The RadMad Disability Lab at UC Berkeley

Lab Website,  Facebook . Twitter@RadMadLab1

The Spring 2020 URAP Team

Semester 4

Semester 3

Week 1: 9/16: : First Lab meeting for the incoming URAP' ers. We had a sizable turnout, not just students from Cal but also from UCLA. I love the collaboration. 

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Semester 2

Week 1: 2/5: Rad Mad Lab is Back: First Lab meeting for the incoming URAP' ers.

Good to be back at this very unique "makerspace" lab at UC Berkeley 

2/12: The meeting focused on projects for the semester and deciding the teams. http://disability.jp/madlab/2020/02/12/deciding-on-projects/

Holding a Raspberry Pi

Rad Mad Lab in the Time of Covid.

What the Rad Mad Disability lab has done this semester can almost be split into what had was started and planned at the beginning of the semester and what the teams have been able to do to the limitations of the shutdown.. Read on.

http://disability.jp/madlab/2020/05/05/rad-mad-in-the-time-of-covid/

Light Sensitivity

Light Sensitivity is an another important, albeit less talked about accessibility issue. This is another project started by the Rad Mad Lab this semester. Read on..

http://disability.jp/madlab/2020/05/05/light/

Sense-Able Computing

Team Sense-Able Computing of the Rad Mad Lab continued the groundwork laid by Teams "Sense-Able Input P3" and "Sense-Able Output Apple Pi" from last semester.

They aim to build a coding environment that expands beyond the the monitor and keyboard. 

http://disability.jp/madlab/2020/05/05/senseable/

Radical Mapping

Team Radical Mapping of our lab is working towards an embodied navigation system on and off campus. They also just received funding from the campus administration to continue the project.

http://disability.jp/madlab/2020/05/05/rm/

We will be back in Fall.

Prof Karen Nakamura and all the students here at the RadMad Lab wish everyone a safe summer. Stay healthy everyone. We will be back in fall.

http://disability.jp/madlab/2020/05/05/fall/

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Semester 1 @ RadMad Lab

I started as a URAPer at the UC Berkeley Disability Lab, also known as the RadMad Lab

(URAP = Undergrad Research Apprentice Program) 

I think my role at the Lab this semester is best summed up by Prof Nakamura who heads the lab: 

"Hari is the newest student member of the lab. He’s a proud autistic activist and student leader on campus. While he comes out of a deep personal experience with autism, he isn’t familiar with other disability spaces — and as a current and future disability leader, he needs that experience. He’s heading up what we’re faking Team Propaganda - which is to help broaden the public reach of the lab, especially to crip communities." 

The Fall 2019 URAP Team

Personal Reflection: A nonspeaking autistic at the RadMad Disability Lab

http://disability.jp/madlab/2019/12/12/nonspeaking-autistic/ 

More posts on the Lab's work this semester by me

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The RadMad Disability Lab at UC Berkeley 

The Nakamura Disability Lab is one of UC Berkeley’s well-kept secrets tucked away inside one end of the Hearst Annex complex. With its mission of "Making Better Crips," the lab has been operational since 2018 and led by Karen Nakamura who is the Haas endowed chair for Disability Studies and Professor of Anthropology. (more...)

On Power wheelchairs by Corbett O'Toole

Power Wheelchairs are meant to be mobility devices, but counter-intuitively not manufactured for outdoor use.

Community Guest speaker and visitor to the Disability makerspace lab, Corbett OToole was interviewed on some of the challenges that wheelchair users have to contend with. (more...)

When Thumbless Meets Gaming

Most, if not all mainstream gaming controllers assume and require the use of opposable thumbs and a lot of manual dexterity. Commercial controllers are high cost. The goal for " Team Thumbless" at the RadMad Disability Lab at UC Berkeley was to make an accessible and affordable controller using Arduinos, open-source software and low-cost everyday supplies. (more..)

Gena: Models for Inclusive Special Ed

People who are blind or low vision are often excluded from sex education. If they are mainstreamed, health classes rarely have accessible models or diagrams. And even at schools for the blind, teachers don’t always have access to tactile models (which can be very expensive) and must jerry-rig something themselves. (more...)

Free Beeps Project

A wheelchair user often cannot see what is behind them – so they end up hitting walls, doors and sometimes even other people which can be very frustrating. The Free Beep is essentially a backup sensor for power chairs, scooters, etc.(more...)

A Pooch Ramp

Lab members set out to provide solutions to a disabled dog in the community. (more...)

