...to share with y'all...
There were several speakers who were adults with autism. One of them, a very animated young woman (who also knows someone I have known for years who's only indirectly connected to autism) gave a great talk, and when the applause started, she said, "No, please...don't clap. Flap." So we all flapped.
She explained that her keenly-sensitive hearing couldn't take the noise of the applause (especially in a sizable room).
Incidentally, any of you who can ever make it to one of these, DO! I can't even begin to describe how awesome it was. I got to meet many insightful adults and med and research professionals (Brenda Smith Myles and I really hit it off!
), and WOW...the material!!!!! All the major autism publishers were also there, and I bought about $200 worth of books--all great stuff.
LIZARD