On Manny Pacquiao’s comments about homosexuality and the case for examining our thoughts

Manny Pacquiao was recently dropped by Nike over his remarks about homosexuals (click here for more). Manny reportedly said, amongst other things, that homosexuals are worse than animals..

Any form of discrimination should not be acceptable

Understandably, many people are upset about what the famous boxer has said. I myself am deeply disappointed as he is someone that many people look up to. Although nobody has ever suggested that Manny Pacquiao is an intellectual whose words should be treated as the truth, I fear that because of his status, success and undeniable popularity, his opinions may strengthen the backward beliefs of some and may influence the thinking of some.

I agree that people have the right to have their own opinions. However, I am frustrated when this right is abused. Sure, we are entitled to disagree and think differently from everyone else, but we must never think that another person is a lesser human being just because they are romantically involved with a person of the same sex. This is no different from any other forms of discrimination such as those based on religious and/ or racial grounds. How would Manny feel if he is publicly degraded by someone based on his nationality or religion? Would he be pleased? I think not.

The case for examining our own thoughts and beliefs

I can only ascertain that Manny’s comments are based on his religious beliefs which are passed on to him, perhaps by elders in his community as well as by pastors/priests/preachers. If this is true, this highlights the importance of examining our own thoughts and beliefs. We must ask ourselves the following questions from time to time:

• ‘Why am I thinking this way?’
• ‘Why do I believe what I believe?’
• ‘Are my beliefs detrimental to other people’s lives?’
• ‘Is what I believe supported by evidence?’
• ‘Are there any alternative ways of thinking that are supported by better evidence?’
• ‘How are those evidence collected?’

It is not a bad thing nor is it ever too late,to change our minds based on better quality of evidence. The reason why I am writing this is to explain that although Manny Pacquiao is an influential figure, not only in his country but worldwide, his opinions must be questionned, challenged and opposed. The same goes with the opinions of others who are more ‘powerful’ and have more authority than us.

Please, let us all use our brains.

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RIP BB King

I’ve woken up to the news that one of my all-time heroes passed away. I’m terribly saddened. BB King was one of the most amazing musicians that ever lived. I was very forunate to have watched one of his concerts a few years ago – he even gave me a guitar pick in the middle of his set!! 

The world will miss you, BB, but your music lives on! Say hello to Jimi and Stevie Ray for us!

Read the full news story HERE

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You’re not alone

Autism LinkFest

Autism: How new therapies are helping people with ASC – find out newly developed therapies that may help people with the condition. Be aware that not all of these therapies have been evaluated!

Food, clothes, transport, beds and ovens: the aid schools are giving UK pupils – poverty is everywhere. Schools find it difficult to ignore the signs of poverty in students, and are doing the best they can to help.

Girls and Autism – How does Autism affect girls and what can be done about it?

Preparing for Halloween – how can we prepare people with Autism for halloween?

I am not Kelli Stapleson – a brilliant piece written by a mom with unconditional love for her child

What can be done for adults with Autism? – there are not a lot of studies, provisions or help available for grown ups with Autism. The system seems to forget that kids with Autism grow up to be adults with Autism. What can be done?

Parents of 11 y/o Boy with Autism Arrested for Keeping the boy In a Cage

The Daily Mail reported that the parents of an 11 year old boy who has Autism were arrested after discovering that the boy was kept on a cage. The parents reasoned that the boy was kept on a cage that is big enough for him to move in natural positions because of his severe Autism. The young boy apparently is unable to communicate and often has violent outbursts. The parents put their son in the cage to protect themselves and their other children.

The parents are charged with suspicion of felony, child endangerment and false imprisonment.

The children are reportedly with the Child Protection Services.

This distressing news highlights the need to educate and continually support parents and carers of people with Autism.

Gove Kills The Mockingbird

 

by the Sunday TimesWhat do you all think?

 

UK Supermarkets Asda and Tesco Apologise for Disgraceful and Offensive Costume

UK supermarket giant Asda has apologised for their hugely inappropriate halloween costume marketed as the ‘Mental Patient Fancy Dress Costume’  which featured fake blood, a mask and a fake meat cleaver. They have withdrawn the sale of the said product and pledged to donate £25,000 to Charity Mind after they were bombarded with tweets from offended individuals such as ex-footballer Stan Collymore and charities such as Rethink Mental Illness.

