Open Society

The inaugural It Takes All Kinds of Minds conference was held in Edinburgh in mid March 2023. Attracting around a thousand international participants at the venue and via virtual technology, the two days encompassed around 50 main talks and close to 100 smaller ‘poster’ presentations. Here, I wil

Some perspectives from autistic people on challenges when using primary care services. We want these to help primary care providers think about how to accommodate the needs of autistic people when using services.

Community psychology (CP) is a transformative subdiscipline of psychology which aims to address inequality and social injustice and to attend to wellbeing. It has been argued that CP lacks an underpi...

Singer intended for neurodiversity to be a new category of intersectionality. However, intersectionality has been neglected in autism research and practice. This paper aims to inform an intersectional approach to autism by exploring autistic identity development in relation to other marginalized identities. We reviewed literature about neurodiversi

It’s easier than you think to make your classroom welcoming and accessible to students with autism and other diagnoses.

Autistic voices have historically been excluded from the autistic narrative. The purpose of this qualitative study was to consider how autistic adults are viewed by parents of autistic children and how these parents make use of the information provided by autistic adults. Results of this study indicate that parents of autistic children hold a positive view towards autistic adults and value information shared by autistic adult presenters.

Do you want to change the world for the better? Commons Library is an online library for social change - Making activism smarter & stronger.

Autistic people report greater comfort socialising and easier communication with each other. Despite autism being stereotypically associated with lack of social...

Mel Baggs, new works, Mary Pinotti Kaessinger, calls, events. Thanks for being here.

"If we try and make eye contact, it can distract us from what is being said because of how horrible it can feel and the effort involved.”

The ICARS Report England: The ICARS Report England documents the experiences of 560 English children. It exposes an educational system which has failed children, especially those receiving SEND ser…

Early-career researchers (ECRs) are among the most creative, talented, and energetic researchers, and they play an important role in knowledge production and pushing scientific boundaries. Recent debates have implied that many early-career autism researchers are compelled to shift their areas of focus within autism research as a consequence of their work being scrutinized by the autistic and autism communities. In this Perspective, I draw on my own experience as an early-career autism researcher having recently pivoted my research focus to become more aligned with community priorities. I reflect on whether these putative shifts in research direction are, indeed, a tragedy, as has previously been suggested, or, in fact, an opportunity for autism researchers. I argue that pivoting in research is a demonstration of science adapting to the ever-evolving needs in society and changes in our understanding of neurodiversity, neurodivergence, and research methods. While disagreements between the autistic, autism, and research communities may well feel uncomfortable, these tensions also present an opportunity for us—as non-autistic autism researchers—to reflect and to act toward building trust with the community. I recommend three areas for reflections: the purpose of our research, our position of power, and the epistemic limits of our academic expertise. I end by encouraging ECRs to consider taking actions, however small, to lead the charge in improving practices in autism research.

Esperanza Project is a green magazine for the Americas

The puzzle piece is the most commonly recognized symbol for autism awareness. But many people are unaware of it’s ableist history. On World Autism Awareness Day (April 2nd) , many neurotypica…

A new coalition of activists has formed to fight for disability justice in 14 states.

Disability justice in America starts in the South, home to one-third of all disabled people in the nation.

Pavilion is the leading provider of professional development products for staff in the health, social care, mental health and learning disability sectors.

A school in Illinois is showing the potential of Oregon's gender-neutral dress code model.

Have you ever looked through a school’s dress code policy and then pictured the type of student that said policy would affect? Of course…

The only way ABA knows how to “train” a child, to “motivate” them..is to negate their needs or take away their joy.

Devon Price's 'Unmasking Autism' advocates for a radical solution that amounts to common sense: Autistic adults should feel free to be themselves.

Research supports what teachers intuitively understand: that students ask fewer questions the longer they remain in school and engagement steadily declines over time. “Promoting curiosity in children, especially those from environments of economic disadvantage, may be an important, underrecognized way to address the achievement gap. Promoting curiosity is a foundation for early learning that we should be emphasizing more when we look at academic achievement”. (Chris read) At the same time, rates of depression and anxiety have steadily increased to become among the most diagnosed mental health disorders in children. Kids who feel isolated from school and their community frequently drop out turn to self-harm and self-medication through alcohol and drugs. Purpose-finding, on the other hand, has been linked to prosocial outcomes and healthier lifestyles, and is inherently tied to positive identity and self-worth. By directly participating in building a better society and reflecting on the experience, students gain valuable insight into their identity in relation to the world around them. Excerpt from the full documentary, 100 Seconds to Midnight: The Need for a New Human-Centered Education, available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pf3-sZp2vUk&ab_channel=HumanRestorationProject ----------------------------------------------- Learn more about our free resources, podcast, writings, and more at https://www.humanrestorationproject.org/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/HumResPro Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/humanrestorationproject/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/humrespro/ Want a HUMANIZE EDUCATION shirt? https://www.rayguncustom.com/collections/human-restoration-project Human Restoration Project is a 501(c)3 nonprofit centered on enabling human-centered schools through progressive pedagogy. Subscribe to our podcast on your favorite player at "Human Restoration Project."

Abrome  is a Self-Directed Education (SDE) community in Austin, TX, that is now in its fourth year. As Facilitators (adult staff members), we regularly critique our approach to interacting with Learners and building community, as well as how the culture of Abrome is evolving. It was through

It’s easier than you think to make your classroom welcoming and accessible to students with autism and other diagnoses.

The actual effect of the myth of meritocracy, which is used to normalise and rationalise head to head competition, is a consistent bias to over-represent capabilities, and to actively avoid thinkin…