A Demigirl (also called a Demiwoman, Demifemale or a Demilady) is a gender identity describing someone who partially identifies as a woman or girl. In addition to feeling partially like a girl or woman, demigirls also feel partly outside the binary. That can include anything under the non-binary umbrella like agender, genderqueer, or xenogenders for example. Demifemme is a superset of demigirl. It is for someone who isn't comfortable with having a gendered term like female, woman, girl, etc. in
Quantifying compensatory strategies in adults with and without diagnosed autism - Molecular Autism
Background There is growing recognition that some autistic people engage in ‘compensation’, showing few behavioural symptoms (e.g. neurotypical social skills), despite continuing to experience autism-related cognitive difficulties (e.g. difficulties in social cognition). One way this might be achieved is by individuals consciously employing ‘compensatory strategies’ during everyday social interaction. However, very little is currently known about the broad range of these strategies, their mechanisms and consequences for clinical presentation and diagnosis. Methods We aimed to measure compensatory strategies in autism for the first time. Using a novel checklist, we quantified self-reported social compensatory strategies in 117 adults (58 with autism, 59 without autism) and explored the relationships between compensation scores and autism diagnostic status, autistic traits, education level, sex and age at diagnosis. Results Higher compensation scores—representing a greater repertoire of compensatory strategies—were associated with having an autism diagnosis, more autistic traits and a higher education level. The link between autism diagnostic status and compensation scores was, however, explained by autistic traits and education level. Compensation scores were unrelated to sex or age at diagnosis. Limitations Our sample was self-selected and predominantly comprised of intellectually able females; therefore, our findings may not generalise to the wider autistic population. Conclusions Together, our findings suggest that many intellectually able adults, with and without a clinical diagnosis of autism, report using compensatory strategies to modify their social behaviour. We discuss the clinical utility of measuring self-reported compensation (e.g., using our checklist), with important implications for the accurate diagnosis and management of autism and related conditions.
Economic Impact of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Children and Adolescents
Abstract. Using a cost of illness (COI) framework, this article examines the economic impact of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in childhood and
Economic Impact of Childhood and Adult Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in the United States
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most prevalent mental
disorders in children in the United States and often persists into adulthood with
associated symptomatology and impairments. This article comprehensively reviews studies
reporting ADHD-related incremental (excess) costs for children/adolescents and adults
and presents estimates of annual national incremental costs of ADHD.
My Fellow Distractoids, One main attribute of an unreconstructed Distractoid is frequent payment of the “ADHD Tax.” Masters of Distraction (MODS), on the other hand, rarely have to pony up to “The Man.” At this point you might ask, “What the hell is the ADHD tax?” Answer: it’s the price you pay for costly mistakes […]
At this point you might ask, “What the hell is the ADHD tax?” Answer: it’s the price you pay for costly mistakes due to symptoms of ADHD. Some obvious examples are parking and traffic tickets, late fees, high interest debt (i.e. credit cards), and low credit score (leading to higher interest debt, inability to get loans, problems renting apartments and buying cars, etc.). Sound familiar?But get this: those are only perhaps the most common examples. The hidden ADHD Tax can be much much higher. In fact the hidden ADHD Tax is not measured in dollars: it’s measured in wasted time, physical well being, mental health, personal freedom (vs. incarceration), and — yes — years on your life.
If you identify as being highly sensitive, intuitive, or an ‘empath’, you may tend to avoid conflict as much as possible and will deny your truth in an attempt to make those you feel dependent upon or care about comfortable. But in reality, people-pleasing serves no-one in the end...
Fawn: The Trauma Response That Is Easiest to Miss — Trauma Geek
“Fawn types seek safety by merging with the wishes, needs and demands of others.” - Pete Walker “Fawn is the process of abandoning self for the purpose of attending to the needs of others.” - Dr. Arielle Schwartz Fawning is taking care of others by suppressing my own emotions, ne
Fawning is taking care of others by suppressing my own emotions, needs, or identity. It’s something I’ve done since I was a very small child, and it’s something that I observe people doing around me almost every day. Fawning is a trauma response, and it’s also an expected social behavior in western cultures. We are conditioned to perform *prosocial behaviors in almost every social setting regardless of our internal state.
