Woody Vine Dance

Woody Vine Dance

Gale tosses the woody vines of tall trees.

Strong wind and rustling leaves.

Nature roars, unrelenting crescendo 

Rustic music and Woody Vine dance.

Equanimity is the gentle acceptance of ourselves and others

Towards a more humane society. #MentalHealth. Contemplation, one line a day.

 

Equanimity is the non-judgmental awareness of our thoughts and emotions

Towards a more humane society. #MentalHealth. Contemplation, one line a day.

 

16 of 118

 16 of the 118 elements. Go Bears!! I have the Berkelium t-shirt. 

I laughed when i saw the last hashtag. Cal and Stanford have this friendly rivalry going on which is most evident at Big Game (annual football game). Like a former therapist (had been a student at Stanford when working with me), was overjoyed that I got into Cal, with the caveat of "except during Big Game."

Seatbelt? What is that

Seatbelts? What is that. 

This is the way to ride to school. Students in school uniform on the back of an auto. Carefree joy!! 

Photo taken during a 2018 India trip in North India. 

Equanimity is the acceptance that all things pass in due time

Towards a more humane society. #MentalHealth. Contemplation, one line a day.

 

Equanimity is the inner strength that allows us to face life's challenges

Towards a more humane society. #MentalHealth. Contemplation, one line a day.

 

Equanimity is the clarity that helps us see things as they are.

Towards a more humane society. #MentalHealth. Contemplation, one line a day.

 

Twinkling Tree Canopy

Glass trees sweat in the winter sun

Refraction bends with ice melts.

Twinkling treetops in a blue sky

Canopy of stars in the daytime light.

The photo does not capture it but the tops of the trees were twinkling as the melting frost was refracted by the sunlight. It was like seeing stars in daytime. 

Research and the Testable Autistic

A fundamental issue in autism research is that again and again we are testing only a narrow band of "testable autistics." 

Essentially past and current research on Autism is oversampling the same ~30% of autistics, the testable autistics. Then we assume the results apply to all, when they do no. 

I was in a research stakeholder meeting last week where another autistic talked about the variety of different research studies she had participated in over the years. 

I was thinking of how many autism research studies where I've been a participant - it was ZERO, literally!! It was not that I did not want to, I was always in the exclusion criteria zone even in autism research. 

Growing up, I used to hear about what autistics are supposed to be thinking/doing, all based on the hundreds of studies that had already been done. And the thought was -  the results don't reflect me. Do I have the wrong dx?

We badly need to RETHINK RESEARCH METHODOLOGY along with new NEW TECHNOLOGY , so that we can expand this ZONE OF TESTABLE AUTISTICS so it's more representative of even those with high support needs like me. 

We can expand the range of testable autistics only if we use methods that don’t need fluent oral communication or fluent motor manipulation or expect a person to sit absolutely still. 

We need every neurodiverse/neurotypical mind thinking about this!!

So, what kind of methods can we use to extend the range of testable autistics.

We need to find answers and solutions for all autistics. THIS IS URGENT. 

M-CHAT Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers

Lexicon [Measures] - M-CHAT 

The Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers, Revised (M-CHAT-R) is a screening tool to identify early signs of autism  in toddlers. The M-CHAT-R is a caregiver-reported questionnaire that assesses the presence of behaviors associated with ASD in toddlers aged 16 to 30 months. It is intended to screen for potential developmental concerns and determine the need for further evaluation.

Limitations

The M-CHAT-R has some limitations, including the potential for false positives or false negatives, as it is a screening tool rather than a diagnostic instrument. It relies on caregiver-reported information, which may be subject to biases or inaccuracies.

Measure, Scoring & Interpretation
The M-CHAT-R is typically administered by a clinician or early intervention specialist.  It consists of 20  items that cover different areas of development, including social communication, joint attention, play, and repetitive behaviors. Caregivers indicate whether the behaviors are observed in their child or not (scored as 1 for Yes and 0 for No). The total score is calculated by summing the scores across all items. 

The M-CHAT-R also includes a follow-up interview with additional questions to further explore areas of concern. Scoring and interpretation guidelines are provided with specific cutoff scores to identify children who may be at risk for ASD and require further evaluation.

History, Limitations, and Revisions
The M-CHAT-R is an updated version of the original M-CHAT,. It was developed by Diana Robins, Deborah Fein, and Marianne Barton in 2009. 

Citation:
Robins, D. L., Fein, D., & Barton, M. L. (2009). The Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers, Revised (M-CHAT-R). Retrieved from https://mchatscreen.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/M-CHAT-R.pdf

Kindness is the language that everyone can understand

Equanimity is the serenity that comes from within

Towards a more humane society. #MentalHealth. Contemplation, one line a day.