Neurodiversity is not a problem.

"Neurodiversity can actually bring lots of skills to the table 

and should not be overlooked as a 'problem'" 

- student in my 1:54 Autism Disorder Decal Class

A plethora of skillsets

Sharing Art made by student in my 1:54 Autism DeCal class this semester, 

Image Credit: Smriti Panchal

Ted Talk in poster refers to https://youtu.be/8K9Gg164Bsw

Good Job. You're so Brave

Sharing art made by students in my 1:54 Autism Spectrum Disorder Class.

Image Credit: Thanh Pham

Quote is from Stella Young's Ted Talk https://youtu.be/8K9Gg164Bsw

Vision - Imagining the Future

 

Image Credit: Sophia Zaleski

Sharing art made by the Students in my 1:54 Autism DeCal class this semester, which reflects something (learned in class or outside) about autism.

Rethink your perspective.

Image Credit: Emma Zhao

Sharing art made by students in my 1:54 Autism Class

 

Inspiration Porn

 

One of the Lecture slides used in 1:54 Autism Class

Inspiration porn was coined by disabled comedian Maysoon Zayid and popularized by the disabled activist Stella Young in her Ted Talk. (I had initially thought it was coined by Stella Young, just due to the popularity of her Ted Talk, till I was corrected by disability activity Rebecca Cockley who knew both)

Inspiration porn is a term used to describe the objectification of the disabled, where they are depicted as heroic or inspirational solely because of their disability. This type of portrayal often reinforces negative stereotypes and promotes ableism, which is discrimination against the disabled and gate-keeps actual solutions. 

For instance, a common example of inspiration porn is when a disabled person  is depicted as "overcoming" their disability and achieving success or accomplishing one specific task, which is then celebrated as an extraordinary achievement. Even mere academic success can be seen as "extraordinary" and makes the newspapers, when the equivalent would have been a non-event for a non-disabled peer. 

This type of portrayal can be problematic because it reinforces the notion that the disabled should be judged solely based on their ability to conform to able-bodied standards by becoming "super heroes."

Objectification, where the disabled are often seen as objects of pity, is also used as self-motivation by the non-disabled, who may view the contrast between their own lives and those of the disabled as a source of inspiration and motivation. This is very self-serving and primarily benefits the non-disabled. The object of pity (the disabled) is going to feel worse, while the 'pitier,' can walk away feeling inspired. 

Moreover, inspiration porn often fails to acknowledge the systemic barriers and discrimination faced by the disabled.  By presenting the occasional story of "inspirational porn," it can justify the societal indifference in creating actual solutions for the disabled. What each such "inspiration porn' story seems to suggest is that if that disabled person could achieve success, then all others must be able to do magically do so as well; without additional supports, thus reducing societal guilt at its lack of action.

Therefore, it's important to recognize and challenge the harmful effects of inspiration porn and work towards creating a more inclusive and equitable society and where solutions are being worked towards.
This requires acknowledging and addressing the systemic barriers and discrimination and on working towards real solutions, rather than relying on objectifying and dehumanizing portrayals of people with disabilities for motivation or inspiration.

SPSS Poster Presentation

 Got selected for a poster presentation (my first) at the SPSS convention today

SPSS = Society for Personality and Social Psychology

Was an interesting experience. 

A non-linear spectrum

The main takeaway for me was that autism is a non-linear spectrum and there are many different elements that autistic people struggle or do well in on varying levels. Everyone with autism has unique challenges and strengths and supporting autistic people in environments that disable them usually cannot be done with general broad practices or systems.

- Student in my 1:54 Autism Decal Disorder Class, 2/10/22

Why take a class on Autism

What students had to say about why the wanted to take about the autism decal class (From Spring 22 & Fall 21 students)