Sense-Able Computing: A Overview

Traditional STEM and Design Tools are simply inaccessible as most assume or even require the ability to use the screen, keyboard and mouse. As a result, many people with disabilities are dissuaded from going into the STEM fields and potentially making valuable contributions. When such a huge field is cut off, disabled people are essentially disempowered from feeling that they too can change the world.

Thus, a major goal for the Lab has been what Prof Karan Nakamura has termed "Sense-Able Computing" or creating a multisensory, tactile, screenless, Turing-complete programming environment. The target audience would be learners who want to change the world but find keyboard/mouse/screen programming environments inaccessible.(more...)

Sense-Able Computing: Input Team

The input team of Sense-Able Computing focused on prototyping a tactile input coding language to help the user learn the basics of coding.(more...)

Sense-Able Computing: Output Team

Team Apple Pi (output arm of “Sense-able Computing”)is trying to make a programmable robot prototype a reality -which would not only move but also have a sensor that would work with the programming language of the input team.(more...)

A non-speaking Autistic at the Disability Lab: A Personal Reflection. (more...)

Spilling the Cha Podcast - Destigmatizing Autism Podcast

 

https://open.spotify.com/episode/2a5ZwhaOkhgbXCw4GPGlNj?si=U1o7XAMwSVapuDUsNiOrDw&fbclid=IwAR3Akcrj4mTxGbjdJBmnLN-T1ddx4OiQ7agWE_5OrEiSeo8fz4UfDwdL57c

The Social Dilemma

 Review of Netflix documentary - "The Social Dilemma" 

“There are only two industries that call their customers users: illegal drugs and software.” 

"...an important message in the documentary is that the increasing polarization and acrimony of today is in part due to technology. Because everyone sees a different news feed that is reinforcing and cementing their beliefs, it can confuse them into thinking “fake news” is real. 

 At the same time, the documentary appears to claim that it’s not the fault of the AI, as AI does not make value judgments; rather, the system itself is biased toward false information as it inherently makes more money, meaning that such technology could well be exploited for the wrong purposes. "

 https://www.dailycal.org/2020/09/29/the-social-dilemma-sheds-light-on-utopian-tech-worlds-dystopian-underbelly/

 

 

Jitterbugging with Co-Eds

 The original Oski "Jitterbugged with co-eds"

LOL

Stanford Neurodiversity Design Thinking Workshop

I was part of a 7 week Stanford Neurodiversity Design Workshop led by Dr Lawrence Fung. An effort at at multi stakeholder design thinking towards solutions for neurodiverse individuals. Today was the final presentation by each group on their ideas.

 

Mentions

 

Student Feedback on Autism Decal.

