Karin Bashtannyk <karin.bashtan...@gmail.com>

Steve, in the words of the Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy, 'Don't Panic'.
I am not an Aspie but the mother of one. I work in the disability field and
support & advocate for many people with various disabilities. So what you
have is my combined personal and professional signature. I agree that it may
be seen as inappropriate for personal use, and will get onto it soon.

On a personal level, I certainly don't see my son or other Aspies as
disabled. He laughs at and I lament my neurotypical lack of memory and lack
of mathematical prowess. Adam tells me it's fine having Aspergers most of
the time but sometimes it cheeses him off. I find it endlessly frustrating
that most teachers don't know how to teach him effectively as he finds it so
easy when people use the right strategies. He's one of the most confident
and able 15 year olds I know!

In an ideal world we would not need to have Aspergers or Autism recognised
as a disability in order to recieve the necessary support for Aspies to make
it in a neurotypical world. Unfortunately this is not an ideal world and nor
are people generally well-informed or accepting.

I hope you get the picture of where i am at. I hope we can meet with you
soon, perhaps at one of the bbqs or lunches when we can get ourselves
organised.

All the best

Karin

2009/1/3 steve...@gmail.com <steve...@gmail.com>

--
Karin Bashtannyk
Disability Support & Advocacy
2a Helene Street
Ardeer
Vic 3022
03 9449 5599
karin.bashtan...@gmail.com