(Non)Sense and Sensibility

This week, in a move that can only be described as "Out of this world", the lawyer for Lisa Nowak (the former astronaut who stalked and assaulted the girlfriend of a fellow astronaut) is laying the grounds for an insanity defense because she:

...suffered from major depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, insomnia and "brief psychotic disorder with marked stressors," defense attorney Donald Lykkebak wrote. ...

In the court document, Lykkebak also indicates that Nowak may suffer from Asperger's Disorder. ...

Of course this is not the first time that some form of autism has been linked with criminal behavior. The Virginia shootings a year ago were a classic example. One wonders when "autistic bashing" will fall out of favor, but I guess we should expect it when there is a vocal minority in families affected by autism that uses derogatory language when referring to autistics.


Meanwhile, much more down to earth (in oh so many ways) was a story recounting how a brother of an autistic person and some of his friends just finished roller blading from Florida to Maine in the U.S. (2000 miles/3200 km) to raise funds and awareness about autism. Their group they formed is called "Rolling for Autism".

Dan Tatar (whose brother Ben is autistic) and four friends from Union College in Schenectady, N.Y. made some comments at the finish line of their journey:

..."It's not a disease; it's not an illness. It's something that a lot of people have. They're interesting people; they're great people. The support network of their families and friends is incredible. That's why these people are so successful," he said, as his brother Ben hollered "Yeah!" to the crowd. ...

One of the above stories will be picked up by major news outlets, and the other, while it had significant support from a number of individuals and groups, is likely destined to be seen by a much smaller audience. I encourage all to check out the Rolling for Autism website, and drop them (or your favorite pro-autism group) a donation. Positive voices need to be heard and supported.

L'Arche-An Interesting concept in community

So we're on vacation (holiday) this week, and today found us driving from Limon, Colorado to Durango, Colorado. Much of the trip is a rising and falling two lane highway thru the high plains of rural Colorado. As the road rose and fell, it became difficult to receive any radio stations for more than 5-7 miles. I cycled the car radio from Jimmy Buffet to Spanish folk songs to preachers to (I kid you not) Spanish rap music (I was heretofore unaware of the genre).

Finally we reached a place where there was only one public radio station that had any reception. Fortunately, we were able to receive this station for about an hour. The show "Speaking of Faith" was on, which is often fairly interesting, as it has in depth discussions of a wide variety of topics of both general and religious interest. Today the show was a look at a L'Arche community in Clinton, Iowa.

I had never heard of L'Arche before today. After hearing of it today, I must admit it sounds intriguing. I have an instant and intense revulsion to anything that smacks of institutionalizing individuals. And even "group homes" have a somewhat patronizing feel to me. But in listening to the discussion today, I have to admit that at least the people interviewed at L'Arche are talking the talk, and may be walking the walk as well.

The L'Arche movement was started by philosopher Jean Vanier in 1964, when Vanier invited two men with mental handicaps to live with him in a home in Trosly-Breuil, France. From this humble beginning, the movement has spread to include 120 communities worldwide, with 16 being located in the US.

The members of each community that have mental handicaps are referred to as "core members", while those that live with them are referred to simply as "assistants". Some communities are based in Catholicism (as the original community was), some are Christian of mixed denomination, and others are multi-religious. The communities are based on four principles:

The recognition of the unique value of persons with a developmental disability to reveal that human suffering and joy can lead to growth, healing and unity. When their gift is received, individual, social and ecclesial change occurs;

Life sharing where persons with a mental disability and those who assist them live, work and pray together, creating a home;

Relationships of mutuality in which people give and receive love;

Christian community that welcomes people from all faiths, based on the Gospel and dependent upon the Spirit of God where faithful relationships, forgiveness and celebration reveal God's personal presence and love.

The website and the above principles don't do justice to what I listened to. The people that were interviewed that were assistants at the Iowa L'Arche community provided many examples of how the people that they lived and worked with became their friends and of how they recognized that their communities were not a solution for society, but rather a signal to society that they needed to find a way to respect all of those in our midst and find ways to integrate them into society.

Some also reflected on how all of us in society are handicapped in some way, and of how we need to value each and every person in society, and recognize what they can contribute. Of perhaps greater import, the people interviewed recognized that not everything was worked out in their communities, problems existed, and that everyone in the community needed to work together to solve them.

The program is available for listening or downloading online here. Krista Tippet, the radio journalist, really did an excellent job with this. Her treatment is far superior to what I write here today.

Although I hope and expect that my son will be able to live either independently or semi-independently, it is possible that this will not be feasible. If he were to choose to live in some type of communal arrangement, I can think of far worse places than a L'Arche community for him to live in.