This memory popped up in my feed today.
This was my first semester at The Daily Californian, when I wrote a weekly column with editors Chantelle and Dohee.
Understudied experiences of autistics
Hari, You’re doing a truly spectacular job thoughtfully articulating so many understudied experiences that leaves expert and novice reader alike more informed, more grounded, and moved.
FCAI Fellow Publishes Article in Psychology Today regarding grief in the autistic community
FCAI NISE Fellow Publishes Article in Psychology Today Regarding Grief in the Autistic Community
Frist Center for Autism and Innovation Neurodiversity Inspired Science and Engineering Fellow Hari Srinivasan has published a new article in Psychology Today about the impact of grief on the autistic community.In this article, Hari discusses his own moving experiences with grief after the recent loss of both of his grandparents and how grief as an emotion can impact the autistic community in very different ways.
As well as being a Neurodiversity Inspired Science and Engineering Fellow, Hari is a Ph.D. neuroscience student at Vanderbilt University, a graduate of UC Berkeley, a PD Soros Fellow, a Fellow at the Frist Center for Autism and Innovation, a non-federal member of NIH’s Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee, and on various boards including Duke University’s ACE and The Brain Foundation.He is a Public Voices Fellow of The OpEd Project.
You can read the full article here: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/giving-voice/202402/the-spectrum-of-loss-grief-through-the-autistic-lens
Understanding Mental Time Travel and Autism
A PlainSpeak Plain Language version for Lay Reader
What is Mental Time Travel (MTT)?
MTT is our brain's amazing ability to think back to past events or imagine what might happen in the future. For example, you might think back to a fun birthday party or imagine what your next vacation will be like. MTT helps us move through time in our minds, so we can remember, plan, and dream.
How Do Scientists Measure MTT?
Scientists have a way to measure this ability called the MTT Task. In this task, people are given words like "graduation" or "vacation" and asked to either remember something from their own life or imagine something in the future. For example, you might think of your own graduation day in the past or imagine what a future vacation could be like.
MTT and Autism: What Do We Know?
Scientists are starting to learn that autistics might think about the past and future a little differently. Some autistics might find it hard to remember specific personal events or to imagine detailed future plans. This could be because of differences in how their brains work when recalling memories or imagining the future.
But it's important to remember that everyone with autism is different. Some may find these tasks easy, while others may find them more challenging. By studying how autistics use MTT, scientists hope to learn more about how they think about time and how we can better support them.
Future research could look at
- How Autistics Remember: Understanding how autistics remember personal events and how this might be different from others.
- Imagination and Planning: Learning more about how autistics imagine the future and plan for it.
- Brain Studies: Using special brain scans to see how the parts of the brain involved in MTT might work differently in autistics.
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Versions of this post: [MTT PlainSpeak For the Lay Reader], [MTT For the Academic/Science Reader], [A Simple Definition of MTT]
Spectrum of Loss
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/giving-voice/202402/the-spectrum-of-loss-grief-through-the-autistic-lens
Spring 2024 DCC Art Exhibition
Disability Cultural Center at UC Berkeley.
I had 2 poems with accompanying art exhibited
Kinda cool!!
I'm going to miss this, but if you are in Berkeley that time, do give it a peek.
Spring 2024 DCC Art Exhibition! The Art Panelist Committee selected your art to be displayed in the art gallery from the first week of March to the second week of May 2024. Congratulations on being accepted into the art exhibition!
the Art Exhibition Opening is March 7th from 5 pm to 7 pm in the Disability Cultural Community Center in the Hearst Field Annex (HFA) D-25 Berkeley CA 94720.
Campus Change Maker
This post from my UC Berkeley days, showed up at the top of my social media today, along with some new comments.
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An honor for sure to be called campus change maker.
in my email inbox today from DSP ListServ
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Bringing Disability Awareness & Visibility to Sproul Plaza!
Visit our table on Sproul Plaza today from 9 to noon to connect with student groups and campus resources including: The Disabled Students Commission, Berkeley Disabled Students Group (BDS), Spectrum at Cal, OCD at Cal, CAPS, RSF, DSP, and the DCC!
As part of Disability Awareness Month celebrations, we are uplifting the work and stories of a series of Change Makers from the Disability Community. This week, we are highlighting the contributions of Hari Srinivasan. Undergraduate student, instructor of the Autism DeCal, and journalist at the Daily Cal.
Image Description: A photo of Hari standing on a bridge on UC Berkeley's campus. Text reads: Hari Srinivasan. Undergraduate student and instructor. There is a quote from Hari next to it that reads, "I want you to think of disability as possibility too. Only when you think of possibility can the door of opportunity be opened."
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An honor for sure to be called campus change maker.
in my email inbox today from DSP ListServ
======
Bringing Disability Awareness & Visibility to Sproul Plaza!
Visit our table on Sproul Plaza today from 9 to noon to connect with student groups and campus resources including: The Disabled Students Commission, Berkeley Disabled Students Group (BDS), Spectrum at Cal, OCD at Cal, CAPS, RSF, DSP, and the DCC!
As part of Disability Awareness Month celebrations, we are uplifting the work and stories of a series of Change Makers from the Disability Community. This week, we are highlighting the contributions of Hari Srinivasan. Undergraduate student, instructor of the Autism DeCal, and journalist at the Daily Cal.
Image Description: A photo of Hari standing on a bridge on UC Berkeley's campus. Text reads: Hari Srinivasan. Undergraduate student and instructor. There is a quote from Hari next to it that reads, "I want you to think of disability as possibility too. Only when you think of possibility can the door of opportunity be opened."
- Way to go Hari! You make a difference!
- There is no “Dis” in ability. Well done , keep up the amazing work!
- You earned it, Hari. I love our course together, and I look forward to your work in the future. Get after it!
