Cal Football
BioMedical Research is IMPORTANT for Autism.
BioMedical Research is IMPORTANT for Autism.
I wish people stop conflating all Autism Biomedical Research as a cure; cure being something the disability rights movement has been against. Honestly no amount of biomedical research is going to reverse disability but it can go a long way in alleviating some of its more troubling symptoms and health issues.
Reality is that a majority of a the moderate-high support autistic individuals do have significant health issues, and other behavioral issues that significantly impact their quality of life.
WE NEED solutions, including BIOMEDICAL ones and TECH ones in addition to changes in SOCIETAL MINDSET that is the main focus of the neurodiversity movement to address these issues.
Shutting down all and any biomedical research is a disservice to the autism community.
SIB's are real. 20% of autistics have SIB. Why are we not looking at SIBs at a physiological level. SIBs leave you battered and traumatized from personal experience. It is something I don't want to live with and I would gladly welcome any research on it. It's not about a CURE, its helping me life a less stressful life - my "pursuit of happiness."
How can these autistics get to the level of demanding acceptance, inclusion in education and employment that the neurodiversity movement is asking for, if the very same group is denying the very things that gives them to the platform of equity.
Why can't I have both - the biology to help with my challenges and the accommodations/inclusion of neurodiversity.
Light Snowfall
Falling softly, without a care.
But to college neuroscience I must go
Blood brain barriers and biophysiology today
I did not like walking in that cold
The cold bites, the wind moans.
Goosebumps, hard to withstand.
Though it's harsh, it's also grand.
Snow today
Another round of snow today. Just a light snowfall like a constant drizzle of rain all day. Had to go to college anyway. Had to walk from the parking lot to class and then move from one building to next for the next class. It was gloomy at 4pm and quite cold at 36 F.
Thunderstorm Haikus
Severe Thunderstorm warning.... 60 mph wind gusts. Half Dollar size Hail... 1.25 inch. Damage to Vehicle is expected. Expect wind damage to roofs, siding and trees. For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building.
In the meantime, dry California, which is not used to rain, is getting battered with the relentless rain deluge, wind gusts, flooding, mudslides and sinkholes with seven consecutive storms starting just before the start of 2023. Flooding is inevitable when you get 1 month worth of rain falling in one day with a cumulative effect with storm after storm. The annual wildfires and the continued drought had left behind bare hills and parched soil, which aggravate the mudslides and floods.
Autistics must not Stim
Autistics and stims. Please rethink.
Autistics MUST NOT stim.
Please rethink….
Stimming serves a purpose, its true
A coping mechanism, a way to soothe.
Calming nerves, reorganizing thoughtsA brush with Somatosensory body remapping
Engaging in stims... is quite typical for neurotypicals!!
Society accepts these stims with ease
Oh, the irony!!
... nonstop clicking of TV remote
... mindless paper doodling
... obsessive loop of tik-tok and youtube shorts
... head buried in phone when walking - accidents waiting to happen.
So should autistics be allowed to stim mindlessly too?
Au contraire, it's not always a breeze.
Stimming is exhausting, Energy consuming
A switch on repeat, an obsessive desire.
Runaway motor movements. No pause or stop
Maddening. All consuming. Overwhelming
Autistics and stims. Please rethink.
Some stimming can be beneficial, it's true.
But cross a threshold, and it becomes OCD,
The cutoff is something you need to determine.
Find balance in stimming, it's key,
To regulate emotions and bring inner peace.
Elusive Sleep
Elusive Sleep.
Eyes wide open, mind in a haze
Sleep does not come, no matter how I try
Tossing and turning, pacing the floor
Thoughts racing, as the night goes on
A battle lost, sleep remains gone
The night seems endless, my mind won't compose
The hours pass, and the night wears thin
But sleep remains elusive, just won't restart
Frustration and exhaustion sink deep,
I try to relax, but my body is tense
Dreams elude me, as the night wears on
A prisoner of my thoughts, until the dawn
I'm trapped in a cycle I can't win
A new day awaits, but for now, I cannot cope.
Birth of a Star - a moment of Awe
Academic Reading
Print vs e-copy
While text to speech software is great with humanities and a majority of social sciences, they are not as good with science/math textbooks. It can only be a supplement at best for science.
1. Mangles and Winces.
2. Images
In general I find that the text-voice-output is too slow.
When I went to the PD Soros conference in New York last fall, I met another PD Soros fellow at Harvard Law who is also blind. His screen reader plays at 5x speed or more. He explained that he was hearing at the speed of reading with the eyes. That is his ears were acting like his eyes. Apparently, that is perfectly normal in the blind community.
I was rather relieved to know that my asking for a faster text-voice speed is not so unusual after all. And maybe reading much faster like visual scanning is not unusual either. I know my sensory system is all over the place, maybe my senses are compensating too.
Optimize Input-Output Time
A slower output (due to oral motor apraxia, fine motor and other issues) does not have to translate into slower input (absorption of cognitive material). I think that's how I've been able to manage academics time-wise. My output is clumsy and slow but my input is pretty fast. Which is probably the reverse for NT peers. They type away at enviable speeds.
Context and Mood dependent
Autism does not look the same every hour and every day. It's not predictable what the next hour will look like. Sometimes I'm more visual, other days I'm more auditory and some days I need both. Sometimes my mind is tired and sluggish and in a brain fog mode. Lots of causes - maybe a barometric pressure change, med effects, weather, you body just not there. There are days, not much sinks in visually. A text-speech reader of books is definitely helpful in those times as a supplement to tired eyes and tired brain. It's one more modality of input which can definitely help. A slower reader speed can potentially help those times.