The Voyage

I read this article earlier and it and the response to it on twitter has greatly disturbed me. *Content warning for the article- parent literally calling her disabled adult daughter "damaged go...

http://thefamilyvoyage.blogspot.com/2016/11/disability-caring-and-rights.html

We watched the documentary prenatal screening and the reduction in people being born with Down Syndrome (DS) presented by Sally Phillips. Below is a short clip. The best article on this that I...

http://thefamilyvoyage.blogspot.com/2016/10/thoughts-on-world-without-downs-syndrome.html

A couple of years ago I wrote a post explaining why someone like Nigella Lawson, smart, beautiful and successful, might stay with a man who is abusive . Today, based on that list, I will share ...

http://thefamilyvoyage.blogspot.com/2016/02/why-she-left.html

I attended a relationships and sexuality education (RSE) training day in Belfast. It was free to attend and most of those attending today were teachers though parents accounted for a large portio...

http://thefamilyvoyage.blogspot.com/2015/11/problems-with-relationship-and.html

Content warning- disablism. Yesterday the Guardian published a letter from a man to his autistic son entitled, A letter to … my son, who has autism, for whom I’ll always do my best . R...

http://thefamilyvoyage.blogspot.com/2015/05/a-post-to-guardian-dad-for-autistic-kid.html

In 2013 I submitted as assignment on autistic people's writings as part of my Masters in Autism (Adults) for the University of Birmingham. The title of the topic as set by the university and my ...

http://thefamilyvoyage.blogspot.com/2015/04/masters-assignment-on-autistic-writers.html

I've just written about our wedding  on April 9 and described what a beautiful and perfect day it was. I had married before, 19 years ago. It was an unhappy marriage that I tried for many years ...

http://thefamilyvoyage.blogspot.com/2015/04/yes-to-marriage-equality.html

Thursday April 9th was the best and happiest day of my life so far. My three children, our closest friends and beloved family members gathered with me and the man I love, to witness our marriage...

http://thefamilyvoyage.blogspot.com/2015/04/our-wedding.html

In Saturday's Guardian was an short piece called "What I'm really thinking: the grandmother of an autistic child " in which a woman describes an outing with her 7 year old grandson Jimmy. Obvious...

http://thefamilyvoyage.blogspot.com/2015/03/never-say-never.html

I haven't seen one of these for a while- a newspaper article on a parent's view of autism that adheres rigorously to the template I wrote in 2008 . Today offering is titled Autism and ABA: 'My b...

http://thefamilyvoyage.blogspot.com/2015/03/assembly-manual-for-autism-articles.html

Before reading this post read  Paula C. Durbin-Westby's recent blog post on media framing of autism stories and the real harm this is causing to autistic people.  Jerry Seinfeld by David ...

http://thefamilyvoyage.blogspot.com/2014/11/autism-sucks-parents-dominating-jerry.html

Last week two of the most beloved and significant people in my life were victims of a violent crime. Their home was violated. It was a vicious physical and verbal attack. I shake with anger when ...

http://thefamilyvoyage.blogspot.com/2014/05/what-kind-of-people-commit-violent.html

Trigger warning for discussion of child murder. Please call your emergency services or local crisis support number if you need immediate and urgent help. Samaritans UK 08457 909090 Samaritans I...

http://thefamilyvoyage.blogspot.com/2014/05/post-for-badd-stop-excusing-murder.html

I asked Ryan if I could write a blog post about him and as long as he didn't have to write anything himself he was happy enough. So I'm going to try to tell you about my boy and think the best w...

http://thefamilyvoyage.blogspot.com/2014/04/ryan-movie-maker.html

It's World Autism Awareness Day and autism is all over the papers and radio. Some of the stories are great such as this by Fiona O'Leary , an Irish self-advocate explaining why she opposes the Li...

http://thefamilyvoyage.blogspot.com/2014/04/action-not-awareness-for-autism.html

You mean well. I know you hope that by persuading your local council to bathe your town or city's most significant building or monument in blue light, that you are doing a good thing. You have bo...

http://thefamilyvoyage.blogspot.com/2014/03/please-dont-light-up-blue-for-autism.html

I didn't expect that the promoters of uncontrolled and unethical experimentation on autistic children would be allowed to sell their services on RTE TV. Thanks to Suzy (who alerted me to all thi...

http://thefamilyvoyage.blogspot.com/2014/03/autism-biomed-bullshit-booming-in.html

I don't get to say what autism is. I'm not autistic though my thirteen year old son is. In learning how to parent him, I've met other autistic people, read their words and I've listened....

http://thefamilyvoyage.blogspot.com/2013/11/is-this-autism.html

This is my millennium baby. He didn't develop along quite the same path as his older sister and most of his peers and was diagnosed with autism when he was two years old. Ryan aged 2 As a t...

http://thefamilyvoyage.blogspot.com/2013/08/this-is-my-child.html

There's a new quackery promoter in town and he sent me the following email a few days ago. My thoughts are in red: > "Dear Sharon,  > I have just been reading your blog I don't...

http://thefamilyvoyage.blogspot.com/2013/06/double-helix-water-autism-quackery.html

I posted on Facebook about the photos of Nigella Lawson having her neck squeezed by Charles Saatchi and called him a typical abusive creep for making a statement minimising his behaviour by descr...

http://thefamilyvoyage.blogspot.com/2013/06/why-she-stayed.html

Quick post to share a link to the online version of Belfast Telegraph article about Ryan and me .

http://thefamilyvoyage.blogspot.com/2012/05/belfast-telegraph-article-online.html

There was an article about Ryan (aka Duncan) and me in yesterday's Belfast Telegraph. It's based on a piece I sent in to promote the NAS. I managed to get lots of my personal philosophy on autism...

http://thefamilyvoyage.blogspot.com/2012/05/ryan-has-autism-but-hes-adorable-and.html

Today is World Autism Awareness Day and marks the start of Autism Acceptance Month . Awareness is a useless, nebulous concept. Only acceptance, action, understanding and support matter. I w...

http://thefamilyvoyage.blogspot.com/2012/04/awareness-acceptance-action.html

They've never heard of the social mode of disability down at the Vatican. This is a breathtakingly backwards view of autism. Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski, get in touch and I'll set you straight o...

http://thefamilyvoyage.blogspot.com/2012/04/vaticans-autism-message.html