People often ask if I believe autism is overdiagnosed, if we’re just slapping a label on geeky kids who in previous generations would have been considered merely eccentric. I reply that I believe autism is still underdiagnosed in two groups: women and people of color. The cultural and class bias built into the diagnostic process was so pervasive in the 1980s that psychologist Victor Sanua claimed that autism is rare among families of color. The reality was that people of color often didn’t get decent healthcare.
Changing the medical model of disability to the normalization model of disability: clarifying the past to create a new future direction
The medical model of disability describes a widespread approach to disability common since the 1800s that views disabilities of all sorts as abnormalities that need to be cured or eradicated. Under...
Superheroes usually manage to roll back the various apocalypses but rarely use their powers to build a better world. The villains are the ones constantly dre...
Learning management systems help make college a to-do list (opinion)
As learning management systems dominate, and students juggle competing priorities, Susan D. Blum asks, where is the joy, the adventure, the meaning?
It occurred to me that given the dominance of the LMS, all of schooling is now a big to-do list.
But if college is just a big to-do list, where is the adventure? The joy? The meaning?
It seemed to me that Canvas was the most schoolish dimension of college: everything is self-contained, divorced from the rest of the world (alienated), imposed from outside—filled with points, metrics and tasks, like a game in a box.
Exploring the Intersection of Autism, Theory of Mind, and Driving Performance in Novice Drivers - Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
This study explores the intersection of Theory of Mind (ToM) abilities and driving performance among novice drivers, with a focus on autistic individuals. The purpose is to investigate how ToM deficits may impact driving behaviors and decision-making, ultimately informing the development of tailored interventions and training programs for autistic drivers. We conducted a series of driving simulations using a custom-built driving simulator, capturing multimodal data including driving performance metrics, attention allocation, and physiological responses. Participants were categorized based on NEPSY scores, which assess ToM abilities, and self-reported autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis. Driving tasks were designed to simulate real-world scenarios, particularly focusing on intersections and merging, where ToM skills are crucial for safe navigation. Our analysis revealed differences in driving behaviors among participants with varying ToM abilities as determined through the NEPSY. Participants with lower NEPSY scores exhibited less smooth driving behaviors, increased risk-taking tendencies, and differences in attention allocation compared to those with higher scores. Alternatively, individuals with ASD displayed comparable driving patterns overall. ToM abilities influence driving behaviors and decision-making, particularly in complex social driving scenarios. Tailored interventions addressing ToM deficits and stress management could improve driving safety and accessibility for autistic individuals. This study underscores the importance of considering social cognitive factors in driving education and licensure pathways, aiming for greater inclusivity and accessibility in transportation systems.
At Calling Up Justice, our approach to storytelling and production has always embraced the fusion of various media and platforms. We’ve described our work as “transmedia,” a term that captured the essence of our storytelling across hybrid, digital, and mixed settings. However, as our practice evolves, so too does our language. We are now embracing […]
(PDF) Dialectical behaviour therapy outcomes for adolescents with autism spectrum conditions compared to those without: findings from a seven-year service evaluation
PDF | Purpose Autism spectrum conditions (ASC) and borderline personality disorder (BPD) have overlapping symptom profiles. Dialectical behaviour... | Find, read and cite all the research you need on ResearchGate
How a Network of Nonprofits Enriches Fundraisers While Spending Almost Nothing on Its Stated Causes
ProPublica identified a group of connected political nonprofits — with names like American Breast Cancer Coalition and National Coalition for Disabled Veterans — that appear to be funneling more than 90% of donations to fundraisers.
Being part of the Earth in good company – our shared humanity
The human capacity for language serves to improve understanding and trust, fostering collaboration instead of competition. This contradicts capitalist interpretations of evolution and supports the …
Why I’m Joining The Bluesky Board To Support A Vision Of A More Open, Decentralized Internet
I am excited to announce that I am joining the board of Bluesky, where I will be providing advice and guidance to the company to help it achieve its vision of a more open, more competitive, more de…
Time for a Pause: Without Effective Public Oversight, AI in Schools Will Do More Harm Than Good.