Tesco, who had a similarly absurd ‘psycho ward’ costume (boiler suit, mask and machete) also withdrew their product subsequently and like Asda, have issued offical apologies.

As an advocate for teaching mental health awareness and diversity, I am hugely offended and horrified by the sale and  advertisement of the costumes. We are still living in an age where people with mental illnesses are stigmatized, and stupid publicity stunts such as this is totally unacceptable. Not only does it fuel the negative stereotype but it also gives the masses an opportunity to publicly mock those who are living with mental illnesses. I am sure that they are aware of the fact that several people have killed themselves because they could not live with the stigma.

In addition, neither of these costumes accurately depict people with mental illness. Having visited many psychiatric wards and mental institutions, and having worked with people with psychiatric conditions, I have not seen anyone who dressed and looked like the pictures on Asda’s and Tesco’s  advertisements. The mentally ill need support, understanding and acceptance. They certainly do not need any public mockery such as this. Apologies and donations are not enough.

Being Proud of Having Autism

The Math Prodigy who is proud of his Autism:

More articles on Autism:

What Would You Do If You Witness An Autistic Person Being Insulted?

Never EVER say these things to people iwth Autism!

He flaps his hands and screams a lot but he doesn’t mean to annoy you

Optimum Outcomes for people with Autism

DSM 5 and its implications to ASD diagnosis

Diagnosing Autism: What you need to know

Vote for Miss Montana 2012, Alexis Wineman

What does Autism mean?

What is PDD-NOS?

Communication difficulties in Autism

Big Bang Theory’s Sheldon Cooper: Asperger’s Syndrome’s Poster Boy?

Still unsure if Sheldon has Asperger’s?

DSM-V and Autism

The Autistic Me: BBC Documentary

Temple Grandin: The world needs all kinds of minds

Autism in the classroom:

Guide to parents of students with ASD on coping with the first day back to school

Common signs of Autism in the classroom

First day back to school: Top tips for parents of children with Autism

Practical tips to make your classroom Autism-Friendly

Inspiring People with Autism:

Dr. Temple Grandin

Jessica-Jane Applegate (British Paralympian)

Satoshi Tajiri (Pokemon creator)

Carly Fleischmann

More on Savants:

Simon Baron-Cohen on Daniel Tammet

The Psychology of Savants: Memory Masters

Artists with Autism

The Einstein Effect: Is there a link between having Autism and being a genius?

Is Lance Armstrong still your hero?

Lance Armstrong has won 7 Tour de France titles, fought and won his battle against cancer and is a well-known philantropist. He has been considered as one of the best athletes the world has ever had, and many have considered him as a role model. Recently, however, he admitted that he doped (see how doping works in the video below) and used performance enhancing drugs whilst competing over the years. A few days ago, he publicly stated that he doped when he was interviewed by Oprah (see the video below). The question now is, where does this leave Lance? Is he still your hero?

The bottom line is that he cheated. He knew what he was doing was wrong, yet he still carried on. He even blatantly denied doping and sued a lot of people for (rightfully) accusing him of cheating. In his interview with Oprah, it was clear that he did what he did because he knew that he could get away with it. It was almost guaranteed that he would not get caught because at that time, the drug tests were flawed and Lance and his team exploited this flaw. Does that make it right? Of course not! But would you do the same thing? It depends. Here’s my question: if someone told you that you can rob a bank or  a person and it is guaranteed that you would not get caught, would you do it? Again, your answer may depend on a lot of things. For instance, if you are deperate for money in the sense that someone in your family is dying and she/he needs an expensive operation, you probably would go along with robbing the bank/ person. But you may think twice if you are self-sufficient. Another thing to consider is your personality and your moral views. Even if you have money, the prospect of becoming even richer by not doing much may appeal to you. Lance told Oprah that his mentality was ‘win at all costs’. He wanted to be the greatest (who doesn’t?), but unfortunately, he did it in the wrong way.

Another justification that Lance Armstrong gave was the fact that he believed that other competitors were also doping, therefore what he was doing was OK. In other words, in his eyes, he doped to make the competition fair. Does it make it acceptable? My anwser is no. What he did was wrong and he knew it. It’s appalling.

