Michael Forbes Wilcox

Author's details

Name: Michael Forbes Wilcox
Date registered: October 8, 2010

Latest posts

My Testimony to the Massachusetts General Court’s Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities on May 21, 2013 — May 22, 2013
DSM-5 Published to a Chorus of Criticism — May 20, 2013
It’s Time to Stop Pouring Research Money Down the Genetic Sinkhole — April 29, 2013
Okay, I’m Superman — April 17, 2013
Report of the Massachusetts Special Commission Relative to Autism — March 28, 2013

Author's posts listings

May 22

My Testimony to the Massachusetts General Court’s Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities on May 21, 2013

Categories:

Activism, Autism, Disabilities

by Michael Forbes Wilcox

Testimony of Michael F. Wilcox 217 East Road Alford Massachusetts 01266 mfw {at} mfw(.)us 21 May 2013 to the Committee on Children, Families and Disabilities House Bill 78 An Act to permit the Department of Developmental Services to provide services to adults with developmental disabilities My sincere thanks to the Committee for holding a hearing on …

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May 20

DSM-5 Published to a Chorus of Criticism

Categories:

Autism, Neuroscience

by Michael Forbes Wilcox

The long-anticipated revision to the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) has been published. Although the exact wording of many sections of the book had not been widely known pre-publication, the essential features of its changes have been known for some time now. And the drumbeat of criticism has been constant. …

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Apr 29

It’s Time to Stop Pouring Research Money Down the Genetic Sinkhole

Categories:

Autism, Neuroscience

by Michael Forbes Wilcox

The Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) and others have protested the disproportionate amount of money that is spent on “basic” research (i.e. trying to understand the underlying neurobiology of autism) versus how much is spent on “pragmatic” research (learning how to make effective services available to improve the quality of life for autistic people). In …

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Apr 17

Okay, I’m Superman

Categories:

Autism, Neuroscience, Personal

by Michael Forbes Wilcox

It pains me to write these comments, critical of one of my favorite neuroscience writers, but it must be done. V.S. Ramachandran has just published an online article that has taken an enormous amount of flak on Twitter, some of that from me. Also, the very first comment to the article cites a study that …

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Mar 28

Report of the Massachusetts Special Commission Relative to Autism

Categories:

Autism

by Michael Forbes Wilcox

Yesterday, a formal ceremony in the Massachusetts State House made public a report by the Massachusetts Special Commission Relative to Autism, more commonly known as “The Autism Commission.” The picture here was taken after the event by Dania Jekel, Executive Director of AANE, showing Dave Harmon and me outside the State House. Dave and …

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Mar 26

Successful Launch of “Successful Transitions”

Categories:

Activism, Autism, Disabilities

by Michael Forbes Wilcox

Last night, I attended the public unveiling of a project I’ve been following with great interest for quite some time now. My friends Cheryl and Alex Chan told the story of their years-long journey in finding a path to adulthood for their now-20-year-old Son, Nick. This testament to their love, perseverance, and creativity was an …

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Mar 25

When Will I Learn (to take myself seriously)?

Categories:

Autism, Personal

by Michael Forbes Wilcox

After all these years of observing how oddly (by other people’s standards) my body reacts to things, and even after several years of understanding that a lot of that has to do with being autistic, I still hesitate to assert myself. Case in point: I went in to my local clinic the other day to get a …

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Mar 24

Gaze Aversion: An Autistic Adaptation

Categories:

Uncategorized

by Michael Forbes Wilcox

Here is a wonderful new post that states what for me has long been glaringly obvious. Encouraging Eye Contact May Disturb Autistic Kids’ Thinking Terrific! A concise statement of what I have been thinking for quite some time now. Mother Nature doesn’t make mistakes. There is a reason for our behaviors. True, we can change them …

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Mar 22

Empathy as a Form of Communication

Categories:

Autism, Neuroscience, Personal

by Michael Forbes Wilcox

Receptive and Expressive Language All communication has two aspects: receptive language and expressive language. Receptive language is what we hear and understand. Expressive language is what we say to others. I believe that empathy is also a form of communication; one that is as essential to each of us as is spoken, written, or signed …

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Mar 22

We’re Taking Over the World! Autism Now 2%, up from 1.2%

Categories:

Autism, Disabilities, Neuroscience

by Michael Forbes Wilcox

Good news! Those of us who are autistic are finally starting to get more recognition as to the important part of the population that we are. This follows closely on recent revelations in the Lancet that there is a close relationship between autism, bipolar, major depression, and schizophrenia. Just as autism is now understood to …

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Michael Forbes Wilcox

Personal observations of an activist Aspergerian