• I am interested in developmental psychology and psychiatry, but I always felt like I did not learn enough about autism spectrum disorders in my classes. I would like to learn about autism in general and find what I can do to better understand and support.
• I just want to learn more about autism because I want to become a special education preschool teacher in the future
• My cousin has autism and I used to spend a lot of time with him as a child. When I was young, I had a lot of difficulty understanding him because he would often pull my hair or ruin drawings and paintings that I made. I haven't seen him since I moved to the U.S. but I plan on visiting Korea soon after COVID settles down. This time I want to understand him better and therefore I'm taking the course.
• I have always been interested in autism. I would like to learn as much as I can about it from physiological\medical aspect, any past\ongoing researches about it. I would also be interested in learning about past attempts to cure it, and current methods that claim to cure it (even though not proven scientifically).
• i have extreme ADHD, borderline autism, so i’m so fascinated to know more about it. i want to know how different traits show up in different ways in different people and what is the universal cutoff between adhd and autism?
• I'm currently working as a Behavioral Technician at --- Autism Therapy, so I hope that taking this course would make me a better one for my client! I also want to learn more about autism because my training was purely clinical.
• As someone who recently discovered her own neurodivergence, I would love to learn more about certain autistic behaviors and how I can better identify them. I'd also love to learn how to better support people with autism when they're overstimulated or unable to voice their discomfort, as well as where ADHD and autism differ (because I have an ADHD diagnosis, but suspect that I may be on the spectrum).
• There's quite a big stigma surrounding autism where I'm from (middle east), and I'd like to overcome that. I don't know much about the condition at all -- even the 1 in 54 statistic was very surprising to me! -- and hopefully gain a better sense of what it means to live with it. Overall I just want to be more attentive to others' needs, and be aware of what it means to cope with neurodivergence.
• Child development as it relates to autism
• I have friends and family members who do have Autism, so I'd like to gain a greater understanding on what Autism is. As an aspiring health care professional, I'd also like to be more knowledgeable.
• I'm interested in learning more about ASD and how it impacts development and later life at different levels
• Leaning more about ASD to better support my family and future students
• I have worked with people on the spectrum, and I have always loved learning about genetics as well as development, and I'd just like to learn more about autism in general.
• I want to dive deeper into the literature around autism, and hopefully gain a deeper understanding of my own cognition through that process. I am also really excited to have the opportunity to learn from and talk to other autistic people.
• During quarantine I started learning more about autism from doing my own research online. I found communities of late-diagnosed and undiagnosed autistic people and started to realize how I related to many of the experiences that these people were sharing. After a lot of self-reflection and rumination on life experiences from childhood to now, as well as looking at my family members' experiences, I concluded that I am probably autistic and I have multiple family members who are also likely undiagnosed autistics. I'm seeking community from this class. I want to learn more about autism within other marginalized communities and how those intersecting identities affect people's lives, perspectives, and access to resources (like medical/psychological health care, school accommodations, employment, etc.). I want to learn more about what US policies are doing to help/hurt autistic people.
• This course is interesting to me because my little brother is diagnosed with autism and I am curious to learn more.
• I want to understand my cousin more. I know how lonely and frustrating it can be to be put aside for reasons out of your control. I haven't done a good job including him or interacting with him because I don't know how or am afraid I will upset him in some way. I am planning to be a speech pathologist in the future and specifically want to work with children on the spectrum.
• I would love to learn more about the various types of autism and what to know about when working with someone with autism.
• Learn more about autism overall, nothing specific I just want to gain a better understanding of it
• The reason why I'm interested in the course is that I learned about autism but in high school and wanted to educate myself and be more self aware about autism. I definitely would love to learn more about the different characteristics of autism because I've learned in the past how autism affects people in multiple ways. Some topics I would like to learn more about is how to interact/communicate with someone who has autism.
• I'm interested to learn more about autism. Specifically, how autism differs between boys and girls. I know girls are better at masking - causing further many girls to never receive a diagnosis until more recently. I'm also interested to look into the neurological differences, if any, between individuals diagnosed with autism and individuals who are not diagnosed with autism.
• I have worked with children on the autistic spectrum for the past five years in mentorship programs, and would like to learn more about autism in general
• I want to understand autism better in general because my older brother has autism. I think that studying autism in this course will help me better understand his experience and give me ideas on how to better support to him. In particular, I am most interested in nonverbal autism.
• I would like to better understand autism and how to best accommodate and promote autistic people because I feel like there's a general lack of knowledge and misunderstanding in society about autism. Thus, I want to improve my knowledge and be able to spread awareness.
• Everything! History, assessment, etiology
• I would love to learn how to be more understanding with those on the autism spectrum and to understand how they think more.
• This course interests me because I honestly do not know much about the actual disorder, and I have just had exposure to people on the spectrum. I hope to learn more about the variability within the spectrum and I would like to know more about the disorder's history and discovery.
• Pathologization of autism; intersectionality; the future of autism; who is autistic?
• Too much to type, but I worked with a club in high school called Circle of Friends where we did friendly activities with autistic individuals
• I'm not too sure what autism is, but I have some friends who are on the spectrum, so anything would be great.