What interests you about this class

• A friend of mine works with kids with autism and I would like to educate myself more on this topic so that I can be more well versed in this subject area when i talk to them. I would like to learn about pretty much anything yall find most important, im just a dude ryba learn as much as possible.
• It is interesting to learn about the spectrum of autism and how individuals cope with certain levels of the spectrum.
• I am interested in learning more about adults with autism and the kind of support needed and barriers experienced later on in life. I also know a little about who women and girls are less likely to be diagnosed with autism until later on in life due to the way ASD is gendered, but I am curious to learn more about that.
• I hope to build my awareness and knowledge of autism so that I can better understand and be an ally to those around me. I feel that autism is often stigmatized as a disability, and I want to learn more about how we can combat this thinking. I want to learn what symptoms and behaviors are associated with autism.
• - I am interested on how I can be more cognizant of those on the spectrum. Additionally, as an intended disability studies minor, I want to learn more about personal stories by listening to guest speakers etc.
• I am very interested in taking this course because of my interest in better understanding disabilities on many levels. I am aiming to pursue a career in disability research but believe heavily in the importance of understanding disabilities on a personal / social level before having the right to study them on a molecular / neurological level.
• As being on the spectrum, I want to learn more about the condition and maybe provide some insight into the daily life of an autistic person.
• I want to learn more about the autism spectrum, and what it looks like to proactively involved.
• more information about life with autism and advantages or disadvantages
• As a Psychology major, I find that I haven't actually learned much about autism in my classes, although I've learned about mood disorders, intellectual disabilities, and learning disorders. So, I'd like to learn more about the realities of autism and treatment options available.
• I would like to get a more holistic view about autism from different disciplines as well as hear from the guest speakers!
• why they have tendency too hyperfixate. how to navigate social situations with them.
• I've seen autism depicted in media, and am curious to see if their depictions are accurate, and i just want to understand and be able to empathize more with people who do have autism.
• I've always wanted to take a class focused on Autism, and I came to know of this class through Obama's Instagram ;) I would like to learn more about Autism through the perspective of someone with Autism. I also would like to learn more about the biological basis behind autism. Overall, I am most excited to meet more people and hear everyone's various experiences.
• Just want to gain some general understanding about Autism to be able to broaden my sensitivity to and understanding of the needs of neurodiverse people :)
• I'd like to hear about what it's like to be autistic from someone who has autism and how to be a helpful ally.
• I am pursuing the disability studies minor and would like to educate myself more around the topic of disability. I think this will be a great way to know more about autism as we are taught very little about it in school.
• I would like to meet other people on the spectrum, hear there stories / experience and have a safe place to share my own.
• I'm interested in this course because I've learned a couple of things about the autism spectrum from my child development and psychology classes, but not a significant amount, and I guess I've just realized recently that I'm relatively ignorant on the subject. I'd like to change that. I don't have anything specific in mind to learn more about but I'm very excited to learn more!
• I would love to learn more about autism alongside disability justice. I took a city planning for disability course a while back and it was very valuable and I learned a lot!
• I would like to educate myself about people with autism. I took a course with professor Hinshaw and it was really interesting and I would like to learn more about Autism.
• I joined this class because I have a family member who was recently diagnosed and I wanted to learn as much as I could about Autism Spectrum Disorder so that I could support that family member. I'm interested in learning about family dynamics and learn more about the current research on ASD.
• I would like to better understand autism and learn how I can positively impact the community.
• I have a twin brother who was diagnosed with ASD in the 5th grade. From this course I want to learn more about ASD in hopes to better understand my brother. My brother is considered "high functioning", so I'm really curious how doctors diagnose someone with Autism and how they decide if they're low/high functioning. My brother has also struggled with IEP accommodations growing up, so I would like to know how disability programs work at public schools and how schools decide if a student qualifies for IEP/DSP accommodations.
• I study neurodevelopment with relevance to ASD. I would like to learn more about ASD from perspectives beyond my research area, particularly disability rights/advocacy and intersectionality. I am hoping to have a better understanding of how I as a researcher can interact with the autism community in a positive way that doesn’t cause harm. I’m hoping this class will give me the space to think about ways to center the interests and needs of folks with autism in my research and beyond.
• It’s felt like talking about autism was taboo, but I really want to understand what the experience is and how to support folks who may have autism.
• 
  

Stanford Neurodiversity Summit

 

I'll be speaking on Oct 20 morning session. 

Registration Link

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/stanford-neurodiversity-summit-tickets-115366333810

Climate Change!!

 4pm 9/11/20

Air Quality due to the Wildfires. 

Creative Workarounds and Silver Linings

 

https://www.neuronav.org/post/creative-workarounds-and-silver-linings

A reflection for the NeuroNav newsletter

Science Fiction or What

The smoky air from the Mendocino County wildfires 100 miles away, hovering above the bay area. 

1pm

12p

11am - is it lightening up?

10:30am - Red mixed with gray clouds

10am: A distinct orange, tending to orange-red

9:30am: Yellow Orange Skies

7am - dark grey skies. light ash fall 

An Explanation

https://www.berkeleyside.com/2020/09/09/its-not-the-end-of-the-world-despite-appearances-to-the-contrary-in-berkeley?fbclid=IwAR2dDrT-ziGY8GJt-NYBPEsBQ7kXDNieYNW3o8chEnwF3BixJHbOkPZPNo8

— is caused by smoke from the over 300,000-acre August Complex fires burning in Mendocino and neighboring counties.

The Bay Area is directly downwind from the fires and strong winds are pushing smoke about 5,000 feet up in the air through a process called “turbulent mixing.” Or, as NWS meteorologist Drew Peterson put it: “It’s kind of like if there’s a pile of dust, and someone took a leaf blower to it and flung it all up into the air.”

The sky is orange because longer wavelength light (reds and oranges) are able to push through smoke particulates, whereas shorter wavelengths (blues and purples) are filtered out. And it has gotten progressively darker since (the largely invisible) sunrise. According to the National Weather Service, as the winds weaken, gravity takes over as the primary vertical transport of the smoke. “Suspended smoke will descend closer to the surface and could lead to darker skies and worsening air quality today,” the agency posted on Twitter, adding, “This is beyond the scope of our models so we rely on your reports!”

Berkeleyans have been sharing dramatic photo on social media since they woke up — describing the view as a “nuclear winter” or  the “Twilight Zone.”

The good news — and boy do we need good news on an eerie day like today — is that the air quality is actually pretty good in Berkeley. According to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District monitor at the Aquatic Park, it was at the yellow, “moderate” level (79 MP2.5) by the 7 a.m. count.

