Reclaiming Neurofuturism - Emergent Divergence
Open Society
The Day After You Disclose Your Autism:
The Mega Micro-Aggressions
Recognising autism in healthcare
Recognition of autism and the associated co-occurring physical and mental health issues has increased over recent years. However, undergraduate and postgraduate curricula take time to adapt and to impact on what is delivered in training so healthcare professionals, including doctors, report little training on these topics. Doctors need to know when someone might be autistic in order to respond to them appropriately. This article sets out the reasons why recognition of autism is important and the positive impacts of recognising and understanding autism on health outcomes, service delivery and patient experience. The negative consequences of not recognising autism or understanding the impact of autistic traits on the person are also explored. A companion article then covers how practice can be made more appropriate for autistic people to improve outcomes.
“Respect the way I need to communicate with you”: Healthcare experiences of adults on the autism spectrum - Christina Nicolaidis, Dora M Raymaker, Elesia Ashkenazy, Katherine E McDonald, Sebastian Dern, Amelia EV Baggs, Steven K Kapp, Michael Weiner, W Cody Boisclair, 2015
Our objective was to obtain an in-depth understanding of autistic adults’ experiences with healthcare and their recommendations for improving care. Our academic...
Key findings - Care Quality Commission
The three groups of factors we found that contribute to the quality of primary care for autistic people - person factors, provider factors and system factors
A guide to neurodiversity in the early years.pdf
1160_print_ready.pdf
1-s2.0-S1876285923000918-main.pdf
Star Trek rerun, reread, rewritten: Fan writing as textual poaching
This essay rejects media‐fostered stereotypes of Star Trek fans as cultural dupes, social misfits, or mindless consumers, perceiving them, in Michel de Certeau's term, as “poachers” of textual mean...
A condition called POTS rose after covid, but patients can’t find care
Patients with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, a disorder of the autonomic nervous system, can experience a rapid heart beat, fainting and dizziness.
Rhizome (philosophy) - Wikipedia
A Teacher's Case for Critical Race Theory | Human Restoration Project | Nick Covington
What is this “toxic propaganda” the White House and Senate are taking action over, and what are the consequences of having CRT banned from our schools and public institutions? Published by Human Restoration Project, a 501(c)3 organization restoring humanity to education.
Why “What Works” Won’t Work and Why “What Works” May Hurt | Human Restoration Project | Nick Covington
In this article I’ll unpack the criticisms and limits of “what works” in what we call evidence-based educational research and practice. Published by Human Restoration Project, a 501(c)3 organization restoring humanity to education.
Jeff Moore: "@humrespro @CovingtonEDU To me…" - Mastodon
@humrespro@mastodon.online @CovingtonEDU@mastodon.online To me, “evidence-based” usually means economically-focused social efficiency, often reduced to lifeless behaviorism.
It Is a Lot of Work to Be Poor and Disabled
The rollback of emergency public health measures enacted during the pandemic will make things worse.
Medicaid expansion saves lives. But perhaps we should question whether we are considered human in the eyes of the GOP. If we don’t fight back, the “great unwinding” could become the great unraveling of the safety net as we know it.I have faith, though, that people will save Medicaid once again, as they have with past efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act. When the odds seem overwhelmingly stacked against us, I recall the phrase, “They tried to bury us, they didn’t know we were seeds.” We will rise again.
It is a lot of work to be poor and disabled. In a country where health care is not a right, the Medicaid redeterminations reinforce the precarious state of marginalized communities in relationship to the state. When I go through this process, I am angered as I think of all the people who need assistance trying to understand the form, collecting information, and physically completing it on time. The administrative burden, access barriers, and emotional toll it takes to jump through these hoops for survival is cruel and counterproductive.
Only Your Boss Can Cure Your Burnout
People refer to various forms of malaise as “burnout,” but it’s technically a work problem. And only your employer can solve it.
Opinion | Georgia’s new anti-trans law also disparages autistic people like me
Behind Georgia's new attack on transgender minors is a dismissal of autistic people's ability to think for themselves.
Comprehensive ABA-based interventions in the treatment of children with autism spectrum disorder – a meta-analysis - BMC Psychiatry
Background Many studies display promising results for interventions that are based on Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) in the treatment of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Methods: This meta-analysis assessed the effects of such treatments on developmental outcomes in children with ASD and on parental stress based on 11 studies with 632 participants. Results: Compared to treatment as usual, minimal or no treatment, comprehensive ABA-based interventions showed medium effects for intellectual functioning (standardized mean difference SMD = 0.51, 95% CI [0.09; 0.92]) and adaptive behavior (SMD = 0.37, 95% CI [0.03; 0.70]). Language abilities, symptom severity or parental stress did not improve beyond the improvement in control groups. Moderator analyses indicate that language abilities at intake could influence the effect sizes and the influence of treatment intensity might decrease with older age. Conclusions: Practical implications and limitations are discussed.
