. Everyone has been more than willing to be patient and polite to the foreigners from Virginia.

The campus is on the old side, which is not a bad thing in my opinion. Lots of history here. I grew up with the campuses of SW Texas State (now called just Texas State) and the University of Texas. Both have some history, but Texas grew from its original 40 acre sized campus to be a monstrosity. Don’t think any of the schools Malia’s considering are that big.

Now just have to map out the drive home tonight for maximum coffee effect.

Repairman Jack

Just read the latest (okay, not the latest, just the latest paperback) Repairman Jack novel by F. Paul Wilson. Bloodlines is a great read. If you like supernatural-type mystery thrillers, you’ll love this as well as the series.

I first started reading F. Paul Wilson back in high school, I think. His SF novel Healer and his future history of the Lanague Federation made me seriously consider libertarian philosophy. One that I haven’t strayed far from since.

Wilson’s Lanague Federation was a galactic government that really didn’t govern. A mutual defense league under which the only hard and fast rule was: don’t keep the people who have the misfortune to be born on your planet there. You don’t have to let anyone else in, but you can’t prevent people from voting with their feet.

His Repairman Jack novels are cut from the same cloth, if made into a completely different suit. Definitely not SF, but mystery/thrillers with a definite supernatural flavor. Heck, almost a religious flavor in some ways. Real good versus evil, but with a libertarian twist.

Jack is a character who lives off the official radar in New York City. No real ID, no drivers license, no car insurance. No social security number, so no credit cards – at least none that can be traced to Jack. He uses a prepaid cell phone that can’t be tracked to him, drives a car that carries real, but duplicate plates. How does he do this? Cash. Works for just cash.

What does he work at, you ask? “Fix-its” When someone needs help, not necessarily legal help, and help that a private detective can’t usually provide, Jack’s your man. You pick up the tab, he’ll find a way to take care of your problem, usually in a long-term, if not permanent fashion.

The RJ series is supposed to, over volumes, track the end of civilization as we know it. With Bloodlines, Wilson is in the year before whatever is supposed to happen. Don’t know exactly what’s going to yet, but I can’t wait to find out.

Swim Parents

Taking my daughter to a swim meet the other day, I noticed parents who were videotaping their kids swimming. Normally, I wouldn’t think too much of it until I realized they were taping the warm ups.

I mean, I can see taping a race that your kid was swimming. One, it can provide visual examples of good and bad technique. Two, it gives other relatives (like grandparents) the chance to cheer the kids’ good performance as well.

But? Warm ups? I guess its similar to the parents who will videotape every school choir concert, every dance recital, every soccer game. When did that really become necessary? How much memory is….too much?

Not all change is for the worse

My son and I attended a Tridentine Mass today. The Mass, said almost entirely in Latin (the Epistle from St. Paul, the Gospel were both repeated in English and the homily was given in English), wasn’t as stirring as some adherents to the old Mass might claim.

Perhaps its because I didn’t grow up Catholic (I converted less than a year ago), but it didn’t make me feel anything more – and perhaps quite a bit less – than the Vatican II approved rite makes me feel. Having to follow along with an English-Latin dictionary didn’t foster any closer relationship with God. Nor did having half the Mass said by the priest with his back to me make me feel that he was more of an intermediary with the Lord.

I guess that for some people, the thought of having to read, or just listen, to Scripture frightens them. For me, I like hearing the Readings. I like being able to match my own interpretation against the priest’s. I like hearing the prayers. More importantly, I like saying the prayers. I like reciting the Lord’s Prayer with my family. Perhaps, that’s why I don’t like the Tridentine – it makes one too alone.

Watching with Dread and Fascination

I’m not really watching the Vice Presidential debate. I figure I’ll listen to it tomorrow on XM Radio’s POTUS08 channel, where they’ll play it more than once through the day.

I have to admit though, I want to watch it. I’m sure most people with even the slightest interest in the political scene want to watch it. Of course, none of us want to watch it because we think its going to change our minds – even those of us who are mainly leaning undecided/none-of-the-above.

More importantly, we’re watching for the same reason, allegedly, that many people watch auto racing: on the off-chance that there will be a big wreck.

Another very sad commentary on our political culture in this day and age, that we want to watch this kind of spectacle in order that we might watch the zinger, the sharp barb, or the deer-in-headlights moment.

Back to School Night

Went to the oldest daughter’s Back to School night. It’s her senior year in high school, and its slightly less important than her junior year. It went just fine, in case you were wondering. Her teachers all seem to care about the kids and their respective subjects. She’ll be heavily challenged in some of her classes and less so in others (Student Council leadership seminar, for instance), but that’s not what I took keyboard in hand to tell you about.

Did you know….and I have it on good authority, the High School principal….that the difference in lifetime earnings between high school dropouts and high school graduates is $250,000?  That’s right! A drop out can expect to earn a quarter-million bucks less than the high school graduate over the course of a lifetime.

I realize, this runs the serious risk of putting me at odds with parents from less affluent areas, but that ain’t much. Let’s face it, the difference in lifetime earning power between a high school grad and a Bachelor’s degree recipient has to be much, much larger.

What it really says though, is that just having a high school diploma doesn’t really prepare you to earn much in today’s world. I’m told it used to, but sure don’t anymore. I’m not so sure that’s necessarily a good thing to say about modern society.