At the recent Paris Olympics - UC Berkeley's contingent of 59 Olympians (current students and alums) amassed 23 medals in nine different sports at the 2024 Summer Games. If UC Berkeley were a country, it would rank 12th in the overall medal count.
https://calbears.com/news/2024/8/13/golden-bears-tie-school-record-with-23-medals.aspx
Proud alum of UC Berkeley..... Such amazing years there.
For many autistics, understanding and managing emotions can be a unique challenge. However, becoming aware of how body posture affects feelings can be a simple yet effective tool for emotional regulation.
Here’s how posture can help:
Newton's Law of Inertia
Newton's Law of Inertia says that an object will stay still if it's already still, and if it's moving, it will keep moving in the same direction and speed unless something makes it change.
Autistic Inertia
We use this idea to describe how some autistic people have trouble starting or stopping tasks.
Starting Tasks: Just like an object at rest, some autistic people find it hard to begin tasks. They might feel stuck and need something to help them get going.
Stopping Tasks: Once they start a task, it can be hard to stop. They might keep doing the same thing over and over, like being stuck in a loop.
This difficulty also affects:
Even if someone knows they need to start or stop a task, they might feel stuck and unable to do so, which can be exhausting. This can lead to burnout, where they feel completely worn out.
Causes
Autistic inertia can be caused by:
This can make it hard to finish tasks, meet deadlines, and stick to a schedule for work or school, often leading to burnout.
Advantages
Sometimes, autistic inertia can help with hyper-focus, allowing someone to deeply concentrate on learning a specific topic.
Misconceptions
Autistic inertia is often misunderstood as laziness or lack of motivation. It can affect anyone, regardless of their support needs or ability to speak. It can be even more complex for those with movement issues, sensory challenges, and coordination problems.
What Can Help
To help manage autistic inertia:
Everyone’s needs are different, so the type and amount of help will vary from person to person.
"Disability only becomes a tragedy when society fails to provide the things needed to lead one's daily life." - Judy Heumann (Disability Rights Activist)
Autism Lexicon: Hostile Attribution Bias
Hostile attribution bias is a cognitive tendency to interpret ambiguous behaviors of others as having hostile intent or leading to hostile outcomes. In autism, this bias is linked to social communication challenges and a heightened sensitivity to perceived social threats.
PlainSpeak: Hostile attribution bias is when someone thinks others are being mean on purpose, even if it's not clear. In autism, this happens more often because autistic people can struggle with understanding social cues and might feel more easily threatened.
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Read more on Hostile Attribution Bias: [Version for Scientific/Academic Audience], [PlainSpeak for the Lay Reader], [A Simple Definition]
Related Posts on [Neuroception], [Negative Attribution Bias]