Pediatric agitation in the emergency department: A survey of pediatric emergency care coordinators
Acute agitation episodes in the emergency department (ED) can be distressing for patients, families, and staff and may lead to injuries. We aim to und…
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The Centre for Reviews and Dissemination is a department of the University of York and is part of the National Institute for Health Research. CRD undertakes high quality systematic reviews that evaluate the effects of health and social care interventions and the delivery and organisation of health care.
On Being an Autistic Autism Researcher
The first thing that strikes me about being an Autistic Autism researcher is how emotionally intense it can be. Despite each of us being uniquely individual, and living very different lives, the experiences of research participants often resonate with my own. Sometimes what we have in common relates to bullying, exploitation, and abuse, which can stir up anger, sorrow, and trauma. The connection between us can also be through Autistic joy, intense interests, sensory satisfaction, or particular w
Patterns of Mental Health Service Use During the Transition to Adulthood Among Autistic Adolescents and Young Adults | Autism in Adulthood
Background: The time of transition into adulthood, especially when leaving school, is a time when many autistic adolescents and young adults (AYA) may stop receiving mental health services that they have relied on, leading to worse mental health outcomes. The purpose of this study was to describe patterns of mental health service use during transition to adulthood among autistic AYAs. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study using electronic health records from years 2015 to 2019 from one large university health care system. We included autistic individuals ages 11–27 with at least one clinical encounter annually in the cohort. Outcomes included psychotropic medications and psychotherapy received, psychotropic polypharmacy, psychiatric emergency department (ED) visits, and adverse drug events. Results: Almost half of the 529 patients in the cohort received polypharmacy. The most common treatment was medication only (56.9%), followed by no treatment (22.7%), medication plus psychotherapy (18.7%), and psychotherapy only (data masked). The 17–21 age group had the highest odds of a psychiatric ED visit, whereas the 22–27 age group had the highest odds of receiving psychotropic medications and polypharmacy. Black AYA were more likely to receive psychotherapy and less likely to receive psychotropic polypharmacy than non-Hispanic Whites. Conclusion: Autistic individuals may benefit from more support from the health care system for their transition into adulthood to maintain use of beneficial mental health services as they leave school and to reduce the frequency of adverse outcomes. Access to providers experienced treating the complex needs of autistic individuals is important to reduce disparities.
Assessing suicidal thoughts and behaviors and nonsuicidal self-injury in autistic and non-autistic early adolescents using the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale - Jessica M Schwartzman, Rachael A Muscatello, Blythe A Corbett, 2023
Suicidal thoughts and behaviors and nonsuicidal self-injury are more common in autistic adolescents than non-autistic adolescents, per parent- and self-report. ...
Suicidal thoughts and behaviors and nonsuicidal self-injury are more common in autistic adolescents than non-autistic adolescents, per parent- and self-report.
Access to employment: A comparison of autistic, neurodivergent and neurotypical adults’ experiences of hiring processes in the United Kingdom - Jade Davies, Brett Heasman, Adam Livesey, Amy Walker, Elizabeth Pellicano, Anna Remington, 2023
Autistic people face high unemployment rates. One reason for this may be that hiring processes are inaccessible. This study aimed to establish autistic people’s...
Despite being the most commonly experienced recruitment method, interviews were not well endorsed by autistic people (Mrating = 2.21, SD = 0.78) (see Table 3). Group tasks were also perceived as particularly negative by autistic participants (Mrating = 1.60, SD = 0.80).
Participants in all three groups noted that traditional recruitment methods place an unnecessary emphasis on personality and social skills, as opposed to the skills required for the prospective job role: ‘I feel that interviews are only a test of your acting and social skills’ (A-138).
‘[group tasks are] not good when you’re autistic, [I] don’t know when to interject, [and I] take a while to process information. . .
‘psychometric tests are perfected specifically to filter out autistic traits’ (A-188).
I believe the online tests were an unnecessary screening process to filter out people without actually looking at your CV and professional merit . . . only after completing a literacy, numeracy and psychometric test was I actually able to speak to a real person. (ND-041)
The focus on social skills during recruitment meant that many autistic candidates felt they had to mask to succeed. Indeed, positive experiences of the interview process were typically reported when individuals were able to mask successfully (‘All the positive processes are the one(s) where I successfully masked and got through. Where I outsmarted them’; A-188) or rote learn responses they perceived as desirable: ‘I learned to interview very well because I learned to predict the type of questions asked. . . I had a prepared script. I could put on a perfect performance for the duration of the interview’ (A-048). Those who felt unable to mask effectively reported struggling to gain employment.