In terms of polyvagal theory, when we neurocept (subconsciously perceive) a certain level of danger, the fawn response is one of the possible trauma responses that our body uses for survival purposes. The fawn response involves both Fight/Flight and Freeze activation at the same time. This is like pushing the gas pedal on a car while the emergency brake is engaged - and why fawning as a habitual long-term protective strategy causes major health problems. The Fight/Flight (sympathetic) system provides the power or fuel for movement and micro-movements that meet the needs of others. The Freeze (dorsal vagus) circuit causes dissociation and disconnection to suppress any expression that does not meet others needs and to protect our psyche from the loss of autonomy involved in the survival performance.
In one sense prosocial behaviors are any behaviors that are positive, helpful, and intended to promote social acceptance and friendship. However in practice, prosocial behaviors are more narrowly defined to enforce neurotypical socio-cultural values such as eye contact, verbal conversations, interest in large group social activities, direct social engagement, turn taking, etc.
Autistic people and other neurodivergent people are greatly impacted by biased cultural assumptions about what Safe states look like and what trauma responses look like. Our fawn responses are often misread as Safe states, and our Safe states are often misread as trauma responses. This leads to ineffective and potentially traumatizing “care” that is aimed at “healing” our supposed trauma responses so that we will appear to be in a Safe state more often.
Now I understand, for many neurodivergent people, increasing our access to the Safe state will do the opposite. When we are fawning less, we show less stereotypical social behaviors. Fawning less frequently may not be safe in certain environments or situations and should not universally be held up as a goal for treatment.As I seek to bridge a positive neurodiversity paradigm with Porges, it feels more and more important to me to distinguish between the fawn trauma response and the Safe social engagement state for myself and for other self-healers and for professionals.
What is Gestalt Language Processing? Gestalt Language Processing: a form of language development that moves from whole, memorized phrases to single words. These scripts or Gestalts come from movies, videos, and things overheard and memorized. A style of language development with predictable stages that begins with production of multi-word “gestalt forms” and ends with productionWhat is Gestalt Language Processing? Gestalt Language Processing: a form of language development that moves from whole, memorized phrases to single words. These scripts or Gestalts come from movies, videos, and things overheard and memorized. A style of language development with predictable stages that begins with production of multi-word “gestalt forms” and ends with production
The most FAQs and common questions I'm asked as a pro-neurodiversity Speech and Language Therapist. What's wrong with Social Skills Training? What are examples of ableist goals? What do you do instead of PECS? What's wrong with functioning labels? What's wrong with desensitisation therapy?
**Please note that training delivered online is via a Zoom account held by Dr Farahar. ** In-person training needs to be agreed before booking, and prices are exclusive of travel (also exclusive of…
Find here explainer videos about the three Autistic-derived theories of Autistic experience: Monotropism theory (Dinah Murray), Double empathy problem (Damian Milton), and Autistic language hypothe…
Autistic people have social skills. Learn about unique characteristics and strengths of autistic communication, such as info-dumping, echolalia, the differences between how NT and autistic people form relationships.
Rachel Cullen (they/them) Rachel Cullen (they/them) is an Autistic researcher and advocate and proud member of the LGBTQIA+ community with an undergraduate degree in English literature and language…
I came up with “Tendril Theory” when someone in a support group asked for a good way to explain executive function, specifically the challenge of being interrupted or having to switch t…
Between 1 and 2 percent of us are autistic, yet we still label autism as being ‘mysterious’. There is one approach to autism called monotropism which has hitherto largely been overlooked and which can provide a way to link all the pieces...
There are some hard-to-die (kill) and outdated theories about why we are Autistic. These have largely been developed from an outside perspective – they are developed by non-autistic, neuro-typical …
Learn neurodiversity approaches. How to write assessment descriptors, casenotes and goals. Questions, checklists, a questionnaire download for your students.
“I often have to explain to school staff what she needs”. School experiences of non-autistic siblings growing up with an autistic brother or sister
Recent autism research has evidenced a shift from psychological outcomes to contextualised approaches to understanding the varying needs of non autist…
Picture my well-being: Listening to the voices of students with autism spectrum disorder - PubMed
To promote well-being, barriers should be mitigated, while external and internal assets developed. Researchers should also consider the use of Photovoice to enable students' meaningful participation in research studies.