 

Journey to Stats and R

So Begins Stats2 and R

rrrrrrrr,,,,

 

Collaborating on Anxiety in Neurodiversity

Over the summer, I was part of a Stanford Rebuilt Project - NDGifts (Neuro diversity, Giving Individuals full team success.). It was a collaborative effort by around 72 people from across the world. It is the idea of helping employers better understand ND so that ND folks also become part of the employment landscape. I wrote the section on Anxiety as Comorbidity of the 81 page report. 

Launch Event on 9/3/20 (From 0:52 mins) - on Youtube
Link to the Report: My section starts on Page 50 

I actually heard about this project from another recent Berkeley graduate, Cole, who is also part of this project. It’s been an unusual summer sitting at home, with rampant cabin fever.

There were many areas that Tiffany laid out that we could get involved in and frankly I was feeling a little overwhelmed at the beginning. I already deal with a lot of anxiety and this summer of pandemic has not been kind to many of us autistics in some ways and it has felt very oppressive and suffocating.

So I thought, why not take on the topic of anxiety as a co-morbidity and write on it. Writing can be cathartic and therapeutic as well as informational for others, and I have written on mental health in autism before.

Other topics I was interested in writing about was how neurodiversity is defined, how it is represented in the media and the whole special education system which is a mess with gatekeeping at every level. Had lots of thoughts on many of these things. Of course it's absolutely unrealistic to take on writing so many. So I focused on the anxiety part. But was able to add inputs to other different areas in the meetings.

Tiffany was also super helpful in funneling a lot of research articles my way as I was trying to set up the remote login to the Berkeley library system to access research materials. So that was super helpful.

Sometimes the hardest part is to get started and Nicole was really great on that and she outlined a nice framework to work within. It was great working with Nicole.

So the section is a combination of literature review of existing research and incorporating personal experiences to give it a human angle, that there are real people at the end of it reflecting liv’d experiences.

I think mental health is something that people have not quite understood, a kind of fuzzy logic. Sometimes it seems like the newest buzzword, to be used almost like a fashion accessory, which saddens me as it dilutes the needs of those who really have to liv with it.

Everyone also seems to assume that Mental health is a stand alone condition. So if you have autism, it must preclude anxiety. I think what we are trying to say is that anxiety is a very real thing, a very real co-existing condition, a very real comorbidity of neurodivergence.

If you think about it, Mental health is inevitable after years of feeling different, that you don’t belong, and being excluded. The nature of the neurodiversity itself, whether it's autism or ADHD or dyslexia or dysgraphia, can itself be a source of anxiety as can environmental factors and societal attitudes. We go into explaining these in the report. It does not matter if the disability is very visible like in my case or invisible as in the case of many others, each has different anxieties around it.

I have both learned from and enjoyed writing this section as well as reviewing and providing feedback to other sections.

I think one of the surprising ironies of this pandemic, or rather its bright lights, is that zoom has been able to connect us to people from around the world. It was amazing to hear different perspectives across times zones and across continents. So we were zooming and working off the same google drive and it did not matter that we were literally crossing physical oceans.

As an autistic I have a huge personal stake in seeing improvements across the board for our community. I tentatively attended the first meeting and found an important area was being targeted, getting employers to understand what neurodiversity was about.

You see, you can implement all kinds of laws to mandate equitable access to employment, but laws will not translate to anything as long as employers feel uncertain and uncomfortable about what they are dealing with.

It's no use just telling employers that they need to be doing this for the greater good because everyone needs to be included. They will always find a workaround to not go into unknown employee territory if they don’t understand what accommodations can look like or that there can actually be advantages to them. Neurodiversity is a huge spectrum which can make it seem overwhelming but it can also be a spectrum of un thought of skill sets that can be harnessed.

I had another stake in this project in that some faces in the neurodiversity populations such as autistics with higher support needs, are less visible even to general society, and therefore less visible to employers as well. For instance, I’m not the image of what you imagine a college going autistic would look like. But why should individuals like me be a rarity in the college world and hence the employment world. I wanted to give a voice to this population as well, that we exist and have skills to contribute too. And we can create win-win situations.

It stands to reason therefore that as potential employers learn about neurodiversity, they will become more amenable to including all of neurodiversity in the employment arena. We can help employers get over this fear of the unknown and find out that perhaps we are all not so different after all. I believe this project is a step in expanding understanding and kind of demystifying neurodiversity.

Simple really, from my point of view as an autistic. All of us, whether abled or disabled want to be contributing members of society. We all need to wake up to something meaningful every day.