Neurotransmitters Flow in this Autism Mind

The Root of Peace of Mind is Compassion

WorkDay Presentation

Presented to employees at Workday today.

Was told audience enjoyed it and had some excellent takeaways.

Words from audience.

I keep nodding my head, “Yes,” “Agree,”, “Amen”, “Right on!”

I couldnt agree more
Thank you!
That was great!

Wow, thank you for sharing!
Thank you! What a fabulous program!
Awesome Hari!!
Wow! Thank you so much.
Thanks for sharing!
Thank you, inspirational!

Thank you for sharing your story!
Thank you
Wow - such an impressive Young Man - thank you for sharing your story.
Thank you, Hari! Your story brings hope to us as parents with an autistic child.
Hari, you give me so much more hope, thank you!
Developmentally all over the place!!!!
Developmentally All Over the Place has so much truth!
So inspiring brings tears of joy to my eyes
Thank you so much, Hari!
Thank you, Hari!
Thank you everyone for joining
Thank you Hari and you are an inspiration!! Giving so much hope
Thank you Hari!
Thank you, Hard! I can’t wait to see the research you will do at Vanderbilt!
Thank you Hari!
thank you Hari
Thank you so much Hari!
Thank you, Hari!
Thank you so much. Amazing
Thank you Hari!
Thank you for your inspiration!
*Hari
Thank you, Hari!
Thank you, Hari!
Thank you so much Hari !
You've accomplished so much already!
Thank you!
Great presentation - thank you!

@harisri108 #Redefine_the_Table #autism #belonging

Thank you Lois Curtis

Today Lois Curtis passed away. She along with Elaine Wilson were the plaintiffs in the landmark 1999 Olmstead v. L.C case, which jumpstarted de-segregation and de-institutionalization of the disabled. It paved the way for community based supports for the disabled.

Over the summer I also had the opportunity to be part of a White House panel discussion on the occasion of the anniversary of the Olmstead Act. The Olmstead Act is more significant than we can even think. Imagine, just a few decades ago, people with more significant disabilities (which would have included "higher-support" autistics like me) were simply put into institutions.

Problem solved for society with the disabled tucked out of sight!! Case closed!!

In fact, when I was young, families were still being advised to send their autistic child away before they grew too attached to that child.

Folks like Lois did not get to choose. She had to fight to get out of an institution.

What if you did not even have a "voice" (like many "higher-support" autistics) to protest even as your family was told that this was what was "best" for you by all the "well-meaning" professionals.

Thank you Lois for speaking up.

As a child I don't think I quite understood what institutions were. The closest I came to seeing a visual was was whatever was shown briefly in the movie, Rainman.

It was not until I got into college and began my Disability Studies courses, that I began to understand how horrifying institutions and the idea of institutionalization was for the disabled. My very first disability studies course had been with Victor Pineda.

On the very first day of class he screened a documentary called "Lives Worth Living" on the disability rights movement. One of the most shocking and horrifying scenes in that documentary had been Willowbrook, one such institution in New York housing the disabled. It showed the disabled children living in degrading and filthy conditions. The doctors at Willowbrook themselves had grown so alarmed that they had invited reporter Geraldo Rivera's to do an expose which shocked the world.

I used to think my low expectation special education classrooms were degrading enough, but I shudder to think of what living in those inhumane institutions would have been like. In fact, in the 2020 documentary Crip Camp, there is a mention of a camper from Willowbrook "who would stuff himself with food till he got sick" as he would not get adequate food at Willowbrook.

Such history makes the Olmstead Act all that more significant, and meaningful to folks like me.

"The Olmstead decision has led the government to make more opportunities for people with disabilities to get services outside of institutions. Advocates and the government use the Olmstead decision to fight for disabled students’ rights to learn in the same classroom as non-disabled students. Advocates and the government use Olmstead to fight for disabled workers’ rights to work in the same workplace as non-disabled workers, and earn a competitive wage." (ASAN Remembers Lois Curtis)

Though we still have miles to go on disability rights on multiple fronts, I am so deeply appreciative of such disability rights icons who have hewn out the path that many of us now almost take for granted.

