I'm a word nerd but not in the way you might think. My vocabulary isn't impressive and I don't use fancy words when I talk or write as I find that snobbish. My ex used to love using unusual and pretentious words for simple things - to show he was better than other people and make those around him feel inferior. So yeah, I'm not that type of word nerd and I won't be getting a PhD in semantics either.
So, perhaps, it'd be more accurate and clear to say that I'm deeply fascinated by the power of words and the reality words can create.
In this TED talk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKK7wGAYP6k Lera Boroditsky makes the point that if you're English and you're at a museum and knock over a vase, you're likely to say "I broke the vase" but in Spanish, it's more common to say "the vase broke" - can you see how one lays responsibility with you and the other doesn't? And though I'm a fan of taking responsibility, I prefer the Spanish way because what I see time and again with the people I work with is the characteristic of taking on more responsibility than is fair and due (over-responsibility) and to take that responsibility and mould it into blame and often, shame (I'll get back to this point).
In my free e-book "Now What - a Neuro-Affirmative, Strength-Based, Compassionate Support Guide for Late-Identified, High-Masking Autistic Adults" I have a X page long glossary where I go into details about many of the words used about autism (picked up by the autistic community) and why they might be hindering for our self-understanding and building confidence in our ways of being.
Today, I'll focus on the concept of black/white thinking.
DIFINITION
Send direct email to Lauren Drywer about this blog post (PASS) - talked about deconstructing various belifs/understandings of things