Ignoring their own well-publicized calls to regulate AI development and to pause implementation of its applications, major technology companies such as Google, Microsoft, and Meta are racing to fend off regulation and integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into their platforms. The weight of the available evidence suggests that the current wholesale adoption of unregulated AI applications in schools poses a grave danger to democratic civil society and to individual freedom and liberty. Years of warnings and precedents have highlighted the risks posed by the widespread use of pre-AI digital technologies in education, which have obscured decision-making and enabled student data exploitation. Without effective public oversight, the introduction of opaque and unproven AI systems and applications will likely exacerbate these problems. This policy brief explores the harms likely if lawmakers and others do not step in with carefully considered measures to prevent these extensive risks. The authors urge school leaders to pause the adoption of AI applications until policymakers have had sufficient time to thoroughly educate themselves and develop legislation and policies ensuring effective public oversight and control of school applications. Suggested Citation: Williamson, B., Molnar, A., & Boninger, F. (2024). Time for a pause: Without effective public oversight, AI in schools will do more harm than good. Boulder, CO: National Education Policy Center. Retrieved [date] from http://nepc.colorado.edu/publication/ai
The Ultimate Guide to Autistic Burnout | Embrace Autism
The Ultimate Guide to Autistic Burnout summarizes the most current research, and provides you with the tools to identify and recover from autistic burnout safely.
How Do We Move Beyond Indigenous Land (Water and Air) Acknowledgments? A Few Considerations
David J. O'Connor, DPI American Indian Studies Consultant providing a keynote at the Wisconsin Tribal Transportation Conference on Oct. 25, 2023 in Milwaukee. This article was written by David J. O'Connor, member of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa ( Anishinaabe or Ojibwe), Education Consultant, American Indian Studies Program at the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, and Laura A. Roeker, Director of Teaching and Learning at the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. Many educators across Wisconsin are familiar with land acknowledgments.
Land acknowledgments meant to honor Indigenous people too often do the opposite – erasing American Indians and sanitizing history instead
Land acknowledgments state that activities are taking place on land previously owned by Indigenous peoples. They’re popular – but they may harm more than they heal, say three anthropologists.
So you began your event with an Indigenous land acknowledgment. Now what?
Statements recognizing Indigenous rights to territories seized by colonial powers may be well-meaning. But some Indigenous leaders fear these acknowledgments may become routine and performative.
chatting about inconsistency and the shape of time with Marta Rose and KR Moorhead
The metaphor that has really resonated most with people is this idea of an elliptical orbit around a creative project. So if you imagine your creative project is like a body in space. It's like a planet or a star. And imagine, then, that there's a comet that is orbiting around that body, but in a big ellipse, not a perfect circle, but a big ellipse. So at certain points in that orbit, that comet — which is time, right — is coming really close to the body, which is your project.
And because of the gravitational pull of your project, you whip around the project really fast in time. It's a period of intense flow and intense productivity, intense sort of, getting shit done. But by definition, that intensity is going to whip you out into space in that elliptical orbit far away, and that period of time is going to be really slow and dreamy and restful, in an ideal world, when we're allowed to do this, right?
Police shootings database 2015-2024: Search by race, age, department
Filter the Washington Post database, which includes police shooting statistics since January 2015, by unarmed police shootings, race and age of victim and more.
'People should be allowed to do what they like': Autistic adults' views and experiences of stimming - PubMed
'Stereotyped or repetitive motor movements' are characterised as core features in the diagnosis of autism, yet many autistic adults (and the neurodiversity movement) have reclaimed them as 'stimming'. Supported by a growing body of scientific research, autistic adults argue that these behaviours may …
Meet the woman behind some of the biggest changes for disabled travelers in over 30 years
Though few people know her name, Emily Voorde helped shape Secretary Pete Buttigeg’s views on disability long before he was advancing policy for the Department of Transportation.