Thank you Lois

Understanding Neuroception and Its Importance in Autism

PlainSpeak. In Plain Language for the Lay Reader

Have you ever walked into a room and immediately felt comfortable or, conversely, felt uneasy for no apparent reason? This instinctive response is part of what's called "neuroception." Neuroception is a term coined by Dr. Stephen Porges that describes how our brain and nervous system unconsciously scan our environment to assess whether we are safe, in danger, or facing a life-threatening situation. This process is crucial because it helps us decide how to react, even before we're fully aware of what's happening.

For people with autism, neuroception can work a bit differently. Many autistic individuals have heightened sensitivity to sensory experiences, such as bright lights, loud sounds, or crowded spaces. Because of this heightened sensitivity, their nervous system might misinterpret these benign environments as dangerous or threatening, leading to feelings of anxiety or discomfort. This is why you might notice some autistic people avoiding certain places or situations—they are simply responding to what their body perceives as a threat. This reaction is sometimes linked to a phenomenon called "hostile attribution bias," where individuals are more likely to interpret ambiguous situations as having hostile intent.

Imagine someone accidentally bumps into you. While many might see it as an accident, someone with hostile attribution bias might think it was done on purpose. In autism, this bias can be heightened due to the unique challenges autistic people face, such as difficulties in interpreting social cues or a history of negative social experiences like bullying or exclusion. These experiences can make it harder for them to trust others and more likely to perceive interactions as threatening.

Understanding both neuroception and its link to hostile attribution bias is essential because it helps explain why some autistic individuals might find everyday situations challenging. It also highlights the importance of creating environments that feel safe and comfortable for everyone, especially those with sensory sensitivities. By being aware of these needs, we can help reduce stress and improve the well-being of autistic individuals.

Related Posts on [Neuroception], [Negative Attribution Bias] and [Hostile Attribution Bias]

Startup Founders

Proud of my alma mater!!

Berkeley is #1 Public School for Startup Founders, 2nd Overall, just 21 short of the top spot.

https://news.berkeley.edu/2022/11/01/uc-berkeley-is-no-1-public-school-for-startup-founders-in-2022-pitchbook-rankings/#:~:text=For%20the%20fourth%20straight%20year,31).

Halloween is my least favorite holiday

Halloween is my least favorite holiday.

Why?

It's a painful reminder of EXCLUSION, and not memories of joy.

After usually avoiding/excluding kids like me for 364 days, the very same neighborhood kids & parents stood at my doorstep, arms outstretched demanding I give them candy.

The irony!!

Doomscrolling

Came across a new term, rather a term that's been around for a while.

Doomscrolling is the act of compulsively scrolling through negative news or social media feeds, often for hours at a time, despite feeling upset or stressed by the content. The term "doomscrolling" gained popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic, as people spent more time online and were inundated with a constant stream of alarming news about the virus and its effects. This behavior can lead to feelings of anxiety, hopelessness, and helplessness, as well as difficulty sleeping and concentrating

So it became this "vicious cycle in which users find themselves get stuck in a pattern of seeking negative information no matter how bad the news is."

It does not help that, online/social media algorithms are designed to feed us "attention-capturing" information and give us more of whatever we had clicked on. The result was a newsfeed of endless doom, which could trigger more compulsive scrolling behavior.

The disabled/autistic are equally vulnerable to these influences, further compounding our mental health issues.

Here is a research paper on this.

Doomscrolling Scale: its Association with Personality Traits, Psychological Distress, Social Media Use, and Wellbeing
Satici SA, Gocet Tekin E, Deniz ME, Satici B. Doomscrolling Scale: its Association with Personality Traits, Psychological Distress, Social Media Use, and Wellbeing. Appl Res Qual Life. 2022 Oct 19:1-15. doi: 10.1007/s11482-022-10110-7. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36275044; PMCID: PMC9580444.

