| Curling lingo, multilingual style
EDMONTON - It doesn't have the diversity of, say, soccer's World Cup, where fans might see a striker from Ouagadougou bearing down on a 'keeper from Vladivostok. But the Ford world men's curling championship does have an exotic side, especially when one's ear scans the many languages screamed on the ice. English was well-represented at Sunday afternoon's draw, with the Americans, Aussies and constantly shouting Scots all chucking rocks, but there were also barked orders in .
The Future Is For Everyone (Or At Least, It Should Be)
The article about siblings seems to indicate mainly that siblings of autistics can have autistic traits (or perhaps even be autistic themselves), which of course makes sense when you consider that autism has a strong genetic component. The characterization of this phenomenon as autism being "bad for siblings" is more than a bit misleading—it's not as if, somehow, the autistic sibling hadn't been born, the children being studied would not have exhibited the same social and communication patterns. If someone is going to be autistic, or perhaps broader autistic phenotype, they're going to be that way regardless of whether they have siblings or not.What struck me about the article on siblings, though, was the manner in which the siblings' performance was described: "Younger siblings of children with autism spectrum disorders demonstrated weaker performance in non-verbal problem-solving, directing attention, understanding words, understanding phrases, gesture use and social-communicative interactions with parents, and had increased autism symptoms, relative to control siblings," The reason that description struck me was because in all that verbiage, there was absolutely no questioning of the underlying assumptions in place. These assumptions are common in autism-related literature but very few people even notice them—to me, they're like the proverbial "elephant in the room". And just what are these assumptions? Well, first of all, the tests being used to evaluate the performance of the siblings of autistics (many of whom were probably autistic themselves) were probably not written with autistic cognition in mind. Second of all, I'm almost certain that the tests being used in this context probably assumed quite a bit about the childrens' level of understanding based on the compliance of these children. To make an analogy, watch any cat navigate around a house and you'll definitely get the sense that you're dealing with a creature with a highly developed understanding of physics, but tell the cat to fetch your slippers and you'll probably not get much in the way of a response. This isn't to say that all autistics are good at physics and bad at following instructions—but rather, that it doesn't really make sense to assume an autistic person must be able to perform well on tests normed to a typical population in order to be happy or successful. I somehow doubt that cats wake up every morning lamenting that they're not dogs—but who knows, they might if their human companions constantly punished them for not acting like dogs or doing things that dogs tend to do.Whenever I read articles on autism so utterly dripping with unquestioned assumptions, I can't help but think back to elementary school, when quite a lot about me was considered to be "problematic" or worrisome, even the aspects of myself that I really liked. If you'd asked my fifth-grade classmates about me then, they'd most certainly have said that there was definitely something very wrong with me, that I didn't relate normally, and even that they felt sorry for me. In sixth grade a few girls came up to me and told me that they were being mean to me "for my own benefit", since in high school, "everyone was going to hate me anyway". I remember people wondering if I was sad or depressed because I often preferred to read or draw rather than engage in group activities—in fact, the main thing that made me tend toward sadness at times was the perception that whatever I liked to do was some kind of symptom or problem. I even once got in trouble for being really interested in a particular subject—the teacher assumed that my interest was a sign of being "too lazy to learn about anything else". I'm not saying all this to invoke a pity party—that's the last thing I would want, especially considering one of the things that always infuriated me while growing up was the "we feel sorry for you for being you!" bit I used to run into at school. Rather, I'm just trying to make the point that kids like the ones I grew up with have also grown up. Some of them might even be in professions now where they're evaluating kids.
The art of healing
Derek Dimapan recalls his grandmother taking him to a Spanish-looking home, surrounded by jungle whenever he got sick. "I think I was 6 -- that's the earliest I (can) remember," says Dimapan, now a senior at George Washington High School. .
Babylon Idiomas opens new school in Madrid
Babylon Idiomas opens its fourth language school in Madrid offering Spanish classes to students who wish to learn Spanish.
[ClickPress, Sat Apr 21 2007] Babylon Idiomas has opened a new school in Madrid. This school is the fourth opened in Spain since 2003; reflecting the demand for the type of quality Spanish course for adults that Babylon Idiomas offers.
Says Steven Muller, Director: "We have been pleasantly surprised by the strong demand of our students to offer more destinations in Spain. Madrid was a logical expansion after the schools we opened before in Barcelona, Valencia and Sevilla."
The Spanish language school is located in the centre of Madrid on one of the liveliest squares called Plaza Santa Ana. Here students will find it very easy to relax and enjoy a drink on one of the many terraces or in one of the many tapas bars that can be found in the area.
NW teen hopes to be student ambassador
"I have long believed, as have many before me, that peaceful relations between nations require mutual respect between individuals."
- President Dwight D. Eisenhower
From covering the mid field on her high school softball team to journeying to the middle country, 'Chung Kuo,' aka China, North White freshman Ashley Smith hopes to represent her community and her country as a young ambassador as part of a People to People trip to the People's Republic.
According to an ancient proverb originating in that land, the journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step, or more literally, under one's feet.
With that in mind, 15-year-old Smith is working on ways to be able to finance the cost of the trip - from babysitting to planning a free-will donation car wash with friends.
Get Out Guide
"The Funny Little Woman": The Brooklyn Bay Theater presents a story from Japan. For ages 2-9. After the performance the audience is invited to meet the performers and get in on the action. 10 a.m. Sat through April 28 and one 3 p.m. Sun, April 29, performance, at 1825 S.E. Franklin St., Bay K. Tickets $6 general, $20 per family. Details and directions: www.brooklynbay.org. Ladybug Theater: Theater fun for the smallest play lovers (ages 21/2 and older recommended). Kids from the audience are invited to play along during these 40-minute performances. "Baby Bears Garden" 10:30 a.m. Wed-Thu, ends 4/26, Smile Station, 8210 S.E. 13th Ave.; $3.50 for all ages; call 232-2346 for reservations. BOOKS AND STORY TIMES Borders Books: At Cedar Hills, 2605 S.W.
A sit down with singer-songwriter Justin King
I first saw Justin King in a "viral video" online about four years ago. A simple thing, really: just a man, a chair and a guitar. But Justin's hands moved on his instrument in ways I had never seen before. Both hands glided up and down the fretboard with a dexterity that seemed impossible, producing sounds that weren't just a mishmash of technical ability -- but real music. I became a fan instantly. A few years later and his band has been in and out of a contract with Epic. A couple of months ago, I managed to get him to agree to an interview. Hopefully, I could find out what would possess someone to back out of what is the Holy Grail to most aspiring bands. I caught Justin on his cell phone last Saturday while he was on his way to L.A. to play a show. The reception was spotty, but as always, he was more than accommodating.
TOLERANCE IS THE BASIS OF STABILITY
In his address on the topic “The religious tolerance is the basis of stability in the society" the Acting Chairman of Religious Affairs Committee at the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan O. Yusupov said that building of the democratic state based on the observance of universal values is impossible without an active civil position of the whole society regardless of religious or national characteristics of the citizens of our country. The fact that Uzbekistan is multinational country, the power of our government is a pledge of its great future. The factor of national heterogeneity of a society positively impacts on political and economic development of any country. After gaining the independence, the attitude to the issue of spirituality and freedom of conscience has radically changed in Uzbekistan.
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