Thomas Clements (writer)
Thomas Clements | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1988 (age 35–36) Epping, England[1] |
| Language | English |
| Nationality | English |
| Citizenship | United Kingdom |
| Notable works | The Autistic Buddha, The Autistic Brothers |
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Thomas Clements is an English author known for The Autistic Buddha, a novel describing how he attempted to achieve understanding of his autism through traveling around the world,[2] and The Autistic Brothers, a novel describing his relationship with his lower-functioning brother, Jack Clements.[3] He is known for his criticism of the neurodiversity movement[4] and his advocacy of Buddhist principles as a way to cope with the challenges in life.[2]
Reception[edit]
In The Autistic Buddha, Clements writes about how he was fascinated with travel as a child, and had a strong interest in Chinese culture. He travelled to Germany for study abroad and taught English in China for a while, encountered many surprises, and realized that in the end, there is no quick fix for his difficulties, embracing Buddhism and meditation after he has returned home. He also learned in that dealing with his autism, harmony comes from inside himself, and not from any source of external help. Clements wrote that while travelling, it was easier to interact with other expats because they were also outsiders.[2][5]
Dr. Manuel Casanova, a professor of Biomedical Sciences, wrote about how Clements' Theory of Mind based on his experiences in The Autistic Buddha. He wrote that Clements wanted to educationally impress his parents, and had difficulty emotionally letting go of this goal. Additionally, Casanova notes that when Clements studied abroad, he had difficulty fitting into his environment and was institutionalized, but eventually recovered. Clements realized later on that his parents just wanted him to be content, and he was more calm, moving forwards with his goals.[6][7] Casanova has also commented on this book that "Indeed, autism prompts individuals to take the road less traveled instead of the well-beaten path."[8]
In The Autistic Brothers, Clements challenges public myths about autism, saying that his brother, Jack, is able to understand people's emotions, but doesn't have any special savant talents. Clements also wrote about how he can understand others through wanting to help others in need as a child, and realizing later on that someone that bullied him was also a victim in another way. He also writes that while Jack will need supervised care for the rest of his life, he feels far less worry in facing his life's challenges.[3] Another goal in writing this book was to raise awareness about low-functioning autism in general. Clements says that he cannot communicate conventionally with Jack, but they share a deep fraternal connection.[9]
Views on Autism and Buddhism[edit]
Clements has advocated for Buddhism as a coping strategy for his challenges, through following the middle way by eschewing both sensory indulgence and self-mortification. Although he is gifted in languages and humanities, having taught himself German and Mandarin Chinese, he has trouble managing multiple assignments and has difficulties with social interaction. He said that he wanted to be more helpful towards other people, by learning how to focus his obsessive thinking towards helping family members, such as helping his grandmother with cleaning the house and being considerate of his low-functioning brother. However, he has also said that working to cope with his difficulties is a lifelong process.[10][11]
Clements at one time supported the neurodiversity movement while being critical of various aspects. He supports the general idea of providing better accommodations for autistics in life, and advocates that autistic individuals should be treated humanely. On the other hand, he says that autism should be seen as a disability as opposed to an identity label, and that neurodiversity is not appropriate for low-functioning autistic individuals.[12][13] He objects to the idea that the "autism" label should be seen as a sacred, untouchable part of one's identity.[4][14][15] As a writer, he says that he doesn't want special consideration based on his disability.[16]
Clements has become more critical of neurodiversity, claiming that most people that question the movement's ideology are labeled as heretics. He especially notes that neurodiversity is insensitive to the difficulties faced by individuals with low-functioning autism.[17] Clements once discussed the challenges of severe autism with Jill Escher, president of the National Council on Severe Autism.[18]
Writing for The Mighty, Maxine Share responded to Clements' views on neurodiversity by claiming that society in general instead of neurodiversity has ignored low-functioning autistic individuals, and that facilitated communication is an appropriate alternative to medical research for low-functioning autism.[19] Kathy Carter claimed that Clements did not clearly define autism in his piece, saying that autism could be seen as a natural difference.[20] Dr. Robert Chapman of Neurodiverse Age said that Clements should have separated the idea of autism from the idea of disability.[21]
References[edit]
- ↑ "About the Author". Amazon. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Singer, Angela. "Thomas plots his journey through life in new book". Dunmow Broadcast. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Singer, Angela. "Why you should not ask: Is Jack's autism better now?". Dunmow Broadcast. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Adee, Sally. "Neurowars". The Last Word On Nothing. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
- ↑ Johnson, Paul. "A young man's fascinating journey to find inner peace". Your Stories Matter. Your Stories Matter Publishers. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
- ↑ Casanova, Manuel (8 July 2019). Autism Updated: Symptoms, Treatments and Controversies: Empowering parents and autistic individuals through knowledge. pp. 425–427. ISBN 9781079144109. Search this book on
- ↑ Levental, Yuval (29 July 2019). "Autism Updated". Cortical Chauvinism. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
Material was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported license.
- ↑ Casanova, Manuel (22 January 2018). "The Autistic Buddha". Cortical Chauvinism. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
- ↑ Barkley, Cat (26 December 2018). "Chronicles of brotherly love". Bishop’s Stortford Independent. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
- ↑ Clements, Tom (13 September 2016). "An Unconventional Path to Enlightenment". Tricycle: The Buddhist Review. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
- ↑ Lehmann, Claire (5 January 2018). "The Empathy Gap in Tech: Interview with a Software Engineer - Quillette". Quillette. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
- ↑ Clements, Tom (26 August 2019). "What is autism? How the term became too broad to have meaning any more". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
- ↑ Costandi, Moheb. "Why the neurodiversity movement has become harmful". Aeon. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
- ↑ Clements, Thomas (15 October 2017). "The Problem with the Neurodiversity Movement". Quillette. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
- ↑ Lehmann, Claire (22 January 2018). "The Autistic Buddha—An Interview - Quillette". Quillette. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
- ↑ "Letters: Being treated as a 'disabled writer' would be an affront". The Spectator. 23 June 2018. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
- ↑ Clements, Thomas. "Autism is a disability, not an identity". Spiked Online. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
- ↑ Escher, Jill. ""Some of the Realities Are Just Too Heartbreaking": A Conversation with UK Autism Advocate Thomas Clements — NCSA". National Council on Severe Autism. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
- ↑ Share, Maxine. "What This Controversial Guardian Piece Got Wrong About Autism". The Mighty. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
- ↑ Carter, Kathy (2 September 2019). "Why Tom Clements' Guardian feature on autism draws criticisms from the autistic community". Spectra Blog. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
- ↑ Chapman, Dr. Robert. "Multiply-Disabled Autism and Intersectional Feminism". Psychology Today. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
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