National Society of Leadership and Success

From Cal Alumni Association.

Dear Hari,

I am pleased to share that you have been recognized as an exemplary college graduate and meet the criteria to become a member of The National Society of Leadership and Success (NSLS). Congratulations!

This invitation is only offered to a select number of UC Berkeley alumni, and we’re proud to extend this opportunity to further your leadership development....

==========

Appreciate the recognition from Cal Alum. Thank you.

SIB and Suicide Ideation

30% of autistics have Self-Injurious Behaviors (Soke et al., 2016)

SIB in autism could in fact be a manifestation of psychological trauma and indicative of underlying suicide ideation or maybe a substitute for suicide itself.

I had an autistic friend who attempted suicide first by swallowing the contents of an entire bottle of melatonin pills and then a second time by drinking a whole bottle of his dad's whiskey in his home. He had to have his stomach pumped in ER both times. All while he was a teen.

Ironically, the very act of suicide as such, requires a lot of motor skills, executive functioning and motor planning. So maybe SIB's are the only tools available for some autistics as an outlet for built up trauma, stress or distress from other underlying issues. Perhaps it's not thought of as suicide ideation when the autistic does not have spoken language to express it as such, but don't actions speak louder than words. Where SIB's become a substitute or prologue to suicide ideation.

Isn't this worth finding REAL solutions to, through autism research.

Currently there is little to no support for autistics engaging in SIB or families who are trying to support those autistics.

Medication is currently seen as the only resort. And what are these drugs. All we have is Big Pharma recycling/ rebranding meds made in the 1950s. Minor changes in chemical drug structure allows for re-patenting and maintaining the exorbitant high prices/profits. I once heard Dr Antonio Hardan of Stanford mention that these drugs don't work the same way in autistics as in the general population - why then are we being over medicated from childhood with drugs that don't work for us.

There is a paucity of crisis centers resources or supports available to autistics with SIB's/aggression and their families. Most families don't know who to approach; it's like they are on an island. The autistic's life often becomes a revolving door of stays in hospital psychiatric wards (like a few of my friends) and then sent promptly back to their families after their stay. Why revolving? - because they are on meds which have limited effectiveness in the first place. And many get sent off to live in group homes or residential facilities as the family can no longer cope living from crisis to crisis (irony is that many group homes don't want autistics with behaviors) . If this is the state of the family, imagine the state of the autistic themselves who often have much more limited communication - nothing to do with speaking ability here, think - how communicative is any person, disabled or not, in times of distress (like you choke up when crying!!).

The limited number of meds available to us means along with being on meds, often since childhood, means many of us build tolerance to many of these drugs which further decrease their effectiveness. So even the ones that "kinda" worked don't work anymore. We are all going to live to 80 at least. What are we gonna do when we are in our 30s, 40s, 60s, 70s, 80s if nothing works.

We need research done to develop therapeutics that will actually work for us? And given autism is a spectrum, we need to get down to a physiological level so that precision therapeutics are developed so we can reduce side effects.

At the end of the day we also need to remember that psychotropic drugs only help to manage symptoms or dampen behavioral symptoms. So what is also needed is biomedical research into underlying issues at a physiological level that translate into affordable mainstream healthcare - its that research into gut issues, sleep issues, auto-immune issues, neuro-inflammation, movement issues etc - these are real issues that many autistics are facing - cuz if we get to the bottom of those, maybe we can reduce SIB by that much.

My PD Soros Cohort

End of Fall Conference.

The full PD Soros cohort.

PD Soros Fall Conference wraps up

Sunday

The morning started with some of the fellows having breakfast with Damian Williams, the first black US Attorney in Manhattan, heading the Southern District of New York. It was followed by his super interesting at today's conference. It was such an interesting keynote.

Group photo as the 2022 class bid farewell and left with a box of Mithai (its Diwali tomorrow)