• I'm considering focusing on neurodivergence for my main subject in my American Studies major so I was hoping this class could give me a little bit more solid background / an intro to what Berkeley classes on the subject would seem like.
• I have always been interested in learning more about the spectrum since I spent a lot of my time after high school with autistic children at their school and just hanging out with them aiding them with their extra curricular activities like drama club and dance. I would like to really know a lot more about the people on the spectrum and I would also like to help spread awareness and "normalize" people that aren't neurotypical.
• Neurodiversity is one of my special interests so I'm excited to learn more about it! Right now I'm especially interested in learning more about how autism intersects with different identities/presents differently in different groups, and also how masking can affect different areas in autistic peoples lives that might be less well known or less talked about. One topic I haven't looked into much yet but want to learn more about is how stigmatized autism is in the medical/scientific field and how that affects the research done on autism.
• I am a disabled activist and often partner with autistic activists as well as families of autistic people. I know a little about the ABA controversy, but would like to know one. I have also done a little reading about how Autistic women may present differently. Finally, I have Cerebral Palsy and at times have interesting reactions to stuff myself. For example, I HATE getting my nails clipped. Very much an overreaction.
• Being on the spectrum, I am interested in not just thinking about how my mind is similar to or different from that of others, but I am also interested in meeting other people in on the spectrum, as beyond my mother, I’ve never throughout my life met someone as such.
• I've recently been looking into autism research and have begun to (tentatively) identify myself as autistic. I'm hoping to better understand myself through this course and also learn more about autistic history/culture, lived experiences, and how being on the spectrum affects people who also have other disorders like ADHD.
• I want to learn more about autism so I can be a supportive friend to every autistic I know and will meet in the future, as well as stand in solidarity with autistics for equal rights and universal accessibility. I want to learn what needs I should be aware of to be an accommodating friend and keep those in mind when I am in leadership positions.
• As a person with autism, I am interested in learning more about how the neurotypical world contrasts with the way I think. I would specifically like to study differences in brain structure among people with autism. Also, I've heard that people on the spectrum are more likely to identify as LGBT+. I find this interesting, especially given that I am a gay person myself. This would be a topic I would like to learn more about as well. I also think that this course would be a great way to meet people on the spectrum! In fact, I've never known (that I know of) a peer of my age that is also on the spectrum.
• Autism is rarely talked about in society, and if so, often only in negative / inaccurate ways. I hope to learn more about autism from actual autistics and those who are knowledgable about the subject. Topics I’d like to know more about: intersectionality in autism, masking, autism in the workplace + autism in adulthood, mental health / comorbid conditions with autism
• I want to learn how autism affects someone because my brother has very slight autism so my family and I don't truly understand to what extent autism affects the way him.
• I don't know very much about the spectrum, so I am interested to find out more. I think it is interesting how autism affects different people. I think it also would be interesting to see how society views people on the spectrum.
• I wish to learn everything I can. Very open to any learning I can get.
• I'm taking this course because I've interned at a couple non-profits working with people on the spectrum, and I want to know learn more and how to be the best ally I can!
• I'm a disability rights activist and work with Autistic activists so that piqued my interest. I also know ABA is considered not great by some Autistic activists, but not sure exactly why and want to learn more. Finally, though I don't think I'm Autistic, I do have Cerebral Palsy and consider myself neurodivergent and at times have sensory integration issues or something. (For example I hate getting my finger nails clipped) and at times I do things in a very particular way ( For example. When eating different foods on one plate, I have to always go from least favorite food to most favorite.).
• I would like to learn more about Autism in general and how people on different areas of the spectrum present themselves. Learning tools to communicate with and understand those with autism would be great.
• As someone who is not autistic I would like to know more what it is like to live with autism, and what I can personally do to create a welcoming and safe environment for them. My cousin is autistic and he is 10 years old and non verbal. I never want feel like I'm not giving him everything he needs.
• I'm a soon to be behavorial technician. I'm very excited to be working with children on the spectrum. I want to have a positive impact on the kids I'll be working with and I want to be as prepared as possible and I believe this course will be extremely beneficial. I would love to learn ways I can best support children with ASD. I really want to learn as much as possible about ASD and how I can help shift our society to being more inclusive and aware of how to support people with ASD.
• How to reduce stigma surrounding autism
• From the little I know about the course, the community interests me most. I don't know much about autism spectrum disorder aside from what my friends on the spectrum have told me, so I would like to educate myself on other perspectives on the spectrum.

When it all began

 Photos sent by Chad, one of my first therapists. Age 3-4. I was so tiny when I started therapy. 

Infantile and Regressive Autism

I learned about the difference between infantile autism and regressive autism.

- Student in my 1:54 Autism Disorder DeCal Class. 2/3/22

Nuance of multiply marginalized

Multiply marginalized people have unique experiences 

that add nuance to our discussions of autism!

- Student in my 1:54 Autism Spectrum Disorder Class 2/3/22

Critical Disability Studies

Critical disability studies is an interdisciplinary field of study that explores the social, cultural, historical, political, and economic dimensions of disability.  It applies critical theories to explore how disability is constructed, experienced, and represented in society.

 The field aims to challenge dominant norms, power structures, and ableism while advocating for social justice, inclusion, and the rights of disabled individuals. It explores topics such as disability identity, accessibility, discrimination, intersectionality, and the social and political implications of disability