But he apologised. He admitted to everything that he’s done. He is well aware fo the implications and the repercussions of his actions (now), and he seems willing to make ammends. To me, it takes huge courage to apologise, especially in Lance’s case. He made mistakes and now he’s ready to do the right things to make it up to people. Does his apology undo what he did? Of course not!

Do people have the right to hate him? Yes, but only to a certain extent. He cheated many, many times, yes. But he apologised. I have not yet made my mind about what to make of the situation because I want to see what Lance Armstrong will do after this. What will he do to make ammends to the people that he sued, he publicly called names, and to the public who have loved him and almost worshipped him all these years?

This case makes me think about other sporting legends. Have they all cheated in any way? How? Would they come forward too, just like Lance? I hope so.

Falling off the Spectrum: Optimal Outcome for people with ASD

A research published only 3 days ago has found that it is possible for some people to ‘lose’ their Autism diagnosis. Deborah Fein and her colleagues compared a groups of 34 ‘Optimal Outcome’ individuals (i.e. those who were diagnosed with Autism at childhood but now exhibit no autistic symptoms)  between the ages of 8-21, to a typically developing group (i.e. those who has not been diagnosed with Autism and do not exhibit any symptoms) and to a group of people with High Functioning form of Autism (HFA; ‘milder’ form of Autism), on various cognitive, social and communication abilities. The  researchers also used the Autism Diagnosis Observation Schedule (ADOS; Lord et al., 2000) to see whether any of the participants  meet the diagnostic criteria for Autism.

The results revealed that the Optimal Outcome group had average scores in the areas of Communication, Socialization, Adaptive Behaviours and Facial Recognition.It should be noted that they did not differ significantlly to those in the Typically Developing group, whilst those with High Functioning Autism scored lower across all the areas mentioned. It is also important to note that based on interviews with the participants’ parents, participants in the ‘Optimal Outcome’ group had relatively milder symptoms compared to those who were in the HFA group. Although, these reports are questionnable since they were based on parents’ memories and recent events may have clouded their responses.

POINTS TO CONSIDER:

1. Although this could be a welcome sign for a lot of individuals with Autism and their family, we should all note that this study is relatively small-scale. In addition, as mentioned in the study, those who achieved Optimal Outcome initially had milder symptoms.
2. The study reported here is only the beginning of a major project. They have only shown that there is a group of people who had a diagnosis of Autism in the past, who now do not qualify for a diagnosis. A lot is still not known…
3. The research team is conducting a battery of tests  to determine the levels of Cognitive Abilities, Language, Academics and Executive functions of those who achieved Optimal Outcomes in order to accurately determine whether they are of average range.
4. Peer interactions and friendship/ relationship quality should also be reliably examined to fully understand whether these individuals have ‘lost’ their Autistic symptoms.

QUESTIONS THAT WERE NOT ANSWERED BY THE RESEARCH:

1. When and how did these people lose their  Autism symptoms?
2. Is it necessary to have an intervention? If so, which intervention should be introduced to increase the chance of having Optimal Outcome?
3. How many people with Autism can achieve Optimal Outcome?
4. Do only those who have high I.Q. levels achieve Optimal Outcome?
5. To what extent have their brain structures and functions normalized?

More on Autism:

Diagnosing Autism: What you need to know

Vote for Miss Montana 2012, Alexis Wineman

What does Autism mean?

What is PDD-NOS?

Communication difficulties in Autism

Big Bang Theory’s Sheldon Cooper: Asperger’s Syndrome’s Poster Boy?

Still unsure if Sheldon has Asperger’s?

DSM-V and Autism

The Autistic Me: BBC Documentary

Temple Grandin: The world needs all kinds of minds

Autism in the classroom:

Guide to parents of students with ASD on coping with the first day back to school

Common signs of Autism in the classroom

First day back to school: Top tips for parents of children with Autism

Practical tips to make your classroom Autism-Friendly

Inspiring People with Autism:

Dr. Temple Grandin

Jessica-Jane Applegate (British Paralympian)

Satoshi Tajiri (Pokemon creator)

Carly Fleischmann

More on Savants:

The Psychology of Savants: Memory Masters

Artists with Autism

The Einstein Effect: Is there a link between having Autism and being a genius?