PDF | The present chapter reviews findings on justice sensitivity as an indicator of an individual’s concern for justice. People differ systematically... | Find, read and cite all the research you need on ResearchGate
Something important you may not know about Autism & ADHD
There are a number of possible reasons for neurodivergent people experiencing emotions more intensely than others. Neurodivergent people often experience emotional lability, emotional impulsivity, and negative intent attribution.We’re kind of an intense bunch sometimes.But that’s okay, our intensity can be a positive thing too: Neurodivergents can be more creative and more passionate. That creativity and passion can drive us to take action where others may not, and our cognitive rigidity can give us a strong sense of morals. These features combined make us more susceptible to a variety of sensitivities, including justice sensitivity.For example, in 2015, researchers found that participants with ADHD reported significantly higher justice sensitivity and greater perceptions of injustice than those without ADHD.That same year, Schäfer & Kraneburg did an interesting study in search of a deeper understanding of why neurodivergents are prone to Justice Sensitivity, which is what I will discuss here.
Dandelions, tulips and orchids: evidence for the existence of low-sensitive, medium-sensitive and high-sensitive individuals
Translational Psychiatry - Dandelions, tulips and orchids: evidence for the existence of low-sensitive, medium-sensitive and high-sensitive individuals
Findings suggest that environmental sensitivity is a continuous and normally distributed trait but that people fall into three distinct sensitive groups along a sensitivity continuum.
In conclusion, besides providing evidence that the HSP scale reflects indeed a unitary dimension of environmental sensitivity, we identified three sensitivity groups in the general population rather than the two proposed by common theories on individual differences in environmental sensitivity. In addition to high-sensitive (i.e. orchids) and low-sensitive (i.e. dandelions) individuals, we also detected a group representing individuals with medium sensitivity (i.e. tulips). Orchids are characterised by higher neuroticism and lower extraversion while being more susceptible to positive mood induction. Dandelions are more extraverted and score lower on neuroticism but also have a lower positive emotional reactivity with tulips being situated between dandelions and orchids.
Differential Susceptibility to Environmental Influences - International Journal of Child Care and Education Policy
Evidence that adverse rearing environments exert negative effects particularly on children and adults presumed “vulnerable” for temperamental or genetic reasons may actually reflect something else: heightened susceptibility to the negative effects of risky environments and to the beneficial effects of supportive environments. Building on Belsky’s (1997, 2005; Belsky & Pluess, 2009) evolutionary-inspired differential susceptibility hypothesis stipulating that some individuals, including children, are more affected—both for better and for worse—by their environmental exposures and developmental experiences, recent research consistent with this claim is reviewed. It reveals that in many cases, including both observational field studies and experimental intervention ones, putatively vulnerable children and adults are especially susceptible to both positive and negative environmental effects. In addition to reviewing relevant evidence, unknowns in the differential-susceptibility equation are highlighted.
Evidence that adverse rearing environments exert negative effects particularly on children and adults presumed “vulnerable” for temperamental or genetic reasons may actually reflect something else: heightened susceptibility to the negative effects of risky environments and to the beneficial effects of supportive environments. Building on Belsky’s (1997, 2005; Belsky & Pluess, 2009) evolutionary-inspired differential susceptibility hypothesis stipulating that some individuals, including children, are more affected—both for better and for worse—by their environmental exposures and developmental experiences, recent research consistent with this claim is reviewed. It reveals that in many cases, including both observational field studies and experimental intervention ones, putatively vulnerable children and adults are especially susceptible to both positive and negative environmental effects. In addition to reviewing relevant evidence, unknowns in the differential-susceptibility equation are highlighted.
The first evidence which Belsky (1997, 2005; Belsky & Pluess, 2009) could point to consistent with his differential-susceptibility hypothesis concerned early negative emotionality. Children scoring high on this supposed “risk factor”, particularly in the early years, appeared to benefit disproportionately from supportive rearing environments (Boyce & Ellis, 2005; Ellis, Boyce, Belsky, Bakermans-Kranenburg & van IJzendoorn, 2011)
And Belsky (2005) speculates that negativity actually reflects a highly sensitive nervous system on which experience registers powerfully — negatively when not regulated by the caregiver but positively when coregulation occurs — a point of view somewhat related to Boyce and Ellis’ (2005) proposal that susceptibility may reflect prenatally programmed hyper-reactivity to stress.
Overview This resource collection in progress is mostly autism-specific. I collected some of the links as early as 2013-2014, when I first got into disability rights. My views may have changed, or …