- #harirocks
- Hari...You are the best!
- Well deserved, Hari! You are doing great things in the world.
- Love it.
An utter lack of accountability
Today there was a news article about a 7 year old autistic boy who went missing from his school during the school day. This was during a snowstorm, and he was found shivering and soaked in the middle of a busy traffic intersection by good neighborhood samaritans - and wearing just a thin t-shirt.
The school of course insisted that the child had been missing a mere 2-3 minutes, though investigations show him having walked through a patch of woods and being outside for over 35 minutes.
There had already been a plan in place as this autistic kid frequently eloped (a term used for kids who wander away). The police and parents were to be informed but neither happened. The good samaritans saw a kid darting about in traffic, stopped the traffic, rescued him, took him home and wrapped him in blankets.
Unfortunately the school district missing an autistic child during the school day is more common that you would think. As is the practice of gaslighting parents on the details (fear of being sued!!). The fear of being sued apparently more critically important than any safety concerns of disabled children.
When I was younger (~grade 3-4) I was in a classroom simply known as Room 20 in Dilworth Elementary. An autistic kid in my class did go missing for several hours. The school went into a lockdown as they searched for him. We were all asked to come indoors and stay inside.
Later that afternoon, an old man who lived a few streets away returned the kid as he had found him wandering around.
Of course, there was a lot of discussion in the class that day between the teacher and the classroom aides about how to downplay or not report this incident to the parents at all. I don't know the end result of how much the parents were told, but those overheard conversations about how to avoid revealing the truth about a missing child to its parents by educators are deeply disturbing.
How can we autistics fully put our trust and faith in an education system if we don't believe educators (the ones supposed to nurture and help us) will only will watch their own back and not your back.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJBoKDEUJy4
Not a good start to 2024
I can't believe its Feb 1 already. This year has not a had a great start. I lost my grandpa on December 14, we were barely back from that and then heard my grandma passed away due to a cardiac arrest on Jan 6 so again rushed back from India. Emotionally, one loss is heard but a double loss is heard to handle on any account.
Add to that some horrible travel woes. Lost luggage the first trip - my luggage went to London instead of Chennai. Last minute flight cancellation in Frankfurt leaving us stranded as to how to move on. The 2nd journey no better. Stranded in a cold Newark airport this time. Terrible journeys.
To top it all poicked up illness on the journey or flight (planes are testtubes of disease) and now entire family is sick and quite crazy sick the last couple of weeks with an unknown virus. The saga continues.
A need for affirming caregiver trainings for autistics
The Pervasive Loneliness of Autism: https://time.com/6551520/loneliness-autism-essay/
My other list of publications: https://uniquelyhari.blogspot.com/p/published-work.html
Isolation is a critical issue for Autistic adults
The pervasive loneliness of Autism https://time.com/6551520/loneliness-autism-essay/
It opens: "Loneliness has long been a pervasive issue within the disability community, growing even more pronounced as individuals age...Ironically, relentlessly pursuing a disabled person’s greatest sign of “success”—independence—might be the very thing that’s setting many Autistics on a path towards profound loneliness and fragmented relationships."
Isolation is a critical issue for Autistic adults. It is often exacerbated by the pressure to "become an adult" and "live independently". Yet, Autistic individuals often find that their families are their only real support, but that societal norms stigmatize adults living with family.
Independence is a myth we are taught to chase in America when what we should be seeking to teach is interdependence.
No human lives independently. We all rely on other humans to get our needs and wants met. Whether we are talking about hiring an accountant to do your taxes, dropping your car off for an oil change, or having a person to assist with meal planning, it is all interdependence.
While striving for autonomy in adulthood is vital, it's also crucial to balance it with support and meaningful relationships with others. Acknowledging our innately human interdependent nature is essential if we intend to foster a more inclusive society for Autistics.
I highly recommend reading Hari's full piece below.
Consequences of a fixed message
The Pervasive Loneliness of Autism https://time.com/6551520/loneliness-autism-essay/
As always, I am so grateful for Hari’s wisdom and insights. As someone who stands in front of thousands of people a year, and talks about the need to foster and support independence, I am bowled over by the very real consequence of that fixed message. The singular goal of independence can, along with other factors, lead to the experience of profound loneliness. Rather than a focus on independence, the true focus should be on balance. Hari said it best with “But it’s also essential to recognize that advocating for meaningful connections and a more balanced approach to independence does not diminish the importance of autonomy. Striking a balance between independence and support is crucial for the well-being of autistic individuals.” Thank you, Hari Srinivasan, for yet another profound learning opportunity.
Strength Spotting Saturday
I was spotlighted along with some rather kind words by an org today on social media
It's Strength Spotting Saturday, and today we're spotlighting Hari Srinivasan!
🌟Perspective - Mr. Srinivasan graciously shares his view of the world in a manner that is accessible to the general public. His contributions to the widely distributed Time Magazine increase the understanding and awareness of his lived experience.
🌟Perseverance - The achievements in scholarship demonstrated by Mr. Srinivasan are demonstrative of his perseverance. Honors in his undergraduate program at the University of California Berkeley and entrance into the prestigious neuroscience program at Vanderbilt University as a doctoral candidate are just a few of his achievements in higher education.
🌟Judgment - Mr. Srinivasan serves in many advisory roles, including membership of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee, which advises federal policy and priorities, and on the Council of Autistics Advisors for the Autism Society of America. In these roles, he adeptly views different opinions and weighs the evidence to guide decision-making for the betterment of the autism community.
Societal Ideal of Independence
Independence = overrated! So many great points @TIME piece @HariSri108
'The societal ideal of independent living for [#autistic people] translates to living apart from...family + being surrounded instead by a series of paid support staff'
https://time.com/6551520/loneliness-autism-essay/
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