John Elder Robison's Blog, page 21

Cubby's mom almost died last night. I tweeted my concern from the hospital, so I'll tell you the rest of the story here . . .

It's amazing how these things can turn so bad, so quick. Cubby's mom (we have been divorced many years and she lives alone) felt some abdominal pain Sunday morning when she woke up. By noon the pain was bad enough for her to call the doctor.

She drove to the Repair Center at the University of Massachusetts. The doctors there were not really sure what to do with ...

This is a letter I received last night from Michael John Carley, founder of the GRASP advocacy group. . .
SAVE THE DATE!!!

Tuesday, June 8
The William Bennett Gallery
65 Greene Street
New York, NY
6:00 - 8:30 p.m.

GRASP's Annual Fundraising Benefit Honoring . . .

The 2010 "FAB" (Friend and Benefactor) Award
Linda Walder Fiddle, The Daniel J. Fiddle Foundation.

The 2010 "DSM" (Distinguished Spectrumite Medal)
John Elder Robison, Author.

The 2010 "DNA" (Divine Neurotypical Award)
Lois Rosenwald, The Connec...

It's been a week since I announced that I was joining the review boards at Autism Speaks. Many of you supported me, but a few of you doubted my ability to exert much influence as the lone Aspergian on the board.

In particular, people have suggested that one person's vote can't make any difference to thirty scientists who share a review board with one misfit (me.) The implication is, the thirty scientists vote as they wish, and my lone vote is ignored. That perception is totally wrong...

This morning, I found myself back at the local Superior Court, the site of last year's battle with corrupt and venal prosecutors who sought to advance their own careers at the expense of my innocent son. Readers of my blog know that justice did prevail, but at a high cost.

Anytime you're forced to spend nearly a hundred grand to defend your kid against frivolous criminal charges, you have to ask yourself . . . how many other innocent people rot in jail because they could not afford a f...

Readers of my blog know that I've been concerned about the direction of autism research for a long time. I am also troubled by the way we allocate dollars in general in the autism world. I'm a fairly action oriented guy, and I don't like to sit around and worry. I want to do something; I want to take action. If this were a political issue, I'd have to run for office. Even the thought of that makes me cringe. Luckily, I now have the opportunity to make a difference without taking such an...

Have you heard about David Kirby's new book, Animal Factory ?



Animal Factory exposes the shocking and ugly ways large scale animal processors are impacting our environment. Before reading this eye opening book, I had no idea of the pollution coming out of today's large scale pork farms, dairies, and cattle operations. I always thought of farming as a fairly benign activity. Cows poop in the fields, and farmers plow the manure in for fertilizer. Seems harmless and natural, right? It is, in a...

Last night I attended Brain Health / Body Wealth at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Alvaro Pascual Leone told a rapt audience about new discoveries in brain plasticity and what it may mean to us, especially as we age. Then Dr. Dan Press talked about practical neurology, and what's on the immediate horizon for conditions like Alzheimer's.

After they spoke Paul Levy came to the podium. He's the head of the Beth Israel hospital, and he spoke of the need for more funding to support the cutting edge r...

If you have followed my work with the TMS lab at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center you may find this evening fascinating . . .

Brain Health—Body Wealth

SPONSORED BY THE BOARD OF OVERSEERS

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

The Joseph B. Martin Conference Center

at Harvard Medical School

77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA

Complimentary Parking

Business Attire

Additional Guests Welcome

Kindly reply by February 1, 2010 to Kirsten Doyle at (617) 667-7331 or email...

Last summer, my friends Kyra Anderson and Vicki Forman asked me to write a foreword for the anthology of autism stories they's been working on for the past few years. I'm proud to tell you that they completed the project, and the book goes on sale next week. You can order a copy here:

Order Gravity on Amazon


And now I'll share the foreword, to give you an idea what's coming in the book. I hope you enjoy it.


Have you ever wondered what it would be like to raise a kid with special needs? I...

Last night I attended a very moving talk by Immaculée Ilibagiza, author of No One Left To Tell, a memoir of the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

I didn't know what to expect. Would this be a book signing kind of event? A talk? A Q&A? When I arrived I found a sold out crowd filling the auditorium at Cathedral High School here in Springfield. And the event itself was unique – Last night, I found the most real and convincing justification for forgiveness and the foundations of Catholic faith that I've...