Apr 20
OLLI Spring 2019 Course TH104: A Walk Through Berkshire History Michael Forbes Wilcox is a Berkshire native, having been born in the House of Mercy in Pittsfield. His parents lived in Stockbridge, where he spent the first 17 years of his life. He currently resides in Alford, where he is the Town Moderator. Wilcox is …
Jan 29
I attended a lecture at Simon’s Rock College at which the presenter mentioned a 2013 post by former NIMH Director Thomas Insel, entitled The Four Kingdoms of Autism. I was not familiar with this description, and it seemed to me to be a useful way to think about how autism is viewed. Dr. Insel offers four different …
Nov 26
This past winter, I taught a course on autism for OLLI, our local (Berkshire) adult education outfit. Along the way, I discussed the theme of friendships. One of the overriding messages I was attempting to convey in the 6-lecture course was that autism is not a deficiency, but a difference. To illustrate this, I shared …
Nov 25
Here’s a great picture of me with my Georging friend Ed, photobombed by his daughter Eve. Actually, as you can probably tell, this was a selfie by Eve, with Ed and me in the background. Very clever! The setting here is a classroom at CIP in Lee, very generously made available to us twice a …
May 01
Autism Connections was honored to have Steve Silberman keynote our 28th Annual Autism Conference on April 27. Among many other services, Autism Connections houses the Department of Developmental Services (DDS) Autism Resource Center for the western four counties of Massachusetts. I was privileged to introduce Steve to the Conference. I prepared remarks for the 15 …
Apr 29
I’ve not been a regular blogger lately. That’s about to change (I hope). I have been doing lots of writing over the past few months, but haven’t shared it here. I’ve given lectures and talks for which I’ve prepared notes, and I have more in the works. Most of what I’ve just described relates to …
Feb 12
A recent article in the Washington Post has garnered some much-needed attention to a long-standing problem for the autistic community. A mother tells the story of a family outing in a park, which she thought had been going very well. It had been a good day at the park. A miracle day, in fact, for …
Dec 11
Advance publicity for my OLLI course on autism is in full swing. Last week (on December 6), I attended an Open House in Pittsfield and gave a short pitch, and then (on December 7) I appeared on local public access TV in a half-hour interview, available here. The interview was a lot of fun, giving …
Dec 01
Click Here for an Outline of My Presentation I will be conducting a workshop, as part of the December 2 AANE Annual Conference at Bentley University. The outline is really just a teaser. I cannot possibly do justice to all of the topics listed, in the time allotted. I hope to generate discussion and to …
Dec 01
The Language and Mythology of Autism The words we use reveal our values, and the language we use can shape our beliefs. To be autistic is to be neurodivergent, and to be neurodivergent is to enjoy a different way of life. Identity Pathology Euphemisms Empathy Functioning Special Interests Michael Forbes Wilcox, MA, CFA …