Autistic, neurodivergent and neurotypical participants discussed the undue levels of uncertainty and ambiguity that pervade in all aspects of the recruitment process. Indeed, ambiguity was felt to be an issue right from the start of the hiring process with many participants noting that job specifications often name vague, generic skills: ‘We need to change role descriptions. We need to be more realistic about what we are recruiting a person to do. (i.e. do they really need to be adaptable, able to be a good consultant?)’ (NT-019). As a result, some autistic participants were not sure they possessed the necessary skills to apply: ‘I find it difficult to look for jobs and to know whether I would be suitable for the role’ (A-118). This ambiguity and resulting uncertainty was highlighted in further aspects of the traditional hiring process and typically fell into two main categories: (1) a lack of information in advance and (2) the need to read between the lines.
While there were qualitative similarities in experiences, autistic people appeared to face a set of unique barriers to successful recruitment, over and above those that non-autistic neurodivergent and neurotypical people faced. While all participants reported being frustrated by the perceived unnecessary emphasis on social skills and personality traits in traditional hiring processes, only autistic candidates reported that they had to mask their authentic self to successfully gain employment. Similarly, despite the majority of participants reporting that disclosure of a diagnosis or access need was desirable, autistic participants expressed unique concerns surrounding the potential stigma and discrimination associated with their diagnosis. Employers have a critical role to play in reducing such inequalities in recruitment experiences. By actively offering and implementing adjustments for all candidates, employers can be confident that they are not only supporting their autistic candidates but also that the experiences of otherwise neurodivergent and neurotypical candidates are also likely to improve. Indeed, by developing more inclusive and accessible hiring processes, organisations can ensure that they see the best version of each candidate and do not overlook highly valuable talent.
The role of anxiety and depression in suicidal thoughts for autistic and non‐autistic people: A theory‐driven network analysis
Background
Autistic adults experience more frequent suicidal thoughts and mental health difficulties than non-autistic adults, but research has yet to explain how these experiences are connected. Th...
Autistic people experience more life stressors than non-autistic people leading to reduced coping, low mood, and suicidal thoughts. Promoting belonging, reducing anxiety, and understanding the role of movement could inform suicide prevention for autistic people.
According to the ITS, in any population group, suicidal desire develops from the interaction of perceived burdensomeness (social worthlessness) with thwarted belonging (hopeless social isolation) (Joiner, 2005; Van Orden et al., 2010).
One possibility is that being autistic represents a distal risk marker for suicide due to minority stress (Botha & Frost, 2020). As shown in Figure 1, being autistic could lead to multiple life stressors, making it more likely that an individual experiences anxiety and depression (Lever & Geurts, 2016), thwarted belonging, burdensomeness (Pelton et al., 2020b) and suicidal thoughts (Cassidy et al., 2014) than a non-autistic person. Empirical research supports this: autistic traits are a unique risk marker for suicidal thoughts and behaviors in autistic and non-autistic samples (Cassidy et al., 2022; Cassidy, Bradley, Shaw, et al., 2018; Pelton & Cassidy, 2017; Richards et al., 2019; Takara & Kondo, 2014; Upthegrove et al., 2018). Simple pathways have been described from (i) autistic traits through perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belonging (Pelton et al., 2020b); (ii) loneliness through depression (Hedley, Uljarević, Foley, et al., 2018); and (iii) social dissatisfaction and loneliness through perceived burdensomeness (Dow et al., 2021); to suicidal thoughts and behaviors for autistic adults.
Identifying Components of Autism Friendly Health Care: An... : Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics
onsisting of mainly professionals whose interests include autism using a modified 3-round Delphi—a method that identifies a consensus view across subject participants.
Methods:
Statements about components of an Autism Friendly health care practice were compiled in consultation with the steering committee of an Autism Friendly Initiative at a single, urban academic safety-net hospital. Participants were recruited through our national network of professionals and patients/families mailing list. Examples of invited professionals included researchers, health care workers, and educators. In the first 2 rounds, we distributed electronic surveys to participants, who scored statements from 1 to 9 regarding importance. In round 2, statements that were scored low by all stakeholder groups were eliminated. Seventy-eight participants responded to the first-round survey, and 51 participants responded to the second-round survey. In the third round, 38 participants ranked 16 statements from most to least important. Statements are summarized and presented in the Results section.
Results:
Topics that emerged from highly ranked statements include environmental/operational modifications (e.g., longer appointment times) and staff training to support autistic patients.
Conclusion:
Highly ranked statements represented previously reported barriers, including the need for staff training and inclusive engagement with the autistic community. The findings can help inform health care organizations to determine priorities when building an Autism Friendly health care practice....
An Unexpected Autistic | Autism in Adulthood
Autism in Adulthood
To better meet the needs of autistic people, we need to rethink how we measure services - Meghan M Burke, Julie Lounds Taylor, 2023
Bonus ITAKOM Blog — Neurodiverse Connection
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
Views about primary care health checks for autistic adults: UK survey findings