Open Society

The term "spiky profiles" was popularised by psychologist and researcher Francesca Happé. You may find relevant information in her work, such as the article "Wechsler IQ profile and theory of mind in autism: A research note." (Happé, 1994).— Jonjo Minns (@jonjominns) March 2, 2024

How a smart friend (and progenitor of information architecture) provided me with a UX and life lesson whose wisdom I continue to hold close.

Every page unveils another clutching of control that mortifies and confounds until the reader doesn’t know whether to laugh, cry or rage.

"When I am in public spaces and see most people unmasked, I feel like an expendable burden not worth saving."

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating, chronic disorder and efficacy rates of current PTSD treatments are underwhelming. There is a critical need for innovative approaches. We provide an overview of trauma and PTSD and cite literature providing...

Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders - Adverse life events and mental health conditions are unfortunately common amongst autistic adults and children; this may present a...

This research roundup picks out some of the current big debates on autistic lives, and showcases new and important research from teams and academics working within the field.

High-quality materials, professional learning supports, and a schoolwide PBL culture are markers of successful PBL programs.

Autistic people who cannot speak risk being underestimated. Their inability to speak, along with other unconventional behaviors and mannerisms, can give rise to...

Around 2012ish, a new movement rode into the UK (school) educational scene. It came with the banner of "evidence-based", to counter the previous movement. I'm not writing to contend whether the movement was right or wrong, but to offer a perspective of what it may be. My view differs to the major slogans of the movement as it took force. Let this movement be called EduCogSci. It was claimed to be a movement of objective reason, empowering teachers with the science of cognition and the evidence

Hello! Please note! I am happy for you to have my books ( plus other generous authors) to use them in your work or play with very special children and adults. Just remember that many were written years ago when there was hardly any information or research around. What education there was, had to

Exploring some of the difficulties faced by autistic people at mealtimes with tips on how to help

As I wrote a year ago in The Rot Economy (and as I argued on the first episode of my podcast Better Offline), I believe that both public and private markets have become decoupled from the concept of "good business," ruled instead by a hunger for the eternal growth of

A blog about making culture. Since 1999.

A blog about making culture. Since 1999.

How long can the agriculturally vital San Luis Valley hang on to its biggest asset — amid waves of existential threats?

Crip Up the Kitchen is a comprehensive guide and recipe collection that brings the economy and satisfaction of home cooking to disabled and neurodivergent cooks.

I recently saw some philosophers discussing – well, more dismissing – the concept of the ‘neurotypical’. This is something I’ve seen a few times now. Personally I think the term i…

In this blog, Raelene Dundon outlines her 7 strategies for ensuring your practice is neurodiversity affirming.

Find out how businesses can get involved with Neurodiversity Celebration Week, register and take the pledge.

The global mono-cult pretends that all aspects of life can be categorised and understood in terms of normality – by the hump of the bell curve. But the living planet does not conform to anthropocen…

Neurodiversity Celebration Week aims to bring about worldwide neurodiversity acceptance, equality and inclusion in schools and workplaces.

The objectives of the neurodiversity and disability rights movements overlap significantly with the struggles of indigenous peoples. All people are fully human. Neurodiversity Celebration Week is n…

Background: Previous research has often documented that friendship is an area of difficulty for autistic people, however this may be caused by a neurotypical understanding of friendship. The current study aimed at adopting a more inclusive account of friendship, involving an autistic participant group representing a range of genders and communication preferences while exploring the following question—What are autistic adults' perceptions of friendships? Method: Participants (n = 20) were interviewed using their preferred method of communication (speaking and non-speaking) during 2021–2022. Results: The results showed that three main themes emerged under an overarching theme of A Spectrum of Understanding: Identity with Others, Sharing Value, and Shared Presence. The inclusive approaches used in the current study allowed under-researched autistic groups such as non-speaking autistic people and autistic people who identify as non-binary to participate in meaningful research. Conclusions: The study offers a new perspective on the Double Empathy theory, suggesting it may be helpful to conceptualize it as a continuum of neuro-cultural learning rather than a distinctive binary centered on an autistic-allistic misunderstanding. Increased understanding of friendships in autistic groups will help to increase awareness of social belonging and support that can protect against poor mental health outcomes.

Part Five: The Anachronisms —A bad 19th-Century Design is Threaded through Everything We Do. Cognition, Technology, and the Environment of…

The title of the article is What Was New Atheism?. The use of the past tense is noted. The label was coined in 2006 by Gary Wolf in Wired, and we spent the next decade sort of agreeing that there i…

A Q&A WITH JOSEPH HENRICH   1. Why the acronym WEIRD?

JF and Phil discuss making things weird as a survival strategy for the Weird Age.

Children's books about autism have the potential to promote neurodiversity, but they also have the potential to (unintentionally) work against it. It is important to make informed and individualized ...