This might just sound like one of the strangest ideas ever for a book, but Michaela Schubert—online name Jeyradan—has taken two seemingly separate topics and combined them in a brilliant attempt to enrich lives everywhere.
I'm working on a book project about Doctor Who and the autism spectrum, and I am desperately trying to get as many people as possible to tell me a little about their own experiences with the show. The absolute most important part of a project like this is to get as many different viewpoints as possible.
You don't have to have seen a lot of it, you don't have to be familiar with the classic series, you don't have to have a particular spectrum condition (or any diagnosis at all). Any input at all is welcomed and greatly appreciated.
But this isn't just some random poll. Michaela is a PhD graduate student at the Pennsylvania State University of Medicine, researching "chromatin higher-order structure during mitosis and cell differentiation". You know, the usual. She's also a writer, an Aspie, and a Whovian of the highest order, all of which makes her forthcoming book about Doctor Who and the autism spectrum a very personal journey indeed.
The questionnaire can be viewed online as a PDF or DocX, and you don't necessarily have to answer every question; answer as many or as few as you'd like, with as much or as little detail as you'd like. You can also request to remain anonymous, or you can choose to be quoted or paraphrased based on your responses. And when you're done, help Michaela complete this book by submitting your questionnaire via E-mail at dw-autism@hotmail.com.
Help make a difference. Help chart the influence of Doctor Who among those who need it most. Help Michaela Schubert complete this fascinating, original research about autism, those who have it, and those who don't. All it takes is a quick E-Mail.
7 Comments:
As one that has Aspergers, I am very impressed with the project that she has chosen to undertake.
However, I am very disappointed with this blog for using the term "Aspie," which is quite derogatory. By saying that someone is "an Aspie," it insinuates that having Aspergers is the only thing that defines them, which is far from the truth.
Michaela called herself an "Aspie" in her E-mail to us. I'm sorry if you felt offended, but apparently the term is used to denote a subculture of people with Asperger's.
my daughter is seriously autistic, i have heard it used before and although i di not use it, i do not see it as a derogatory term!
I am comfortable describing myself as an Aspie too, as do a number of my friends. I don't find the term derogatory. I find some people's attitudes to any type of ASD labelling negative but that attitude isn't associated with the term. It isn't like "gay" versus "faggot".
I'll go ahead and apologize for that. I sent the e-mail and I used the term "Aspie" to refer to myself. I've never seen it as a derogatory term and it's quite freely used on the Wrong Planet forums of which I'm a member. I apologize to anyone who uses the term differently or prefers that it not be used.
No, no, no apology necessary, I should think. By the way, congratulations on also getting on the Doctor Who News Page. This project is getting some serious coverage now! If that doesn't work, I don't know what will.
It seems to be working brilliantly - but you guys were the first to spread the news about this project. Thank you so much for having written such a wonderful - and flattering - post about it. I can't tell you how much you've helped to pass the word on. (I would have said something earlier, but it seemed odd to comment before anyone else had posted.)
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